How did you get into metal?

The basic question of every music related forum, share us your life story in metal 

Well it began with the first band I considered my favourite band, Blink-182. From there I moved onto Punk Rock like Anti-Flag and such. I then discovered modern "tough guy" Hardcore Punk like Terror and Walls of Jericho. I then stumbled into Melodic Metalcore like Bullet For My Valentine, Atreyu and stuff like that. I didn't make much progress until someone recommended System of a Down. I loved them and someone else said Slipknot play similar music. I checked out Slipknot and I couldn't believe how heavy they were (obviously I don't feel that way now). Anyway, I started looking for heavier stuff so I purchased Reek of Putrefaction by Carcass, Bloodthirst by Cannibal Corpse and Covenant by Morbid Angel. Those three albums got me into the more extreme side of Metal.

I first got really into music through Led Zeppelin and The Beatles. When I was around 9 years old, those two bands shaped my life. I was particularly a fan of Abbey Road, Revolver, and Sgt. Pepper's from The Beatles, and Led Zeppelin I and IV from Led Zeppelin.

Shortly after I found my love for prog rock. I got interested in the genre when I first heard ...And Then There Were Three by Genesis. When my dad gave me a copy of Selling England By The Pound, my life really changed. I became an absolute Gabriel-era Genesis fanatic. I would listen to The Lamb on a once-a-day basis, I would spend days trying to figure out how to play all of Tony Banks' solos, and I would listen to their other albums any time I had 45 minutes to burn.

After I discovered Genesis, my love of music in general really began (especially prog rock). I soon got into Yes, Spock's Beard, The Flower Kings, Marillion, Pink Floyd, Transatlantic, IQ, etc.... At this point I also began to get into bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden. That is when my love for prog metal began.

I first got into prog metal by the Score DVD by Dream Theater. My father was in the living room watching it, and soon I became quite the DT fan. I then became a fan of other prog metal bands like Pain of Salvation, Fates Warning, Savatage, Queensr�che, etc... Soon after I discovered Opeth, which opened the door to other progressive death metal acts. I also began to love Edge of Sanity and Death at this time. Then I began to investigate all types of extreme metal, with death metal, doom metal, and thrash metal being my favorite extreme metal genres.

So that is my journey of metal....

-Jeff

I started taking guitar lessons when I was 12 years old, and it just so happened that my guitar teacher at that time was a huge Judas Priest fan.  Before that, I just listened to the crap on MTV.  I don't know where I'd be today if I hadn't met him.  Unfortunately for me though, he left the music store I take lessons at to become a roadie.  Great guy.

Pink Floyd - Porcupine Tree - Dream Theater - Opeth.

Like that.

Black Sabbath originally and with the current stuff since about 1995 I hear a lot at my sons or through one of my daughters and being extreme does not worry me,it is those ones who do most of the boundary pushing. Not a big fan of Symphonic, I prefer just a band

Sleepwalker wrote: I'm not sure, but I believe it was Tool that got me into Metal....

I didn't so much get into metal as metal got into me.  That's what I get for sitting on a tool.  Butt seriously....

As a young child my oldest brother exposed me to Iron Butterfly.  "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is what set the old metal ball rolling for me, I'd say.  After that it was Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple Led Zeppelin and AC/DC that also helped pave the way -- then Judas Priest.  I'm still not so much one for modern metal -- a lot of it seems more pretentious, in a way, and less fun these days (the blues influence was lost ina lot of it, and I like that bluesy rock and roll kind of heavy metal).  I'm more of a pre NWoBHM kind of guy.

I must admit that I'm not the hardest core metal guy around, though some people might be surprised how hardcore I am in other ways,  but I dig hard rock and roll and a fair amount of modern metal and would like to discover lots of metal to bang by.

Metal isn't just music; it's a way of life -- heavy booze, heavy banging, and heavy metal, who could really ask for anything more? I'm not so much into the annihilation thing, though 'tis better to bang out than to burn out I say.

I was brought up with prog, trad. metal, glam metal, AOR and elements of blues rock and folk rock . My love of metal was inevitable, mostly because of Black Sabbath, after which I got into Ozzy's solo stuff. AC/DC, Van Halen, Motley Crue and UFO also played a big part in the beginnings of my 'metal years' as I call them. I eventually thirsted for something a little heavier and added thrash to my list of likes with Megadeth as my favoured band of the genre. I also ran into grunge a little later which provided me with such gems as Gruntruck and Alice In Chains. Over time I have also took a little liking to some prog metal and doom metal.

Firstly I got in Rock music in general and worked my way up to different genres after I got bored with Pop.

Thankfully I was put off by pop and still am by the time I got to my teens.

But it was around school a friend of minw introduced me Metallica, this helped me to discover a more heavier and faster side to rock , just like the Pink Floyd did with me to Prog and Rock in general.