By the way, I want to mention a special thanks to some specific individuals who helped shape my METAL appreciation, in no particular order: Adam, Matt Croda, Mark Hite, Wayne Versace, Carl Swanson, Rob Pierce, Ryan Bass, and Noah Hadnutt.
1. Mr. Big - Lean Into It
Somebody I need to mention in regards to this album is my good friend Puck. He worked for MTV Taiwan before I met him and the experience of watching him interview Mr. Big was a great joy of my senior year of high school. What a hoot. And it led me to seeking out the album and actually listening to it. I'd already heard the hit, To Be With You, and thought of it as a pretty cheesy song that I kind of didn't want to admit I actually liked. I did like it, though. And, the rest of the album is pretty good for what it is, too. It also happens to have shredding solos. Probably more of a rock album than a metal album, as many on this list may be considered, you can tell the dudes in the band are ready to rock. I've never branched out further from Lean into It as far as listening to Mr. Big is concerned, but this album will always remain dear to my heart. By the way, if you ever get a chance to ride around in the car with Puck and listen to him tell stories, it's an unmatched experience. And let him pick the tunes... you won't be disappointed. Favorite Song: To Be With You
2. Van Halen - Balance
Haters are always gonna hate on some Van-hagar. I don't care, Balance will most likely always be my all time number one favorite Van Halen album. It came out when I was in middle school and a classmate had it, and I had the chance to check it out. The excitement was over Van Halen releasing something new. Nobody knew what they held in their hands at the time. For me, I'd never heard a guitar tone like that and also had never heard guitar playing like that. It's so super smooth and sexy and clean, and pure. Yes, the Van-hagar is in full effect and this is a very cheesy album at times, looking back. But, it's also a huge album. You can easily imagine these songs filling a stadium. The songwriting is actually excellent, too, which is why I kept listening to it. It had been a while and I listened to it today, each song is so familiar to me that I was amazed at the sustaining power it has had over the years for my psyche. Favorite Songs: Amsterdam, Feelin', Aftershock, Take Me Back (Deja Vu)
3. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
This is a doom classic, but I picked it up thanks to the ever so notorious BMG Music Club, where I had to pick out a certain number of albums to get a super sweeeet deal on them. So, I basically got Black Sabbath's self titled album for free. I'd no experience with Sabbath except I was a Led Zeppelin and a Jimi Hendrix fan and a friend in high school (thanks Ryan!) had told me that the next step was Black Sabbath. So, there I was having my hair blown back, sophomore year of college, listening on my little CD boombox. I listened to this a lot. I suppose I could list Zep and Hendrix as influences to my metal tastes too, but in my mind Sabbath was where it began for real. Isn't all music connected? One thing to the next, to the next, to the next...
Favorite tracks: The Wizard, Behind the Wall of Sleep, all of them...
4. Guitar Wolf - Jet Generation
Guitar Wolf isn't metal, is it? Punk? Rock? Who knows? One thing is for sure, it is loud and it is awesome. I think it is metal, actually. These guys have poured their hearts and souls into being the loudest and rockin-est band in the universe. Mark Hite and I, when we worked together at WSKB, made a wall poster shrine to this band (and another to Nashville Pussy!!) because of how hard their music hits. I had no exposure to this kind of thing prior and it opened up new doors of exploration for heavy music for me. When I had a chance to see Guitar Wolf live, well it was the same kind of experience. That concert could have gone on 10 hours and it would have still been too short. There's so much appeal to their look and the band members' charisma is near intoxicating, you can't help but get interested. I also liked how D4 covered one of their songs in a more ear friendly fashion. I also loved Wild Zero, the Guitar Wolf movie, that will appeal to any who love a good sci-fi zombie musical post apoc romp of weirdness. Jet Generation came out right around the time I was helping to make that wall collage. So, there. Favorite tracks: Kung Fu Ramone, Teenage UFO, Roaring Blood, Summertime Blues
5. Black Label Society - Hangover Music: Vol. VI
Sometimes I get the feeling I'm always mentioning this album, BLS Hangover Music: Vol. VI. It really is a very good album. Before this album, I had considered BLS too heavy for me, as something I'd never be able to digest musically. I read an article about it in a guitar magazine when it came out, a magazine I can't remember but had a subscription to at the time. The article made the album sound like something I'd enjoy and I was already into some Sabbath and Ozzy, so Zakk Wylde having played with Ozz was a detail of interest. I purchased the album and brought it with me to visit my friend Adam down in Medford at the time, we listened to it and talked about it and listened to some Sabbath, and our minds were expanded and continued to expand for quite some time. The next time I saw Adam, he'd picked up other BLS music and all of a sudden it wasn't too heavy anymore (although it was almost too heavy!). We liked it. We listened to it. We drank it in. The music on this album is like metal without the distortion. If somebody says they don't like metal, I sometimes play them this. It really is metal for the uninitiated. Favorite Tracks: Queen of Sorrow, House of Doom, She Deserves a Free Ride (Val's Song), Won't Find It Here
6. Ozzy Osbourne - No Rest for the Wicked
I don't have much to say about this album, No Rest for the Wicked, except at some point somebody I was buddies with didn't want the cassette tape of it and it ended up in my car. I didn't know how to handle this music and had no other exposure to Ozzy or related artists, at that time (high school dayz). I can remember listening nervously and laughing at some of these songs, but secretly thinking this is some damn good stuff. It was put in the player often for a couple summers and requested a lot when visitors got in my car. It's a cool weird album and so Ozzy. I wish I could recall who it was that handed No Rest for the Wicked off to me. But, thank you! Favorite tracks: Miracle Man, Bloodbath in Paradise, Devil's Daughter, Crazy Babies
7. Metallica - Black Album
Metallica's Black Album was the first of a few recommendations I got from a good college pal, Matt Croda, during my freshmen year of college. He had an uncanny knack for checking out a person's CD collection or listening to what a person was into, then making the absolute perfect recommendation of where to go next. The guy knew (and probably still knows) a lot about music. Anyway, he listened to all kinds of heavy stuff that I was in no way ready for (I remember a huge Pantera poster on his wall), but he was able to say, you know what... check out Metallica's Black Album. I think it might be what you'd get into. And, dang it he was right. These songs became familiar very quickly. I'd been friends with some people in high school (Ryan and Rob!) that liked Metallica but personally always thought they were a band a little too heavy for me. Nowadays, I think it's funny that Metallica is often categorized as rock simply due to their immense popularity. I mean, they have "metal" in their name! Still, they're one of the all time greatest metal bands, or rock bands, or whatever you wanna call it. And this is an all time classic. Favorite Songs: Sad But True, Nothing Else Matters, The Unforgiven
8. Danzig - Danzig
I had the fortunate experience of helping out with a class project for some friends in high school, the making of a movie called Dead Space. It was a heck of a lot of fun being part of that production and the movie came out okay, but what stuck with me was the closing credits song... Danzig's Mother. I started thinking, what is this glorious song? Danzig's self titled album has a lot of appeal and is probably the best thing he ever created, unless you happen to be a die hard Misfits or Samhain fan. Still, I'd say this is the best (although I have a great fondness for Danzig II nowadays). So, what makes the album so great? I think it's because it's an ideal gateway metal album. It has broad appeal and rocks, and lots of fans probably don't think of it as a metal album at all. But it is. If anybody doesn't like it, it's likely due to hearing the songs overplayed. I still love it. Favorite Tracks: Mother, Am I Demon, She Rides
9. Dio - Holy Diver
This is the other album I can recall Matt Croda introduced me to. He kept talking about Rainbow and Rainbow in the Dark, and I'm not sure he knew how all the pieces fit together. He did know about how much influence Dio had over the development of metal and the transition many bands made (Judas Priest comes to mind). And, he knew it was what I would need next. I got this one and then not much later, The Last in Line and while Dio's strange lyrics made me pay attention (they reminded me of Beck somehow... I was a big fan of Mellow Gold and Odelay). So, I kept listening. Dio's voice is still one of my all time favorites and he had a knack for assembling high quality musicians around him. Favorite Songs: Holy Diver, Invisible, Rainbow in the Dark, Don't Talk to Strangers
10. Rhapsody - Symphony of Enchanted Lands
This was the first metal album I ever heard that told a story and I loved the concept. It was also the first fantasy metal I listened to. Recommended by a roommate and good friend, Wayne, it was the first step on a voyage of love for epic fantasy metal. I love when a band's genre is mentioned on a sticker or somewhere on the cover, especially when it is extremely specific. On the cover of this album, a sticker read "The grand masters of Symphonic Epic Hollywood Metal strike back with their 2nd album! Album of the month in several European magazines!" Oh, I know because I saved the sticker! The bold was added because it was on the sticker. A couple things, first I wanted a taste of this movement for symphonic metal that I'd never heard of. Yes! Next, what is Hollywood metal? I still don't know. Finally, what were these "several European magazines" that were mentioned? Ohhh.... they must know a thing or two! Well, I was hooked. Favorite Track: Emerald Sword
There you have it... a glimpse into my metal journey. I hope you have your own or will in the future! Rock on metal brothers and sisters!
