this is going to get a little weird and sappy, but here it goes. I started posting here 10 years ago (I was 14) and my favorite bands at the time were probably something like Metallica and black sabbath or some shit. This forum immediately began to shape my entire taste in music, which gave way to the culture I chose to participate in as a youth, the attitudes and viewpoints I developed, and therefore my personality and life today. Looking back on it, i'm not even kidding. I discovered a seemingly endless amount of music, beginning here. I would have not been introduced to it otherwise, and I immersed myself in it. Music was my first introduction to "counter" culture at that age. The black metal, death metal, punk, grind, noise, drone, and doom I mostly discovered here not only taught me how to appreciate the artistry of music but also introduced me to a whole culture of people in my life, not necessarily metalheads but just different people doing different shit. I ran with that, and first developed into a superior asshole with an incredible drug problem, then eventually, after sobering up a couple years ago, into the person I am today (a decent one I think). My morals and values, the things I do, the music I enjoy today (not all metal) have all been shaped by a culture I grew up in, one that I discovered through music, and I discovered that music here.
Sorry for the essay, but yeah. Legit. So thanks guys, if any of you old school UM cats are around.
