s**t that changed your musical direction

[Steinmetzify]

These are the songs that made me want to be something else, and play other things.

Whatcha got?!

This was thrash central, nothing else even came close in my eyes/ears



This was different; this was melodic and crazy and I loved the solo(s)beyond measure;



These guys changed LITERALLY EVERYTHING;



The part where Dime matches the key of his bends/harmonics to Phil’s screams will never be duplicated.

I feel the pressure of my dreams:



This shit was DIGUSTING

There was nothing that hit like this in that timeframe, and it hit HARD.

Acid Bath



Nothing like this and it changed everything I’ve done since.

Dax’s industrial vocals and Sammy’s riffs changed all of it for me; the slower shit mixed with the complete time changes was a gamechanger for me.

KSE: super simple heavy riffs with great production

My Last Serenade

Provided to YouTube by Roadrunner RecordsMy Last Serenade · Killswitch EngageXXX: Three Decades Of Roadrunner Records℗ 2002 The All Blacks B.V.Double Bass, ...

youtu.be

Devin Townsend:

The EPITOME to me as a guitar player and a riff machine of a guy that came and made the same 13 notes heavy as fuck;

Away

Provided to YouTube by InsideOutMusicAway · The Devin Townsend BandAccelerated Evolution℗ 2003 HevyDevy Records. Issued under license from HevyDevy Records t...

youtu.be

I’m sure I’ll add to this thread as this is straight up ONGOING but for now, hit these vids and see if they don’t change you.

 

[spawnofthesith]

Early to mid teen years I was mostly interested in death metal, deathcore, metalcore, melodeath etc. Mid to late high school turned to the postmetal/doom/stoner side (ISIS, sleep, and electric wizard pulling me in)

College turned me into a jamband wook (seeing Umphrey's Mcgee live for the first time on a headful really pulled me in)

Now about to turn 30 and my band plays sometimes heavy jam add music. Goal is to appeal to both metalheads and hippies, but we probably just sound bad to both

 

[JiveTurkey]

My first musical memories were buying Kiss Alive II and Dirty Deeds when I was super young. Then 6-8 years of 80s pop Then Shout At The Devil straight into Ozzy Jake E. Lee era and Priest and Maiden. Then saw my first concert (Metallica on RTL tour with WASP and Armored Saint).

Then MOP, RIB and Peace Sells really all at the same time. To out the level of teenage mind blown into words really doesn't do it justice. That moment where your brain is going a bazillion miles an hour because you're 13/14 and you are listening to the most advance evil thrash pummeling your face from a host of absolute MASTERS is just beyond comparison. It's a tough fucking bar for any band coming after to measure up to.

All the while with this; I started out with Run DMC, LL and the Beasties and vibed hard on those. Then got introduced to Digital Underground, straight into Ice-T and NWA when I was 19 and my musical direction continued to change. I gotta say; music I don' t like I REALLY don't like. But the stuff I love is super near and dear to my heart.

Modern metal stuff has been great too. Mastodon, Devy, LoG, KSE. Black Dahlia...a lot of great stuff. As well as some of the old guard coming back to surprise us and pummel faces once again.

Couple that with the classics of Rush, LZ, the Police ( ) as well as more 2nd and 3rd tier thrash and speed, DEATH AND METAL as a whole, some choice nu-metal records and really a LOT of varying stuff. There is just a whole universe of great music out there.

 

[Sleezy E]

... I'm an odd fellow....

 

[JiveTurkey]

... I'm an odd fellow....

I'm not generally a DMB fan. But "Don't Drink the Water" always struck me as

 

[Sleezy E]

I'm not generally a DMB fan. But "Don't Drink the Water" always struck me as

Learning those songs on acoustic gave me a great appreciation for his virtuosity... and always produced a circle of girls around me at parties when there was a guitar in the room...

 

[DrewJD82]

Pantera was the first one that came along and made me entirely re-think heavy music and how I approached guitar, before that I was all about the Vai/Gilmour/EJ thing where lead was the focus. While I loved Metallica already, it was Pantera that introduced me to the energy, impact and groove of metal.

Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment and Tool played a huge part in my approach to writing music because so much of their stuff came from improv jamming with the band and writing music based off those improvs, which is entirely how I write music now.

Vai and Devin Townsend played the biggest role in me wanting to do everything on my own. I very much understand the importance of having your vision carried out to completion and remaining your vision at the end. I went 20 years doing the compromise thing and while some of it was GREAT, I just had too much in me that wasn’t seeing the light of day.

So it wasn’t so much albums, but everything surrounding the bands/musicians and their approaches.

 

[Fireproof]

When I was young, I used to stay at my grandparents house when my parents would have date nights or plans or whatever. I would hang out in my Uncle’s room and look through his record collection. He had a big poster of Toys in the Attic on the wall - and at about 7 years old, that was my first introduction to rock! I was forever hooked and quickly found Led Zeppelin and AC/DC and the rest was history.

Then later in high school, I was a freshman and working out in the weight room and an upper class-man put Kill ‘em All in the tape deck and cranked it while we worked out. That was my first intro to metal (thrash metal at the time?) and I couldn’t get enough.

In parallel to the above, I was also into rap (much like JT) and was huge fans of Run DMC and LL Cool J, having memorized each of their first couple albums…. Then that led to all kinds of rap, gangsta rap, etc., where Dr. Dre, Eazy E and NWA were on constant rotation.

 

[Jarick]

Biggest influences and things that changed me quite a bit:

Def Leppard - Hysteria was my first favorite album, when I was all of four years old. I started collecting rock magazines and watching music videos. I was big into rock music from that point on. I really liked a lot of the had rock/hair metal stuff they played on the radio, including Bon Jovi, Tesla, Metallica, Queensryche, Ozzy, etc.

Nirvana - Nevermind was a big shift for me, first band that felt more like music for me than for my parents, even though I was only eight at the time. Then the gates opened with bands like Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, and all the grunge/alternative bands of the early 90's that took over rock radio.

The Offspring - Smash and Green Day - Dookie started to get me into punk music. Started with the mainstream stuff, then shifted into bands like Rancid, NOFX, Operation Ivy, and lots of pop punk bands like MxPx and others.

Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary and Jimmy Eat World - Clarity got me into emo in the late 90's after alternative rock and punk at that time got stale. There were lots of bands like Promise Ring, Braid, Further Seems Forever, Copeland and others I dug into over the next few years.

Underoath - They're Only Chasing Safety and Killswitch Engage - End of Heartache were albums that got me into screamo/metalcore in the mid 2000's. I played in a couple bands of that style and that was a lot of fun. Groups like Thrice, 36 Crazyfists, and lots of others were a lot of fun to listen to.

Dance Gavin Dance - Downtown Battle Mountain was another big album for me, as well as Emarosa - Relativity, getting into the more melodic/groove oriented post-hardcore stuff. Kind of a continuation of screamo but it's evolved a bit over the years, and DGD has been my favorite newer band for the last decade.

Pinegrove - Cardinal was probably the last shift in musical tastes that I had, brilliant indie/folk/alt group.

I haven't really gotten into as much new stuff as I get older, and I've regressed into listening to music from when I was younger a lot.

 

[Fireproof]

Two more albums that were very influential that I forgot about…

First album I heard of Def Leppard. I remember borrowing a friend’s cassette and “dubbing” it on my dad’s dual-tape deck. Played it until I literally wore it out and it wouldn’t play anymore. Then I bought my own copy.

And those that know me, know that Billy Gibbons is my favorite guitarist. When I was young, I was best friends with my next door neighbor. This will really date me - but I found this album on 8-Track in my friend’s collection - we put it on his 8-Track Stereo in the living room and played it over and over one summer while his dad was at work. Been following ZZ ever since…

 

[mchad]

Any riff rock from the 70's was the catalyst for me picking up the guitar. Richie Blackmore was the prime influence then. And Joe Walsh's melodic sense is just stellar. And of course EVH turned electric guitar on its head.

But not all of us are cut out to be fretboard wizards so less flash and more panache was required.

The Cult's She Sells Sanctuary was a revelation.

Early U2.

Killing Joke's 1985 alt rock/power pop masterpiece Night Time was a huge influence.

The grunge era did not light my fire as much as other people's but Stone Temple Pilots were a favourite.

And being an Australian early Midnight Oil is embedded in the subconscious.

These days if I wanted to explore the best in rock n roll I think Big Wreck/Ian Thornley are a good choice.

Other than that today's incredible guitar gear makes me want pick up a guitar and make some noise. Good time to be a guitarist.

 

[DrewJD82]

I didn’t even mention Alice In Chains in my post. Gee willikers. They were really the catalyst for so much for me. I was 12 when I first heard them, it was the Tripod (Self titled) album. This was when I was still in my Floyd/EJ only phase but something about AIC just hooked me in immediately.

Actually, it was “The Nothin’ Song”, Jerry does this slick repetitive thing where he bends a note and hits a harmonic, it just sounded so damn cool to me.

1:23-


Then I got the Dirt album and I remember listening to “Junkhead”…..the chorus comes up…”What’s my drug of choiiiiiiooooooiiiice” and my dad in the kitchen going “Andy WTF are you listening to? JFC! What’s my favorite drug? This sh*t is glorifying drugs, Andy, I don’t think it’s healthy for you to be listening to.”

::Andy goes and buys ALL the AIC CDs::

 

[JiveTurkey]

I didn’t even mention Alice In Chains in my post. Gee willikers. They were really the catalyst for so much for me. I was 12 when I first heard them, it was the Tripod (Self titled) album. This was when I was still in my Floyd/EJ only phase but something about AIC just hooked me in immediately.

Actually, it was “The Nothin’ Song”, Jerry does this slick repetitive thing where he bends a note and hits a harmonic, it just sounded so damn cool to me.

1:23-


Then I got the Dirt album and I remember listening to “Junkhead”…..the chorus comes up…”What’s my drug of choiiiiiiooooooiiiice” and my dad in the kitchen going “Andy WTF are you listening to? JFC! What’s my favorite drug? This sh*t is glorifying drugs, Andy, I don’t think it’s healthy for you to be listening to.”

::Andy goes and buys ALL the AIC CDs::

We played Angry Chair live in one of my first cover bands. We did not have the charisma to pull it off at all but such a simple evil sounding song

My fave song off the 3 legged dog album is the one where they go "Boo-Boop" every other line. Unsurprisingly

 

[DrewJD82]

We played Angry Chair live in one of my first cover bands. We did not have the charisma to pull it off at all but such a simple evil sounding song

My fave song off the 3 legged dog album is the one where they go "Boo-Boop" every other line. Unsurprisingly

”Angry Chair” is one of the few tunes entirely written by Layne, there’s some AIC trivia for ya!

Boo boo boo beep!

That album has two of my all time favorite AIC tunes-





They played “God Am” the 2nd time I saw them with Will and I was running around like an idiotic I was so excited. The guitars in that chorus are so damn sick!!! But the f*cking riff!!!!

 

[Los-D]

“Welp, I better hit the woodshed”
*Throws Bush tabs in the trash

 

[Piing]

You guys seem to be very young

None of these existed when my older sister came with this cassette:

And we listened to it in a player/recorder that was exactly like this one:

That did set the compass in the right direction. After that, I never wanted to listen again the Boney M records of my uncle.

And few years later...

 

[Alex Kenivel]

Just gonna rattle off (in best chronological order that I can) artists that made me want to make a left turn musically as a creater and consumer.

Growing up in the early 90s in my third-world neighborhood, Gangsta Rap was the thing ( ). It was all around me and I couldn't escape it.

G-Funk caught me first and then the more musical acts stood out to me, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Bobby Brown, TLC, En Vogue.

Then for some reason I became obsessed with Weird AL Yankovic right around the time Bad Hair Day came out and they did the ALtv thing on MTV. It was like the serious world got flipped upside-down. I descovered RHCP from his parody of Give It Away.

As I got a little older (still not 10 yet) I got more attached to the guitars laying around the house and my pops got me into Sam Cooke, Sam & Dave, Creedence, Chubby Checker, easy songs to get me used to chord progressions. Then Aerosmith's Toys In The Attic, Hendrix, learning the Pentatonic scale.

Then I descovered a local band called Green Day, grunge got big, Soundgarden and Nirvana.

I started playing more acoustic and started writing songs as a preteen. Also got into Santana from my uncle and liked his phrasing a lot. Then SRV.

Later into Industrial and Nu-Metal, edgy and weird: Slipknot, RATM. I wanted to make all kinds of noises.. Papa Roach was another local-ish band that got big right after I heard them. Time to drop tune and get heavier strings. I was into Limp Bizkit as an edgy teenager, adored Wes Borland but couldn't stand Fred Durst after his shtick got old (fast), but listening to them led me to Primus and Korn through right around the same time I descovered Vai (probably due to the awe of a 7 string guitar). Came back to RHCP around Californication. Flea is the shit.

Sum 41's Does This Look Infected? album has some very Metallica-esque songs on them, which they admit a few songs were straight ripoffs of Battery riffs so that's how I descovered Metallica, then Pantera, a whole section of metal I seemed to skip over and not know it.

Time to scoop the mids! Cannibal Corpse...I was also playing drums and attempting to record myself in my later high-school years so technical drums and production value started to catch me more than just guitar playing. Dream Theater's Train of Thought album, Blink 182's self-titled album, all great production and drumming.

Avenged Sevenfold's Bat Country was next. I was dying to hear some technical guitar in the mainstream at the time and they delivered.

Made some shitty choices with my life, became homeless, listened to more helpless and hopeless rap. Mac Dre, CUTTHOAT Comitte, Dre Dog.

At that point I reluctantly dove headfirst into the hardcore punk scene. I got into a band with some friends and we ended up taking over an underground venue, booking shows and eventually crazy jam sessions and raves, too. It saved my life from the fucked up situation I put myself in.

Deadfall, I'll Gotten Gainz, John the Baker, Nuclear Rabbit, MDC, all these artists I loved and shared the stage with at the same time. I interjected Tom Morello-ish sounds and Vai legato-tapping into hardcore punk as best as I could.

That's also the time/place I descovered clouddead, Why? Jel, Odd Nosdam, Boom Bip, the whole Anticon label.. Totally changed my idea of how music could be made. I really dove into recording and production. Also got heavily into Scientist.

Then I got back into RHCP because I have this bond with Funk that just won't quit. Stadium Arcadium has some bangers if you can get past the Tom Petty covers.

Some friends of mine ended up recruiting me for their band and they loved Deftones. Up until that point I could not stand Deftones no matter how many times they tried to make excuses for Chino. Diamond Eyes changed all of that. 8 string, what's that? Oh Steph listens to something called Djent? Wtf is Djent? Wtf is an Axe FX? (clicks tab)

And that's where things kind of drop off into dad cover band land of descovering songs from the past I've never listened to or tried to play.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

You guys seem to be very young

None of these existed when my older sister came with this cassette:

View attachment 1191
And we listened to it in a player/recorder that was exactly like this one:
View attachment 1192
That did set the compass in the right direction

This album got me thru some tough anxiety... Breathe... Breathe in the air... Brain Damage was actually the first song my dad taught me!

 

[HotRats]

Dire Straits: Brothers in arms is the first LP I've bought for my self and the first band that grabbed my interest and pushed me to dig into their discography. I was around 12/13 yo and a was playing classical guitar at the time and this music really spoke to me. Few years later I've literally consumed their Alchemy Live album playing along with it with my first electric guitar. I still love this band form the bottom of my hearth.
Dire Straits thought me a lot about arranging music in a clever, musical and delicate way.

Around the same time I've discovered 2 bands and 2 records in particular that really blew my mind: Pink Floyd's Dark side of the moon and Led Zeppelin II. The solo Gilmour play in the song Time made want to switch to electric guitar, those notes and that sound still give me goose bumps, the finale songs Brain Damage and Eclipse still bring me to tears.
Led Zeppelin made me want to start a band and play loud & dirty rock and roll.

Metallica: "black album": this is the record that opened the doors to the incredible Metallica (and Megadeth too) discography and to metal. I didn't become a metalhead and never been into really heavy stuff but it's a record that gave a new prospective about heavy riffing and thunderous drumming. I'm sure this (and being a guitar player, of course) has been the gateway to my passion for heavy guitar riffing in progressive music.
Metallica are since then in my top 5.

Frank Zappa: you can't do that on stage anymore vol 1: this is the second Zappa record that crossed my path. First was Guitar with it's opening title Sexual harassment in the workplace that made me immediately want to dig into Zappa world. ears later came YCDTOSA vol 1 and bang, a world of incredible music exploded in my ears. Since than my passion for Zappa and intricate music began.

Gov't Mule in my 30s happened to see Gov't Mule live without knowing who they were and what they did. I fell in love immediately and they started my love for blues, blues/rock music. Thanks to them I've discovered a whole world I didn't know was so good Not that I didn't appreciate blues based music I did but that concert boosted my interest in american music and american artists. Since then I've discovered obvious artists like the Allman Brothers but songwriters like Jason Isbell or Patty Griffin.

 

[TSJMajesty]

I'm feeling a bit old here...

Way back before I could even read, I used to have to bring the 45's to my aunt to ask her which side of the record I liked (the "hit" side.) All I wanted to do when I visited my grandmother was play my Aunt B's records. Motown, Beatles, Guess Who. That got me started.

A few years later, after my Partridge Family and Osmonds phase, along with K-Tel's Hits of the 70's, I discovered Elton John. I always say Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was the first "real" album I ever bought as a kid. Wore it out, literally. Funeral For A Friend would just take me away! And I was 8!! Would take my record player outside with me while I played with my Matchbox cars in the dirt, and the sun warped the 2nd disc. But it still played! Haha Lost interest just after he fired Dee and Nigel. But I bought almost all his records from 1970 to ~1976.

Then my aunt got married, and my 'cool uncle' exposed me to Led Zeppelin. Which also made me pick up the guitar. Learned Stairway note for note. Loved, loved, loved Zeppelin!

Then it was, via the Columbia House Record Company, Aerosmith, Kiss, Frampton, etc. And I started buying albums galore! Fleetwood Mac, Yes, Pink Floyd, Rush, VH..., mostly classic rock that was on AOR at the time.

Nothing in particular..., well maybe Duran Duran, but I really got into all the 80's New Wave/Pop stuff of that era. Smiths, Cure, Furs, Missing Persons, Til Tuesday, U2, etc. Still love it all. Also had my 'hair band' phase mixed in there somewhere, which led right into...

...Stone Temple Pilots, Alice In Chains, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Nirvana was all I listened to. Still remember almost falling out of my car when I heard Give It Away for the first time.

A band I used to hang out with would put Dream Theater Falling Into Infinity on their PA before their set, and when I heard New Millenium, I was like, WHO IS THIS?? I borrowed the CD only to bring it right back, because I was just going to go out and buy my own copy. Funny thing was, my cousin tried turning me onto them back when Images & Words came out, but it didn't do anything for me at the time. Been a huge DT fan ever since, and even though I pretty much lost interest in their songwriting the past few albums, they remain my favorite band of all time.

Other than discovering bands like Muse and Porcupine Tree, etc. in the past couple decades, I'm that guy who's sorta fallen away from discovering new music. I'm somewhat sorry to say that, but not much has really excited me in several years.