Music—the one thing I think everyone on this planet enjoys. Some people may not be into books, some may not enjoy movies or TV, but I can’t recall anyone ever saying they dislike music. I think it’s because there is music for everyone, a mixture of sounds for every soul. One thing I always say is that I’m open to any type of music, as I feel it brings endless possibilities of soul-soothing sounds. So I wanted to take the time to give you a glimpse into my musical multiverse by first sharing this Metal head’s epic journey.
Enter The Metal
Many people, including myself, are what I like to call “music explorers”—people who aren’t afraid to branch out and find new styles to enjoy, even if that means rummaging through music that just ain’t for you. At the root, though, I think there’s a genre of music that everyone can trace back to being their “home,” and for me, that’s metal.
I can still remember it now—track 3, on an all-black disc: Holier Than Thou. My intro to the metal world was courtesy of my dad, with the help of volume cranked up to 11. The sounds of the beating drums shaking my seat, the infectious speed, and an almost groovy rhythm had me hooked. From there, I, of course, asked Dad for more Metallica, and over time, he showed me some of the greatest metal albums of all. Jamming to Welcome Home (Sanitarium), air drumming to One, and realizing how epic the lyrics of Creeping Death were made me want more and more from this thing called Metal.
The Journey Begins
It didn’t take too long before I was online, reading and learning what I could about metal. I found sub-genres of sub-genres that covered all aspects of the craziness that is humanity. I dove headfirst into the Big Four of thrash, at first not liking the voice of Mustaine or the super speed of Slayer, but exploring nonetheless. Then, for my birthday one year, my best friend got me More Than Meets the Eye by Testament. (THE MOST UNDERRATED METAL BAND EVER). Track after track was a mixture of speed, power, and aggression that absolutely hit everything I wanted in an album, which I still have to this day.
With a now well-established love for thrash, I moved on to see what else hit the right spot for me. Death and black metal never had enough melody for me, doom always gave me a sense of wanting more, but then, like a rainbow shining through the dark (wink wink), I found Dio. Holy shit, when I say it was a blend of almost everything I wanted, I mean it. A great singer, respected by every metalhead, singing about fantasy behind absolutely killer rhythms and melodies—what more could I ask for? I was in full geek mode and buried my head in the catalog of so many amazing metal bands like Priest, Maiden, Accept, and Annihilator. At one point, though, I wondered if I was missing out on what was going on in the more modern metal scene—and boy, was I.
The Journey Continues
The whole time I was playing time traveler with my love for ‘80s metal, I was missing out on some incredible bands that would redefine the genre for me. The first band I found was one that I still love to this day: Disturbed. I’d be under selling it if I said we jammed Inside the fire 300 times while playing World at War one summer. Disturbed had it all—groove, passionate lyrics, undeniable drumming, and, of course, shredding. So, this metalhead was now fully on board with metal, of the modern day (if you got that type of reference, then you, too, like Tesla).
A flood of new bands came across my YouTube search bar, including Shinedown, Seether, Slipknot, A7X, and so many more. It felt good to have more metal to listen to and find more bands that my friends and I could jam out to while we played Risk. I have to admit, though, that even at this point, I was kind of picky—open to a lot but still picky. I would quickly axe a song if the vocals were even slightly too extreme or if the song took more than 15 seconds to “get going.” But hey, we all do stupid things, and this was one of mine!
The Journey Never Ends
I’ve come a long way from the picky little metal head that I used to be, and I’m quite happy by that. My metal catalog is way larger than it once was, and it allows me to enjoy so many amazing bands, both old and new. I got over my need for “clean” vocals and welcomed in bands like Exodus, Children of Bodom, Gojira, Lamb of God, and Orbit Culture. Fortunately for me I also got over my dislike for Mustaine’s voice, because damn, does Megadeth kick so much ass. I also love how there are newer bands of newer genres that I can enjoy now, like Motionless in White or Beartooth, which earlier me would not have liked.
Geeking out over metal bands, their albums, and their histories is a huge part of me, and it all started when someone I cared about showed me what he liked. Now I’m here to hopefully show others and share with others. Metal kicks so much ass, but sharing metal with others kicks so much more. Thank you for reading this Metal head’s journey and don’t forget, you’re not alone, the Haven is here!
If you made it this far, I thank you for being here and I wish you the best. All comments are welcome below, enjoy the Haven Geeks!