Metallica - St. Anger

I don't like this album an awful lot these days, however it was my gateway to metal when all other music I was being exposed to via the UK charts at the time was either, pop, rap or whatever else that was popular at the time, so I'll always have a soft spot for it.

 

 

A school friend of mine bought this and played it to me, back in '79 and I insisted on borrowing it. I taped it - so technically, it's not my first metal album, because I didn't buy it, but it is the first metal album I "owned" and played to death.

 

It's remained one of my all-time favourite albums. When I read about its origins, I liked it even more, and Motorhead fast became (and have remained) one of my favourite bands.

 

The first metal album I bought was this one, later in 1979, thanks to a review in Smash Hits magazine (hey, I was 14 years old, and Kerrang! hadn't been invented!). It gave it 3/10 (and I hardly ever saw a rating below 5/10 in that rubbishy comic), comapring it to a piledriver crossed with a chainsaw. I was intrigued, because they also slammed "Into The Valley" by the Skids, with similar comments, and I loved that record. Needless to say, AC/DC are up on my favourites list together with Motorhead, I got into the NWoBHM from there, and the rest is history...

 

 

The next metal album I bought was purely because I liked the cover;

 

 

I am not at all embarrased to like KSW - or Korn, Linkin Park's first album - or even one or two Limp Bizkit songs.

 

I like what I like - that attitude served me well during the late 1970s - early 1980s, when I liked Maiden, AC/DC, Sabbath and Motorhead - to the disgust of everyone I knew. 

 

 

 

+1

 

...and my "cut-off" was legendary.

 

Until my mother decided it smelled too badly that she burnt it  

 

 

Tell No Tales - TNT

Triumph and Agony - Warlock

 

I think mine was Obituary's "Cause of Death".

Or maybe it could have been "Heartwork" by Carcass.

It took me quite sometime to buy an album. I have two older brothers, with whom I shared a bedroom in all my childhood. The oldest was the first metalhead of the family, getting into hard rock and metal in 1984 (Scorpions being the primary band of influence). He bought the albums, which he let us listen to "if we behaved" (that is shut up and stand still). So, there was no need to get anything. Besides, the oldest brother had the exclusive rights to the stereo.

The first vinyl I bought was the soundtrack to Rocky IV. It was 1985 and I was 8 years old. My oldest brother sold it to me because he knew I liked Eye of the Tiger and that I really wanted a vinyl of my own ("wee! I own vinyl!"). For 100 drachmas (in today's exquisite greek economy that would be the equivalent of 0.004 dollars!). My joy was short-lived however, as my brother had drawn glasses, mustaches and cigars on the faces of Rocky, Apollo, Drago, Adrian etc on the back. "No refunds".

In 1986, I fell in love with Europe's Final Countdown, the song. My oldest brother however would not buy that album, at the time the  feud between "hair" or "pop" or "glam" metal and thrash was at its peak. My thrash loving brother would be damned if he would spend his hard-earned money on those poser bitches. So, I went and bought my first "serious" vinyl, Europe's - Final Countdown. And I loved that album and I still love that album, which had more hard rock and even heavy metal that first met the eye. Amazing guitar work too. Many years passed since I revisited it however because around 1989, when I was too old (12) to rely on my brother's sacred vinyl collection ("touch it and you die!" - which I did often when he wasn't around, with mortal fear in my heart) I decided to begin my collection. This is where I consider my true beginnings:

First album I bought: Kill 'Em All. 

Second and third album (one buy): Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets. 

Fourth and fifth album (one buy again): Helloween - Walls of Jericho and Flotsam and Jetsam - No Place for Disgrace.

All albums I knew and worshipped. I was actually aiming for Doomsday for the Deceiver but the record store did not have it, so I went with the second masterpiece.

However the first Metal albums I bought myself I think were Brave New World by Iron Maiden and Lateralus by Tool, which I both got at the same time along with Pink Floyd's Meddle.. (Although I had previously listened to several dozen other Metal albums on the Internet beforehand, I just hadn't gotten any of them yet)

My first metal album would be either Inhuman Rampage or Ultra Beatdown by Dragonforce...

Before this, at about 9/10 years old, I was into italian pop music, Coldplay and shit like this. Then I put this cd on, taken from my brother's collection, and I said "wait.. this is incredible". And this is how Iron Maiden became my favourite band of all time.

Anyway, my oldest brother had a substantial vinyl collection (which he did not like to share, so I played them when he was not around with fear for my life) and he considered Europe to be "pussies" (he was way into thrash at that point) and he would not even consider buying the album. I loved the title track (who doesn't?) so I went and bought it myself. It's a great album actually. And I remember feeling justified when I saw Mike Wead (Hexenhaus, Memento Mori, Mercyful Fate, King Diamond, etc) in 1999 wearing a tourshirt of the album. Ha!

But, my serious discography collecting started in 1990 (now I need my own collection, stealinng through my brother's did not cut it anymore) and my first conscious choice were:

1) Metallica - Kill Em All

2) Metallica - Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets

3) Flotsam and Jetsam - No Place for Disgrace and Helloween - Walls of Jericho (EP and Judas included)

4) Metallica - And Justice for All

5) Flotsam and Jetsam - Doomsday for the Deceiver

...which are all albums I have tattoed in my heart through excessive playing.

I remember hearing "Smoke On The Water" when I was about 4 or 5 and thinking it was the coolest thing ever. That was 1976 or 1977...

First metal album I heard would have been Saxon "Power & The Glory" and I was about 13 so we are going back 26 years (clucking bell!) and the record was around 6 years old at that point.  My cousin lent me his entire vinyl collection I remember which had all the Maiden records inclusive of "Somewhere In Time", Rush "Moving Pictures", UFO "Strangers In The Night" and some punk records that I quickly dismissed,

First album I bought would have been Obituary "Slowly We Rot", I remember picking up the album and looking at that artwork and thinking I had to have it.  I took it back to my grandparents house as my dad worked nights and was in bed, my granddad was a hi-fi buff and had some neat equipment and he let me put the record on in his den.  He stayed for a minute after it started because he was convinced the LP or his equipment was faulty because he had never heard anything like it.  I told him it was supposed to sound like that and he just left the room looking very puzzled.