At first, at the age of 12 or so I started listening to punk, primarily Ramones, Misfits, Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop, etc., I do not listen to them anymore.
A year later, I accidentally heard Damaged by Black Flag and was really impressed by their music. Since then I was stuck on hardcore for almost 7 years, during which I completely discovered this genre. I must say that I listen to Black Flag, early Agnostic Front, Cro-Mags, Integrity, Cursed, etc. to this day.
Finally came the day when I came across Pantera. This band has changed my music world once and for all. I remember, how Vulgar Display of Power cassette fell into my hands from a friend of my friend who was totally into metal. Afterwards he acquainted me with such bands as Metallica, Motörhead, Black Sabbath, Sepultura, and Slayer.
Actually, I don't like focus narrowly on one style and try to search through different kinds of metal, but nowadays I listen to mostly death, speed, and thrash metal along with aforementioned bands. Pantera is still my main influence and just my all time favorites.
So, I wouldn't call it 'my journey through metal', I'd rather call it 'my journey to metal.'