Hello again everyone, this is the first part of me rambling on about which era or album and artist had a great part in shaping the way my musical taste the way it is today – not to forget about a few people and friends that had their part in it along the road.
As much as certain bands have an influence on a certain time, let’s say Sabbath and Maiden in the 70s, Metallica in the 80s and a myriad of bands in the 90s, the period that probably shaped me and my taste is from 1994-1996 – when I was young and easily manipulated 🙂
Before Heavy Metal was forced onto me during my mandatory stint in the german Army, I was perfectly happy listening to EBM and Industrial Music, sometimes including guitars and “real” drums. That was from 1992-1994 … from Artists like Skinny Puppy, NIN, Front Line Assembly, Front 242 and KMFDM to name a few. A lot of these bands as said before already incorporated some parts of Rock or Metal into their songs which I didn’t mind but what fascinated me more, was the electronics behind it, sometimes the fusion of the elements but most of all the groove that hold it all together.
Then in late 1994, early 95 a guy in barracks started playing the real deal in our room. Pantera. Meshuggah. I don’t really remember what else. Doesn’t matter – my mind was blown and I was starting to get hooked and over time, I started to phase out the EBM/Industrial playlist and focused more on what Heavy Metal in all its facets had to offer. More of that coming in Part II … now some videos of that time before 94, if someone actually cares!