Life-changing albums?

[Windom Pearl]

In an old Suomi Finland Perkele interview Mike says something like "I recommend you´d check out Still Life, I think it has something for everyone and the experience may even be ... life-changing.."

Now...When I first readed the sentence I didn´t give it much notice but recently it has struck me...

Still Life was the first Opeth I really got into. That particular album changed my fucking life. And not in a minor way, but TOTALLY.

It changed the way I think about music and riffs in general...and the album inspired me to write own music, which led to Farmakon. And to Thales. Which are the main points of my life and the stuff I think about all the time. And it has led to some other major things too, of which I´ll stay silent.

Any similiar experiences, with some other albums perhaps?

 

[ProgMetalFan]

Iron Maiden - "Somewhere In Time"

First "technical" metal album I ever heard... led me on the path to underground metal and progressive music.

 

[Downfall]

Nirvana - Nevermind
and
Misery Loves Co. - Not Like Them

 

[Rusty]

Well, when I first heard Morningrise over a year ago (which was my first time hearing Opeth), it led me into a whole different genre of music that I'd never even considered trying before. Also, a couple of months later, I went onto the Opeth website and noticed a link to the official Opeth forum, so I decided to check that out.

Also, it was Morningrise that eventually started me wanting to write music and start a band.

 

[Chaostar]

I would say Iron Maiden, but not one particular album, cause when I heard the song "Fear of the dark" for the first time, I fell in love with this great band and I bought their albums one by one in the 2 or 3 next weeks... Before I knew them, I listened to music from time to time, and since 93, I can't live without music (metal)

 

[MacMoney]

Not with one particular album. My way of looking at music has changed while listening to metal but not by a lightning strike with one album.

 

[7 Dying Trees]

Life changing albums?

1)Iron Maiden - Killers / Number of the Beast
->Started me of on the path of metal. Never looked back. Also inspired me to want to play bass. In which I failed and became a guitarist instead.

All the other albums have been evolutionary.

 

[RETIREDTrapped]

Nevermore - The politics of ecstasy.

Awesome. Technical Prog Thrash Power Metal One of the first "Prog" bands i got into, and definately one of the few metal bands who's lyrics i really appreciate... sadly, nevermore are not what they once were, but i still have Poe, In Memory and Dreaming Neon Black Jeff's guitaring on this album is just mind boggling, I'd even take this guy over Michael Romeo, totally awesome on poe.

Death - Individual Thought Patterns...

same kind of thing, also another album of which i appreciate the lyrics, especially Trapped in a corner, from where i got my nick. Chuck's guitaring is just plain cool on this album, one of the albums that got me into playing complicated thrash stuff, got me into cynic, atheist, all technical and prog stuff to, thanks eternally chuck...

Metallica's ...and justice for all and Megadeth's ..Rust in peace deserve a mention there, same with Atheist's Unquestionable presence, and probably a few more.

 

[Itay]

Defintly John Frusciante - Niandra LaDes & Usually Just A T-Shirt

it changed my completely! not just musically, but my whole prespective on life (and on music).

 

[AngelWitch73]

Ride The Lightning was a life changing album because it set me on the Path to Metal... which I have followed faithfully since...

 

[Orchid]

The album that changed my life was "Orchid" in the way that it opened a whole new world of music for me to explore, but it had to grow on me; I hated it when I heard it the first time.

 

[requiem]

Like Gods of the Sun- My Dying Bride.

It introduced me to real romantic darkness and I loved it.

 

[Xenomorph]

Morbid Angel - Blessed Are the Sick

 

[Chaostar]

Originally posted by Itay
Defintly John Frusciante - Niandra LaDes & Usually Just A T-Shirt

it changed my completely! not just musically, but my whole prespective on life (and on music).

In which way did it change "your perspective on life" ?

 

[Liquid Tension]

1st Yes's Relayer was my first taste of extreme music

2nd Metalica's Master of Puppets changed what I thought was heavy music

3rd Opeth's My Arm Your Hearse was the first disc that I would listen to with a growling style of vocals and to think that I didn't listen to Death because of the vocal style

These all deal with my musical maturity and I can't really say that any music was life changing for me. Some of the books that I've read have made a HUGH difference in my life!

 

[Vortex]

Rush - Moving Pictures

This is about the joys of having a functional band...love it!

Opeth - Blackwater Park & Still Life & Orchid

Got them basically at the same time. The first two showed me wonderful expression on electric guitar and the last took me on true musical journeys.

 

[Klemi]

Well, my life has been same shit from womb to this moment, but musically important albums are:
IRON MAIDEN: Real Live One & Real Dead One. My first records, copied from my friend. And the rest is history...
ENTOMBED: Wolverine Blues. It lead me to the scary world of death metal. Before that I couldn't listen growling vocals...
ANATHEMA: Silent Enigma. This one revealed to me this gothic / doom / death metal realm, like MDB, Paradise Lost etc.
SISTERS OF MERCY: First and Last and Always. I heard "Maria" from radio and I knew immediatly, that I want more this kind of music. Then came The Cure, Depeche Mode and other bands, which showed, that extreme music can be more than lous and brutal.

There could be more on that list...

 

[Lordenlil]

Originally posted by Trapped

Death - Individual Thought Patterns...

same kind of thing, also another album of which i appreciate the lyrics, especially Trapped in a corner, from where i got my nick. Chuck's guitaring is just plain cool on this album, one of the albums that got me into playing complicated thrash stuff, got me into cynic, atheist, all technical and prog stuff to, thanks eternally chuck...

I second that - even though I heard some Death stuff before, I
was blown away by The Philosopher video, which I saw at
Headbangers ball in 93. I went to this crappy record store a few
days later, after watching the vid a million times as if it had divine
powers. Amazingly enough they had the album. Fate?
Trapped In a Corner is also my fave.

I also need to credit Sepultura's Beneath The Remains for getting
me into the more heavy side of metal.

 

[Skull_Punk]

Hmmm, there are a few, but here are the highlights:

Black Sabbath - Paranoid

The album that got me into metal. Still a classic album and whenever I hear a Sabbath-esque riff or a cover tune from that album, I wax nostalgic to the day when I was driving with my family to Arizona, cranking this cassette tape, watching the dry, sandy, but beautiful scenery go by.

Metallica - Live Sh*t: Binge and Purge

IMO, the ultimate live presentation by any band. The Mexico City discs highlight the band at the zenith of their skill. This is where I first heard and began to love the almighty double kick drum. Because of this, I went from metalhead to rabid metalhead.

Symphony X - The Divine Wings of Tragedy

My first Symphony X album. Also my "grounding" disc. I associate this disc with the feelings and thoughts I had when I first got this and spun it in my room. Whenever I get stressed out or generally flustered, I put this one in and everything's all right with the world again. Definitely puts things in perspective.

 

[Manbient]

There were a couple for me... here's the main ones. In Chronological Order

1. Metallica - Master of Puppets: My first exposure to metal, heard it when i was about 12 or so... i couldn't fucking BELIEVE how cool this was!! this was like my first introduction into music too... didn't own a single CD before this and didn't listen to music like AT ALL, not even the radio. Anyway, a year after getting this album i bought my guitar and that is really the beginning of the whole "music" thing for me.

2. Neil Zaza - Snap, Crackle, Pop LIVE!: HOLY FUCK!!! This was in '99 or so after i had been playing for 2 years, and learned as best i could most of the metallica songs (just the rhythms, really) and i thought i was the shit. I thought i knew how to play guitar REALLY fucking well... well i was wrong hehe... my dad dragged me to the concert that this CD was the tour for (the CD was recorded at an earlier show and already pressed.. we were at the very end of the tour. Don't ask me how they got the CD out so quick, i dunno hehe... the CD i actually got was a demo i think) and i was like "grr fuck this, it is my birthday i wanna go out with my friends" and 10 minutes into the show... that all changed. These guys were so unbelievably fucking tight and awesome!! Neil Zaza is to this day still one of my favorite players, if not THE favorite. I sat in awe of the concert and realized how much more there was to playing guitar than i was doing. This started me on the whole instrumental shred path.

3. Dream Theater - Scenes From A Memory: This was about 6 months after that concert... someone said if i liked shred guitar i HAD to check out Dream Theater... so i bought this album. Let's just say that this went so fucking FAR BEYOND the shred-only stuff i was listening to and into a whole world of progressive music that again changed the way i looked at music. This is still one of my favorite bands ever... top 3 for sure. And this album is thier top in my books.

4. Century Media Records - Identity 6: Got this compilation right when it came out (At the end of 2000) and it was kind of my introduction to Death Metal, and most importantly Melodic Death MEtal... the Soilwork song "The Chainheart Machine" was on it and that fucking KILLED ME!!! it was SOO FUCKIN AWESOME and yet again showed me a new way of playing the guitar... i went on a binge of Melodic Death metal after that, that is still kinda goign on... that song lead me to download/buy every melodic death thing i could get my hands on!! And that lead me to hearing about Opeth...

5. Opeth - Morningrise: Ok bought this after my MD binge and was expecting somethign typical and thrashy like Soilwork... and i was WAY off... and to be honest i was really dissapointed for the first month i had the CD because everyone was saying how good it was. Well fuck.. one night i put it on as i was going to bed... started to drift off... then the end of TNATSW came on... and i woke right up and was almost scared!!! I listened intently for the next 35 minute and my shit got all fucked up again... now i had this whole EMOTIONAL side of metal that came out and interested me... and now Opeth is my favorite band.


So that's where i stand now, and all the albums i mentioned are in my top 10, so they are FUCKING GOOD. if you don't own them, shame on you. go buy them. ESPECIALLY the Neil Zaza one,... it isn't all shred, it is good fucking rock/metal with tasteful leads and occasional shred. ALL GUITAR PLAYERS MUST OWN THIS ONE!!! I CANNOT STRESS THAT ENOUGH!!