# Love at first listen?



## M3CHK1LLA (Oct 11, 2015)

bands or musicians who's music you loved the first time you hear them?

doesn't have to be metal either. also, you don't have to like them now (i have a couple of those ). or maybe it was just one song in particular.


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## brnedon (Oct 11, 2015)

LITE, Tricot, and Gunship are the first that come to mind for me.


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## loqtrall (Oct 11, 2015)

Coheed & Cambria, Corelia, Lamb of God, The Black Dahlia Murder, The Faceless, Godsmack, Between The Buried and Me, Through the Eyes of the Dead.


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## SD83 (Oct 11, 2015)

Unexpect, Arsis, Obscura, Ash, Twelve foot ninja, VOLA, Mechina... a lot of bands actually


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## Seybsnilksz (Oct 11, 2015)

The first time I heard the intro from Fear of a Blank Planet by Porcupine Tree I thought "Hey, this sounds like something I'd like!". That's pretty rare for me, and when I instantly like something I generally grow tired of it in a few days. Porcupine Tree, however, is still one of my favourites.


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## Vrollin (Oct 11, 2015)

Couple of latest ones are Saint Asonia and +++ (crosses)...


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## gorthul (Oct 11, 2015)

Periphery...heard Scarlet back then when they were promoting II and I instantly fell in love.
Same with Ne Obliviscaris when they released And Plague Flowers The Kaleidoscope.

But honestly I don't know anymore at this moment. There are many bands I liked from the first second, but not many I instantly fell in love with. Some of my favorite bands are the ones I constantly listened to over the years, and only with time passed I learnt to truly appreciate their music...


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## lemeker (Oct 11, 2015)

Besides Metallica and Anthrax (those bands musically changed my life), it would have to be King Diamond, Pantera, and Coheed, ohhh yeah Tears for Fears, I love Songs from the Big Chair. Those are the ones that pop off the top of my head right away.


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## Tr3vor (Oct 11, 2015)

Animals as Leaders. I was watching some top 10 djent bands video or something right when I heard of djent, and was like "this is all kinda ...." and then at number 1 song of solomon (which isn't djent) came on and I was like "WHAT IS THIS!"

AAL has been my favorite band since.


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## ghost_of_karelia (Oct 11, 2015)

Agalloch.


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## Kobalt (Oct 11, 2015)

Bulb/Periphery. First heard heard Misha's stuff on Soundclick back in 2006, instantly loved it and followed them since then.


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## Rosal76 (Oct 11, 2015)

Heavy metal bands: Beyond Creation, Dim Mak, Emperor, Martyr (Canada), Megadeth, Metallica, Ripping corpse, Slayer, Suffocation, Soreption.

And before I sold my soul to the Devil.  Madonna and Michael Jackson.


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## wankerness (Oct 11, 2015)

Type O Negative - October Rust - I bought this on a whim from BMG (anyone remember that stupid service? It was a CD club from the 90s) when I was getting into metal and mostly listening to stuff like Limp Bizkit and Rob Zombie. As soon as the full band came in on "Love You to Death" I was pretty much floored, I'd never heard anything like it before. I still haven't, really. This is one of the most unique-sounding hard rock/metal albums I've ever heard. Almost every track on the album is smothering and incredible (besides maybe Cinnamon Girl and My Girlfriend's Girlfriend), and it had that effect from the first listen. It might be my most-listened-to album of all time.

Chimp Spanner (first heard Clarity in Chaos) and was like "WTF this is like Meshuggah with melody, why hasn't anyone else ever done this?!" Several years later and it was the norm, but hey. That first listen knocked me out. 

Animals as Leaders - I THINK I first heard CAFO, but whatever I heard blew my mind, it was like Chimp Spanner x29894. I still love the S/T utterly. Stuff like the intro to "Thoroughly at Home" still gives me chills, it's just so cold and relentless and generally badass. 

Tigran Hamasyan - Shadow Theater - The very first time I heard this, I knew it was going to be one of my favorite albums ever recorded. Basically as soon as the outro section started on the first track it had my complete and undivided attention, and I loved the rest of it on first listen. The next hundred listens just solidified it.

Maria Schneider Orchestra - The first time I heard this was through a cement wall in my dorm room when I was waking up extremely hung over on a Saturday. I was thinking the whole time "holy ...., this sounds amazing" more than I was thinking "I need to throw up and my eyeballs feel like they're going to explode." The horn harmonies were like, the warmest, most enveloping and almost nostalgic sounding things I'd ever heard. I asked my neighbor what it was, and he told me, and then I kinda forgot about it for several years, until she released a new album and I was like "oh, the one who sounded good even when I was hung over." After discovering what track was that I heard (Hang Gliding), I went back and got the album and have loved it ever since. I've had the benefit of seeing her conduct it live twice, which is an achievement since she's been to this state about four times in the last 10 years. About a year ago I started plugging the whole thing into Finale and it's pretty much become my favorite piece I've ever heard. Here's the track for anyone curious, it's like really decadent big band music, ala Debussy or something where it's just gorgeous chord after gorgeous chord without the constant teases and releases of regular jazz. 

https://youtu.be/wdIW_AoTi_4?t=78


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## vividox (Oct 11, 2015)

Dream Theater (first two songs I heard were Dance of Eternity and Metropolis, and I was all in)
Animals As Leaders
The Algorithm

Most of my favorite bands (Opeth, BTBAM, Porcupine Tree) took quite a bit for me to really get obsessed with.


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## AdamMaz (Oct 11, 2015)

Just about anything that I would bother continuing to listen to.


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## wankerness (Oct 11, 2015)

AdamMaz said:


> Just about anything that I would bother continuing to listen to.



It's odd how edgy this post sounds, even though it's a totally legit point of view. It better make him happy INSTANTLY, he doesn't have time for anything that's not all shiny and immediately gratifying without any hidden layers, life's too short!


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## MoshJosh (Oct 11, 2015)

Coheed and Cambria. . .

I was watching Tech TV (might have been G4 by then) at like 1 am, and a commercial for Good Apollo Volume One came on. It featured parts of The Suffering music video, and I was in love! I ran to my computer and immediately downloaded the song, and the rest was history.


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## DXL (Oct 11, 2015)

The XX, God is an Astronaut, The Contortionist, The Yacht Club, This Town Needs Guns, Children of Bodom, Stellardrone, Lanterna, Ghost

Most of my favorite bands now it took me a while to get into, like Isis, Opeth and Tool


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## Speedos (Oct 11, 2015)

Katatonia, sleep dealer, Isole, Ballet Imperial


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## rokket2005 (Oct 11, 2015)

Smashing Pumpkins, Lights, Dance Gavin Dance, The Ocean, Gunship, VNV Nation, White Lies, Mew, Aesop Rock, Chvrches, a lot of stuff really. Usually whenever I hear something I like I'll go grab a whole album, and go from there. Ironically, perhaps my favorite band of all time after pumpkins, A Perfect Circle and Billy Howerdel's Ashes Divide album all took me a long time to get into.


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## MFB (Oct 11, 2015)

Little Tybee 
Coheed and Cambria
Sleep
Explosions in the Sky
Testament
Jukebox the Ghost

There might be more but those are the big ones I remember


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## wankerness (Oct 11, 2015)

Speedos said:


> Katatonia



Katatonia was a funny one for me, cause I'd heard that they were comparable to Opeth and that Mikael Akerfeldt had done growls on an early album and EP, and then the first album I checked out of theirs was the new (at the time) Last Fair Deal Gone Down, which had gotten some ALBUM OF THE YEAR!!! praise on Opeth boards. For the first 1:27 of Dispossession, I was like "wow, they're right, this is one of the most incredible things I've ever heard." Then, the vocals came in, and I thought "what in the heck, is this actually how the singer sounds?!?!" It took me a few more minutes to adjust to that! So it was love on first listen for about a minute, then I stopped loving them for a little while. For some reason this is one of my most vivid musical memories.


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## AdamMaz (Oct 11, 2015)

wankerness said:


> It's odd how edgy this post sounds, even though it's a totally legit point of view. It better make him happy INSTANTLY, he doesn't have time for anything that's not all shiny and immediately gratifying without any hidden layers, life's too short!


Basically I don't have the desire to force/waste what little energy I have listening to music that does not affect me, not like I use to anyway. Do trust that it is a learned philosophy and not simply a snide comment towards the OP.


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## Dusty Chalk (Oct 11, 2015)

Shape of Despair (especially *Angels of Distress*) -- I can't say Black Sabbath, because I was really young when I first heard them, and I was just coming off of AM radio, and they scared me, but I was ready for Shape of Despair when I heard them. So ready.

Porcupine Tree -- first thing I ever got by them was the Stars Die single, and Moonloop just went on and on and on and I was in bliss. (I really love space rock, I would have to say that's probably my single favourite genre.)


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## jonajon91 (Oct 11, 2015)

I cannot physically describe how much this album is re-writing what I know about music.







Every time I listen to it I am just blown away.

Other examples would be, little tybee, native construct, vola, godspeed you black emperor!


---edit---

For those that are not in the know, the album is *To be kind* by *Swans*.


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## bloc (Oct 11, 2015)

As time goes on, there are fewer and fewer bands that have that effect on me (ie. the last 5 or 6 years)

But off the top of my head, definitely Interpol, Emery, The Birthday Massacre, Depeche Mode ie. my all time favourites


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## Seybsnilksz (Oct 11, 2015)

wankerness said:


> Katatonia was a funny one for me, cause I'd heard that they were comparable to Opeth and that Mikael Akerfeldt had done growls on an early album and EP, and then the first album I checked out of theirs was the new (at the time) Last Fair Deal Gone Down, which had gotten some ALBUM OF THE YEAR!!! praise on Opeth boards. For the first 1:27 of Dispossession, I was like "wow, they're right, this is one of the most incredible things I've ever heard." Then, the vocals came in, and I thought "what in the heck, is this actually how the singer sounds?!?!" It took me a few more minutes to adjust to that! So it was love on first listen for about a minute, then I stopped loving them for a little while. For some reason this is one of my most vivid musical memories.



He wasn't a very good singer back then. He hit the notes, but the feeling was completely off at times. There was a huge leap between that and the next album. He turned into one of the best voices in metal in my opinion


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## JohnIce (Oct 11, 2015)

Pretty much all the bands I listen to.

But yeah, Iron Maiden. F*ck me running. 13 years old, my brother's car, Churchill speech into Aces High. World changed.


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## Alex Kenivel (Oct 11, 2015)

This happened to me this week


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## gunch (Oct 11, 2015)

Flourishing, Ion Dissonance or Car Bomb

I remember watching the video to Kneel and thinking it was the most badass thing I've ever seen, imagine what happened when I heard BiR or Solace for the first time


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## Alex Kenivel (Oct 12, 2015)

JohnIce said:


> Aces High. World changed.



The first time I heard Aces High was in a skate video when I was a teen. I had a similar reaction


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## DLG (Oct 12, 2015)

AdamMaz said:


> Just about anything that I would bother continuing to listen to.



not always the case for me. 

sometimes you come in with expectations that are stupid because of recommendations or stuff you read, that don't let you fully "get" the band from the start. 

Two examples for me. 

I bought Opeth - Morningrise because someone told me I should check it out since I loved Amorphis - Elegy at the time. 

I thought it was a total bore and sold it, since it was nothing like Elegy. 

I revisited Opeth with "Still Life," fell in love with it, went back to check out "Morningrise" and it clicked the second time around. 

Also, someone recommended Gojira - From Mars to Sirius with "if you like Meshuggah, you'll love these guys."

Sounded nothing like Meshuggah, forgot about the album after one listen. 

Forgot about it, revisited it with no expectations and absolutely loved it.


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## Dusty Chalk (Oct 12, 2015)

Yeah, I can actually think of more albums that I did not love on first listen but love now (*Remain in Light* took me _weeks_, but for some reason, I kept giving it a try, now it's one of my favourites; ditto Talk Talk's *Spirit of Eden*; also Aerosmith, *Rocks* -- all I had ever heard was "Dream On" and "Walk This Way", so "Back in the Saddle" was probably the hardest thing I had ever heard up until that point; Skinny Puppy just plain scared the crap out of me the first time I heard "Fritter (Stella's Home)"...I could go on and on).


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## Blytheryn (Oct 12, 2015)

Alex Kenivel said:


> The first time I heard Aces High was in a skate video when I was a teen. I had a similar reaction



The first time I heard aces high and saw the video for it my world changed entirely as well. I'm a huge airplane buff and seeing that video with that music just hammered it all home. Went home from the school library and spent like a month just playing that song. Easily my favorite maiden track.


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## Riffer (Oct 12, 2015)

AC/DC. I was 9 or 10 and hearing them was just so cool to me. Still my favorite band of all time. There's just something about that 4/4 rock beat and the bluesy riffs that get me.

Also:
Metallica
Static-X
Black Sabbath
Rammstein
Pantera
Lamb Of God
Van Halen


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## ThePIGI King (Oct 12, 2015)

August Burns Red - I believe Back Burner was the first, and I loved it
For Today - Crown of Thorns was the first song I heard by them and I immediately bought that whole EP
Scale The Summit - When I first heard Atlas Novus I nearly cried
Animals As Leaders - When I first heard Cafo I nearly died
Amon Amarth - I first heard The Pursuit of Vikings and knew they were sick


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## wankerness (Oct 12, 2015)

Oh yeah, Amorphis was another major one, I first heard "The Way" and it blew me away. That song still does!

(Unfortunately, not a single one of their other songs is as good as that one IMO besides maybe My Kantele or The Brother-Slayer)


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## AliceLG (Oct 13, 2015)

ThePIGI King said:


> August Burns Red - I believe Back Burner was the first, and I loved it
> For Today - Crown of Thorns was the first song I heard by them and I immediately bought that whole EP
> Scale The Summit - When I first heard Atlas Novus I nearly cried
> *Animals As Leaders - When I first heard Cafo I nearly died*
> Amon Amarth - I first heard The Pursuit of Vikings and knew they were sick



Animals As Leaders - when I first heard CAFO I was born again

The ones that have capture my music obsession bone lately (say the last 2 years) were Black Crown Initiate (Song of the Crippled Bull), Alkaloid (Carbon Phrases) and Beyond Creation (Earthborn Evolution).

Other than that, pretty much nothing compares to the first time I heard Cannibal Corpse. The year was 2002 and a friend told me "listen to this, I think you'll like it". It was Dead Human Collection. I was hooked then. That moment changed my entire metal taste. I think I heard it 5 or 6 times in a row right there.

A couple of years later when a friend gave me Opeth's Deliverance I was mind....ed again. By then I was a total fanboy of Dream Theater and Cannibal Corpse, so hearing something that was basically both in a blender was eargasmic.

Outside of metal Bruno Mars gives me earworms almost constantly. That guy can write catchy songs.


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## Dusty Chalk (Oct 13, 2015)

wankerness said:


> Oh yeah, Amorphis was another major one, I first heard "The Way" and it blew me away. That song still does!
> 
> (Unfortunately, not a single one of their other songs is as good as that one IMO besides maybe My Kantele or The Brother-Slayer)


I love those two albums -- *Tuonela* and *Am Universum* -- definitely would agree with love on first listen. You didn't love "Summer's End"? Such a great album closer, especially after listening to the rest of the album.


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## Vres (Oct 13, 2015)

bloc said:


> The Birthday Massacre


Seconded. I don't remember how I discovered them, but I always liked their sound.


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## porknchili (Oct 13, 2015)

Every artist in G.O.D. (Guitarists on Demand), Sympuls-E, Sunless Rise, Gods of Eden, Nile, Slice the Cake, Heavy Metal Ninjas, Steel Panther, Native Construct, Adagio, Circus Maximus, Kiuas, and Symphony X to name more than a few.


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## fps (Oct 13, 2015)

Queen, Tool (although, not to be one of those guys, it was more an utter enthrallment with what they were doing, the track was H), Korn (still a guilty pleasure, at the time I was really feeling the whole package though), Clutch, Decapitated (Sphere Of Madness).

Metallica I heard early on, Ride The Lightning, and it was too much for me at the time.


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## broj15 (Oct 13, 2015)

Chon, Fall Of Troy, Converge, The Mountain Goats, modest mouse, Interpol, Age Sixteen, GY!BE... i'm sure there's some i'm forgetting but those are the first that come to mind.


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## Nonapod (Oct 13, 2015)

I'm another AAL loved it on first time listen guy. 

Some others:

Quicksand - I remember seeing the video for _Dine Alone_ on Headbangers Ball and buying the _Slip_ CD the next day.

Type-O-Negative - I heard _Christian Woman_ on a local college radio station back in '93 and bought the CD in short order.

Nevermore - Shortly after it came out a friend of mine played Dead Heart in a Dead World for me in his car and I bought the CD immediately. 

Karnivool - Heard Themata for the first time just a few years back, loved it instantly.


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## High Plains Drifter (Oct 13, 2015)

Samsara Blues Experiment- Long Distance Trip and Nightmares On Wax- You Wish. 

Not like I was blown away but I instantly dug the groove. 

So many others but like a few have mentioned already- some stuff that I once hated or felt indifference towards.. that I now love insanely. 

Ah- Pantera's Vulgar Display blew me away. So did Maiden's Piece Of Mind album, and Killing Joke's Requiem, Zeppelin's Trampled Underfoot, and Scorpions China White. 

Okay- I'll stop before the flood.


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## Blasphemer (Oct 13, 2015)

Intronaut

Cloudkicker

Scale the Summit

Animals as Leaders


Probably like 100 more but those are the ones that really stick out, in my mind


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## Humbuck (Oct 13, 2015)

Too many to list...


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## cult (Oct 14, 2015)

And So I Watch You From Afar was the last time this happened to me big time.
Also:
Eden Circus
Gesaffelstein
Adam Ben Ezra
Craig D'Andrea


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## M3CHK1LLA (Oct 17, 2015)

a friend lent me his killswithc engage: alive or just breathing album and i was hooked.


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## broj15 (Oct 17, 2015)

after a couple years of being aware of them, but never listening I can safely add Kidcrash to my list. I've seriously been stuck on this band for the past week. Screamy, mathy, occasionally heavy post-hardcore:


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## revivalmode (Oct 17, 2015)

The new Haunted Shores


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Oct 17, 2015)

Alter Bridge
Billy Talent
Strapping Young Lad
King's X
Static-X
Fear Factory
Clawfinger
Deftones 
Coheed and Cambria


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## Dusty Chalk (Oct 17, 2015)

Cheers for Clawfinger -- yeah, I'd have to add that to mine. Love the production on the albums I've heard, especially the self-titled album.


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## M3CHK1LLA (Oct 18, 2015)

a lot of coheed love here...i dug them the first time also.


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## Miijk (Oct 18, 2015)

To mention a few: 

Deftones
Fear Factory
Of Monsters And Men
Periphery
Muse


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## Skyblue (Oct 20, 2015)

Scale The Summit- I stumbled upon The Great Plains and was instantly hooked.

Dream Theater- heard As I Am when I was about 14, my brain melted from the sheer awesomeness. It's funny that today I favor their first albums greatly over their last ones (including ToT) 

And a mention to Godspeed You! Black Emperor- I remember trying a song by them a few years back and closing it halfway through, deeming it boring as all hell. Few years pass, my best friend asks me if I know them, I remember saying I tried them out a long time ago, we both give them a second listen, and BAM. We're both completely smitten. And since that day they are in my top 5 bands, and probably in my "single album you'll take to a deserted island" list with Raise Your Fists Like Antennas To Heaven.


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## cult (Oct 20, 2015)

M3CHK1LLA said:


> a lot of coheed love here...i dug them the first time also.



Same here.
Saw them opening for Deftones without ever having heard anything from them before, and I was really amazed at their performance and their musicality as well.


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## M3CHK1LLA (Oct 20, 2015)

cult said:


> Same here.
> Saw them opening for Deftones without ever having heard anything from them before, and I was really amazed at their performance and their musicality as well.



i was surprised when i finally saw a vid and the singer was playing solos


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## Bloodshredder (Oct 21, 2015)

Mostly, it takes me a couple of listens (with some longer timespan inbetween) to get hooked. 
KRAKE (Black Metal from Norway) where one of those bands, that got me tangled up at first listen. Also HERDER and WEEDEATER!


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## Unburdened (Oct 21, 2015)

There have been SO many great musical moments. I'll try to encapsulate some highlights.

My instant loves:

*Gorguts - Obscura
*If anyone has seen my post history, they'd know I'm a Gorguts fanboi.  It's all because of the first thirty seconds of Obscura. It sounded like orchestral music created by robots on a conveyor belt heading toward certain immolation. I knew immediately I needed this in my life.

*Holy Sons - Things You Do While Waiting for the Apocalypse
*The small swell at the beginning of the song, the vocal harmonies, the (at the time) immediately related-to lyrics, the drumming, the production...a perfect wash of lo-fi beauty. It made me hunt down just about everything Emil Amos has done thereafter.

*Beethoven - 9th Symphony (Ode to Joy)
*It's a bit cliched, I know. When I first heard this as a child, I knew that classical music was something I'd love for the rest of my life. To this day the Ode is one of the few pieces of music that creates an immediate, strong emotional reaction.

*Rossini - La Gazza Ladra
*A song about a mischievous little sh!t of a bird. What's not to love?

I could write pages and pages of drivel, so I'll just make a list from here on out.

John Zorn's Masada
Ulcerate
Lykathea Aflame
Massive Attack
Jojo Mayer and Nerve
Django Reinhardt
Meshuggah!
Casino Versus Japan
Cryptopsy (Mike DiSalvo era!)


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## Force (Oct 21, 2015)

There's loads of worthy contenders but the one band that comes to mind of instant love with everything they do is Running Wild. They're the AC/DC of melodic powermetal, you know what you're gonna get every time.

There's not much I turn my nose up at when it comes to my fave styles & bands but it sometimes takes a bit to get into everything, RW nail it from the get go & it never gets old.


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## M3CHK1LLA (Oct 25, 2015)

protest the heros kezia was a love at first listen for me after seeing a couple of their vids...


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## BucketheadRules (Oct 25, 2015)

Devin Townsend, Maximum the Hormone, Turbowolf, Jellyfish, Periphery, Shellac, Protest the Hero...

In fact, writing this made me realise that my mate James single-handedly got me into Devin Townsend, Jellyfish and PTH... I owe that dude a lot


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## dhobby517 (Oct 26, 2015)

Beyond Creation

The Contortionist

Chon

Darkest Hour

The Black Dahlia Murder

M. Ward


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## EmaDaCuz (Oct 26, 2015)

I have a long list, but I would try and keep it short 

Led Zeppelin, when I was a baby my dad used to sing "Stairway..." to me as a lullaby. When I got a bit older, like 3 y/o, that track was playing round on the Hi-Fi, as I was asking daddy to play it for me. I'm not a fan of LZ, but that song will always be in my memory.

Deep Purple, "Perfect Stranger". First unintentional head banging session as a kid. Love the song. Not a big fan of Deep Purple, but some songs are simply perfect.

Iron Maiden, "Prowler", from "A Real Dead One". My dad told me I was old enough to experience some heavy metal, I was not disappointed. Still one of my favourite IM tracks, and IM (up to Virtual XI) are still one my favourite bands.

Morbid Angel, "Abominations of Desolation". The whole album. I found a cassette at school, jammed it into my walkman, cold winter afternoon outside... blown away. MA are still high on my list and would be my favourite death metal band if they got rid of those ugly solos.

Arcturus, "Aspera..." and Dimmu Borgir "Enthrone...". More than any Emperor's work, these are the two albums that opened the door to symphonic BM and made me start my BM band. Still love Arcturus, while I don't care much about Dimmu Borgir after "Spiritual..."

Opeth, "Still Life". The best album they have ever written, I had to buy a second CD because I practically "burned" mine from too many plays. Still like Opeth, but nothing comes close "Still Life", bar some songs in "Ghost Reveries".

Ulver, "Perdition City". Listened to it the first time on a long road trip, I immediately loved it. Hypnotic. Modern Ulver are still my band-to-go when I drive.

Honorable mentions, "Britney" by Britney Spears, "J.Lo." by Jennifer Lopez, and "My Head is an Animal" by Of Monsters and Men.


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## Manurack (Oct 26, 2015)

Saw the video for "Ruin" by Lamb of God when I was 14.
When I saw Randy do the long scream into a bellowing growl, I smiled and heard him scream the first verse, I was absolutely hooked.

I had already listened to all the albums by Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth at the time and I was hungry for something heavier. I'm 25 now & have all their stuff and listen to them daily, whether I'm cooking breakfast, taking a shower, on my way to work or enjoying a cup of coffee at a cafe.
Also their earlier material before Ashes had the best tone - raw sounding guitars and gritty vocals. When they released the remastered song from Palaces, I still preferred the original on the album over the remastered version because the remastered version sounded too modern and too refined.


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## Ibanezsam4 (Oct 26, 2015)

GUNSHIP was the most recent

But i remember hearing Shiner several years ago and loving it instantly


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## russmuller (Oct 26, 2015)

Dream Theater - I was 13 and heard Awake; blew my mind.
Karnivool - Heard COTE on a mix CD with some other stuff; been my favorite band since.
Tigran Hamasyan - Saw the live video of The Court Jester shared by Nolly; words can hardly describe the experience I had. It really spoke to me.


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## Spicypickles (Oct 26, 2015)

Metallica.
Alkaline trio.
Tool.


About it really.


When it comes to heavy stuff have to keep listening to it to form a solid opinion. I enjoy it just because it's "heavy", but its the repeated listens where you pick up the more subtle underlying tones and the feel of the song. That's when I start to love stuff.


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## M3CHK1LLA (Nov 20, 2015)

just found a coupe of my sum 41 cd's...

all killer, no fill and does this look infected still sound awesome after all these years.


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## Unleash The Fury (Nov 20, 2015)

just listened to porcupine tree for the first. time. first listen, then ordered their in absentia cd.


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## chevymeister (Nov 21, 2015)

Gunship, Eden Circus, Sylosis


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## TheHandOfStone (Nov 21, 2015)

In Flames (Moonshield)
Death (Flesh and the Power It Holds)
Periphery (All New Materials)
Angra (Waiting Silence)
Amorphis (The Smoke)
Animals as Leaders (CAFO)
Opeth (Reverie/Harlequin Forest)
John Coltrane (Giant Steps)
Tigran Hamasyan (What the Waves Brought)
Mastodon (Blood and Thunder)
Miles Davis (Will o' the Wisp)

tons more...


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## MattThePenguin (Nov 21, 2015)

Opeth


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## Watons (Nov 21, 2015)

David Maxim Micic


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## wankerness (Nov 21, 2015)

Watons said:


> David Maxim Micic



Yeah, the first thing I heard of his was "Where Is Now" and I was completely floored. One of the best songs I'd ever heard, and it came from nowhere, I'd never heard the guy's name and based on the post that linked it I was expecting some kind of bedroom guitar wankery.

(Of course, then I listened to all his other stuff and it was tempered a lot )


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## Jaxcharvel (Nov 22, 2015)

Queensryche and Opeth. My two favorite bands and have been since I first heard Operation: Mindcrime, and My Arms, Your Hearse.


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## Pat_tct (Nov 23, 2015)

love at first listen: too many^^

but here we go:
1. Caspian - i love everything post. and those dudes are the masters of it.
2. The Ocean - they do everything right in my book. the music, the live show, the visual side. and it's all DIY and i have tremendous repsect for them.
3. Fjort - a german post-rock band. 3 people. 3 instruments + vocals = all the heavyness
4. The Aqualung - a relativly small german post-rock band. the make awesome music and are the best dudes to hang out and/or work with. i love them.
5. Whitechapel - when i first heard them i though that was the heaviest .... ever. and i love and listen to them ever since i first checked them out with the release of "This is Exile"
6. Anathema + Katatonia - i love to just listen to an album and chill and do nothing else in that moment. those 2 bands are perfect for that. just immerse in the music and be calmed down.
7. The Hirsch Effekt - they do everything. at the same time. and they do it perfectly


thats it for now. just from the top of my head. there are many more but i am to lazy to look through my collection


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## jonajon91 (Nov 23, 2015)

Pat_tct said:


> 2. The Ocean - they do everything right in my book. the music, the live show, the visual side. and it's all DIY and i have tremendous repsect for them.



That's a good one actually. I saw them at Techfest2014 because they were on before sikth and I wanted to get to the front, but damn they we're way better than sikth ever could be, they played right through pelagial. At the end of the night I went to their stall, bought the album and a tshirt, no regrets.


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## Watons (Nov 24, 2015)

wankerness said:


> Yeah, the first thing I heard of his was "Where Is Now" and I was completely floored. One of the best songs I'd ever heard, and it came from nowhere, I'd never heard the guy's name and based on the post that linked it I was expecting some kind of bedroom guitar wankery.
> 
> (Of course, then I listened to all his other stuff and it was tempered a lot )



I know exactly what you mean, it's been quite a while since I've been this hooked with an artist.
I did a cover of Jakub's solo on that song if you wanna check it out 

https://youtu.be/3tj0kRmrLQk


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## Pat_tct (Nov 24, 2015)

jonajon91 said:


> That's a good one actually. I saw them at Techfest2014 because they were on before sikth and I wanted to get to the front, but damn they we're way better than sikth ever could be, they played right through pelagial. At the end of the night I went to their stall, bought the album and a tshirt, no regrets.



good choice mate  they destroy live. absolutly killer live shows. super consistent musicians.


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## Ikiharmaa (Nov 24, 2015)

Wintersun (s/t)
Protest the Hero (Fortress)
Animals As Leaders (s/t)
Unexpect (In A Flesh Aquarium)
Erra (Impulse)
Seventh Wonder (The Great Escape, also the first song I heard so duh)


I was ready for those, and also probably in the right mood.. I think mood plays a big role, so all of this love at first listen seems to be a lot down to luck.


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## coreysMonster (Nov 24, 2015)

Devin Townsend's Ocean Machine, VOLA's Inmazes, JOLLY'S The Audio Guide to Happiness.


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## Viginez (Nov 24, 2015)

necrophagist


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## p0ke (Nov 25, 2015)

There's a whole bunch of those for me, but usually if something hits me like that straight away it won't last for very long. The albums (or even bands) that require time to grow are the ones that I end up listening to forever.

For example, the Alkaloid album was like that: I heard a couple of songs and thought wow, I need this. Ordered the album and listened to it a couple of times and now it's been collecting dust in my shelf for half a year. Same thing happened with the first Wolfheart album, and I skipped the second one alltogether because of that.

My favorite bands are usually ones I didn't like at all at first. Those include Opeth, Dream Theater, Gojira, Emperor, Swallow the Sun, Stam1na, Amoral, Periphery, ... the list goes on. 

The first Wintersun album is one of the few I loved straight away and still listen to now. Also, the Children of Bodom albums up to Are You Dead Yet? were like that, especially Follow the Reaper which was the first one I heard, but I don't really listen to them anymore.


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## Ajaydizzle (Nov 25, 2015)

Periphery - Icarus lives... I was a big dream theater fan and loved progressive music. This song was just something that I had never experienced before. I think it had a lot to do with the production but it was just so damn heavy. I got hooked on that album and still listen to it to this day.

Lately though? 

Native Construct - Quiet World. Listened to the whole album front to back twice in a binge session one night. Incredibly well written album, now they have a fan for life.

Fit for an Autopsy - Absolute Hope, Absolute Hell. Just... listen to it if you haven't already. Good way to get fired up for whatever you are about to do. Never was a huge fan until this album


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## jonajon91 (Nov 25, 2015)

^ I found native construct in early 2012 and waited on the edge of my seat for three years for that album to come out. It was pretty painful going.


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## sevenfoxes (Nov 25, 2015)

The first time I heard Glassjaw...


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## M3CHK1LLA (Nov 30, 2015)

as blood runs black's allegiance album


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## Ulvhedin (Nov 30, 2015)

Psycroptic


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## wankerness (Nov 30, 2015)

sevenfoxes said:


> The first time I heard Glassjaw...



Yeah, I remember downloading "Piano" off Napster and going  and then I got the full album and it was like one long orgasm. Easily one of my favorite albums of all time.


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## The Mirror (Nov 30, 2015)

Evergrey, Sylosis and Vivaldis' Four Seasons.

&#8364;: Oh, and The Glass Prison was the first song I ever heard from DT and at the same time the first Prog Metal Song I ever heard. Well, you can guess how much I was blown away as a just beginning guitar player, around 13 years old.


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## vividox (Dec 1, 2015)

The Mirror said:


> : Oh, and The Glass Prison was the first song I ever heard from DT and at the same time the first Prog Metal Song I ever heard. Well, you can guess how much I was blown away as a just beginning guitar player, around 13 years old.


My high school peer group was really into Megadeth/Metallica, etc, and our band teacher told us to check out Dream Theater. The first three songs I got my hands on were The Glass Prison, Dance of Eternity, and Metropolis Pt 1. I know it's cheesy to say, but my perception of music has not been the same since. My band teacher was so damn cool, he actually took us (me + about 6 friends) to our first Dream Theater concert.


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## zappatton2 (Dec 1, 2015)

As far as "love at first listen" goes, I'll say At the Gates, Slaughter of the Soul. 

I had Terminal Spirit Disease, it had a couple of great songs on it, but it wasn't anything that blew me out of the water. But then I found a copy of SOTS on orange clear vinyl back in '02, didn't buy a lot of records at the time, but it was for a great price, so I decided to give it a try.

Got it home, and the very first spin had me hooked. Was living with a bunch of roommates at the time, and we were all putting it on any chance we got. I own a respectable amount of vinyl now, but it's probably the only record I've ever personally worn down to a nub from overplay.


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## Dusty Chalk (Dec 1, 2015)

Chelsea Wolfe, *Abyss* -- listening now for the first time and loving it.


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## M3CHK1LLA (Dec 1, 2015)

ive enjoyed listening to some of the bands mentioned...


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## Konfyouzd (Dec 1, 2015)

Meshuggah
Nevermore
Arch Enemy
Darkane
Jaco Pastorius
Weather Report
Gangstarr
Rx Bandits
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones


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## Paul McAleer (Dec 2, 2015)

Cynic


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## Explorer (Dec 6, 2015)

My own first love at first listen still hasn't really been surpassed. 

I had heard the title song from the album on the radio, and so I bought the record and took it home. 

And then this was the second track. 



This next track, and the fact that all that incredible playing in the first half is just an introduction... my mind was blown. 



This led to my sitting at the little air-powered organ I had since I was 3 (I was 10 or 12 when I bought the album) and working out how to play it. 

I have a hard time listening too hard to certain cuts, having played "Dust in the Wind" at at least three friends' funerals before I graduated high school (and, just thinking about that, my eyes started tearing up), but it's a great album, and I highly recommend it. 

A toast... to absent friends. You still live in my memories.


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## BornToLooze (Dec 6, 2015)




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## Xaios (Dec 6, 2015)

I'd say the following are my biggest "love at first sound" experiences:

"Zombie Inc." by In Flames - I actually owned Soundtrack To Your Escape at this point, so I wasn't a complete In Flames virgin. However, "Zombie Inc." was the first song that I heard from what could now be defined as "classic era In Flames." Since then, Colony and Clayman have been some of my very favorite albums.

"Hollow Years (Live)" by Dream Theater - The only Dream Theater that I'd heard prior to this was their cover of Master of Puppets, which, while technically perfect, was absolutely devoid of passion. Hollow Years definitely showed me the greatness that Dream Theater had in them, and I jumped in head first after that.

"11 Dreams" by Mercenary - Mercenary was probably the first melodic death metal band I got into that made ample use of at least as many (and probably more) clean vocals than growled. When I first heard this song, I just loved how HUGE it sounded. Massive, soaring vocals complimented by heavy guitars and hard hitting drums... goosebumps.

"Activation Synthesis Theory" by Blotted Science - Ridiculous technical metal that managed to be heavy, insane AND tuneful? I was immediately on board.

"Alone I Stand In Fires" by Disillusion - This is the first song that I heard from what became and remains to this day my favorite album on the face of the earth, "Back to Times of Splendor." Never has there been a more perfect fusion of melodic death metal sound with progressive metal songwriting sensibilities.

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT HEARD:


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## BouhZik (Dec 8, 2015)

Strapping young lad with the detox video back in the days. I was a teenager listening to metallica/megadeth/pantera and that song was a blast. Huge Devin Townsend fan since then.


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## Korbain (Dec 9, 2015)

wankerness said:


> Type O Negative - October Rust - I bought this on a whim from BMG (anyone remember that stupid service? It was a CD club from the 90s) when I was getting into metal and mostly listening to stuff like Limp Bizkit and Rob Zombie. As soon as the full band came in on "Love You to Death" I was pretty much floored, I'd never heard anything like it before. I still haven't, really. This is one of the most unique-sounding hard rock/metal albums I've ever heard. Almost every track on the album is smothering and incredible (besides maybe Cinnamon Girl and My Girlfriend's Girlfriend), and it had that effect from the first listen. It might be my most-listened-to album of all time.



Love you to death was the first song i heard from them, and october rust was the first type o negative album i got. I felt the exact same


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## M3CHK1LLA (Dec 12, 2015)

there are quite a few bands mentioned ive not heard before...

* goes to chk them out


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## galactus242 (Dec 14, 2015)

Jason Becker, Joe Satriani, VAI, Per Nillsson, Paul Wardingham, Stephan Forte', Marco Sfogli all blew me away as soon as I heard them. Inspirational, Genius Players!!!


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## protest (Dec 15, 2015)

Slipknot
Dream Theater
Pantera
80's Metallica
Shadows Fall (the way they fell off was a huge disappointment for me)
Protest the Hero
Candiria
Death
The Ocean


The polar opposite of this for me was Dillinger. I listened to 43% Burnt over and over again trying to get it and just couldn't. Then I started playing guitar and it was like it just clicked the next time I heard it.


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## VBCheeseGrater (Dec 15, 2015)

Back in the day "Hazy Shade of Winter" by the Bangles. I was probably like 10 years old. That riff just caught my attention. At that point I had not heard that many real "riffs" and that was a true guitar riff that really sounded cool to me.


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## musicaldeath (Dec 15, 2015)

In The Nightside Eclipse - Emperor

First time I heard Into The Infinity of Thought, mind was blown. The atmosphere, that opening riff, it blew me away. The rest of the album was as good or better.


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## gunch (Dec 15, 2015)

Inferi for real


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## M3CHK1LLA (Dec 15, 2015)

VBCheeseGrater said:


> Back in the day "Hazy Shade of Winter" by the Bangles. I was probably like 10 years old. That riff just caught my attention. At that point I had not heard that many real "riffs" and that was a true guitar riff that really sounded cool to me.



that is a cool riff...i learned a few years ago by accident


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## domsch1988 (Dec 22, 2015)

Just happened today:
Because of Fluff i listened to Intervals new Album "The Shape of Colour". Switched it on at 5 am today and have had it on Headphones for nearly 7 hours straight. Shuffle and Repeat. 
Only happened once before: RAM by Daft Punk. This Album is Epic. Listened to it three times in a row on my first go...


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## Jaek-Chi (Dec 22, 2015)

Nile - Lashed to the slave stick 
Necrophagist - Only Ash Remains
Aristeia
Animals As Leaders - CAFO
F*ck You And Die - Self Inflicted Suffocation
Wintersun
Be'lakor - Neither Shape Nor Shadow
First Fragment 

Probably a few others i've forgotten as well.


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Dec 23, 2015)

Van Halen
Porcupine Tree
Lamb of God
Periphery
Circa Survive
Erra
The Contortionist
The Ghost Inside 
After the Burial
Parkway Drive
In Flames
Dead Letter Circus 
Lowercase Noises
Anberlin
Search the City
Secret and Whisper 
Dragonforce


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## Felvin (Dec 23, 2015)

Currents EP | covet


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## CaptainD00M (Dec 23, 2015)

Bands: Sleep, Down, Elder, Mastodon, Dopethrone, Funkadelic, ZZ Top, Alice in Chains and Jimi Hendrix Experience/Band of Gypsies.

Albums: Psycroptic - Inherited repression, High on Fire - De Vermis Mysteries, Gov't Mule - The deep end, Electric Wizard - Dopethrone, Carcass - Inpropagation: Discanting the Insalubrious, Symphony X - Underworld.


Ironically High on Fire who are arguably my most favourite of all bands and a huge influence on my music, I hated when I first listened too them. Now at least 3 of their albums regularly get bashed by me to the point where friends complain


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## M3CHK1LLA (Jan 22, 2016)

its cool to see the wide variety of music that sso members listen too...


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## Leberbs (Jan 22, 2016)

When I first started out I took lessons for zydeco music. Just learning songs and chords. Then, I got invited to play with a garage band down the street. We never played out, but we played a lot. I was maybe 10 years old. All the other guys were well in their late 30s/early 40s. A lot of classic rock thrown around. That's where I learned to love music. Jimi hendrix, creedence clearwater revival, the rolling stones, lynyrd skynyrd, molly hatchet, eric clapton, traffic, etc.

That band split up and most of the members moved away. It took me a while to find what I like rather than enjoying just playing guitar regardless of the song.
Here are some of the bands that shaped the style of music I tend to go for now days. Both from a musician's and a listener's point of view.

Saosin
Tool
NothingMore
Periphery
Colorcast Veteran
Rush
Primus
Mudvayne
Dream Theater


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## Spectre 1 (Jan 22, 2016)

Babymetal


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## USMarine75 (Jan 22, 2016)

Great topic... Some random thoughts...

The first time I heard these albums/songs:
Surfing with the Alien by Satriani - only bought the album because I collected Marvel comics back then and it changed my life musically
Balance by VH - I heard that opening riff tone in Don't Tell Me on the radio and was in heaven
Voodoo Chile by Hendrix because I didn't know guitar could sound like that, and then SRV's live version because I didn't think anyone would ever compare
Core by STP - first time I heard an entire album that was great
Stabbing the Drama by Soilwork - I had never heard this style before. Gateway drug... I used to hate death metal / screaming lol.
Lucifuge and How the Gods Kill by Danzig - I didn't know music could actually sound evil. Almost performance art more than mere music.

In the late 80's Shrapnel Records ads in guitar magazines led me to blindly order Becker (Perpetual Burn), Marty (Dragon's Kiss), Cacophony (Go Off), Blues Saraceno, Racer X, Moore (Mind's Eye). Every time I bought a cassette/CD I was in awe. And here I thought Satriani could "shred". I think I bought the entire shrapnel collection lol. And yes I still want one of those plaid Yamaha Saraceno models!

Any time I hear a chrous by Bjorn Strid for the first time.


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## CircuitalPlacidity (Jan 22, 2016)

Love at first listen? Scriabins Symphony #1 in E major

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pH-TnKZgghY

Boulangers "Vieille priere bouddhique" and "Psaume 129".

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xF9SltYJAT8

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mn775MBu05w


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## tylerpond05 (Jan 22, 2016)

Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Pantera, Sabaton, Audioslave, Soundgarden, Megadeth, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes...


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## M3CHK1LLA (Jan 30, 2016)

early greenday


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## ncfiala (Feb 1, 2016)

It's not metal but it's the first thing that popped into my head. Dinosaur Jr. The first time I popped that Green Mind cassette into the stereo in my Nova and heard The Wagon I was hooked.


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## Mangle (Feb 1, 2016)

Megadeth - Peace Sells... that sh*t hit hard! Song & album = Boom! Chris Poland fuuuu.
Mr. Crowley - Ozzy & Randy, first real clues into the nature of Epic, in & of itself!
Lots more.... so much more, really.


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## monkeysuncle (Feb 1, 2016)

lemeker said:


> Besides Metallica and Anthrax (those bands musically changed my life), it would have to be King Diamond, Pantera, and Coheed, ohhh yeah TEARS FOR FEARS, I love Songs from the Big Chair. Those are the ones that pop off the top of my head right away.


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## M3CHK1LLA (Mar 4, 2016)

funny that august burn red has been around for a while, and i just now gave them a listen...

...just ordered 2 of their cd's lol


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## azyat (Mar 5, 2016)

Recently I've come across great guys from Tunis called Myrath. It was like a blow of the hot samum wind. Give'em a listen, they're worth it


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## bpprox22 (Mar 5, 2016)

STYG, Sylosis, and KSE


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## Ralyks (Mar 5, 2016)

Heard Fates Warning's "Parallels" album nearly 15 years ago. Have been my favorite band ever since.


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## NicePants (Mar 5, 2016)

For metal, back when I was like 16 and started to listen: Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Buckethead, Candlemass, Kyuss, Dismember. There's more, but that's all that comes to mind right now.

Recently, I've been getting more into post rock stuff. God Is An Astronaut and this little known band called The Living Sleep just floored me when I first listened to them. I really dig atmospheric stuff like they do. A friend also turned me onto The Antlers. That first listen of Hospice hit me like a truck.


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## Arkeion (Mar 10, 2016)

Strapping Young Lad. Forever a Devin Townsend fan.


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## IChuckFinleyI (Mar 10, 2016)

I listened to Mestis for the first time last week and absolutely love it.


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## Black43 (Mar 10, 2016)

Trivium.

12 Foot Ninja is pretty amazing too, and the first time I heard Blackest Eyes by Porcupine Tree it changed my life. We need more happy songs about serial killers


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## Masoo2 (Mar 10, 2016)

Polaris, DVSR, Polyphia (Inspire-EP era, but I love their Renaissance stuff), Future, Yung Lean, Lana Del Rey, Gucci Mane, Change of Loyalty, Young Thug, and To Release.

Those are my main love at first listen bands/artists.


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## M3CHK1LLA (Mar 26, 2016)

this band...this vid...this album


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## wankerness (Mar 26, 2016)

Black43 said:


> Trivium.
> 
> 12 Foot Ninja is pretty amazing too, and the first time I heard Blackest Eyes by Porcupine Tree it changed my life. *We need more happy songs about serial killers*



Like that one about the pumped up kicks?


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## JustMac (Mar 26, 2016)

I distinctly remember Mastodon, after hearing Blood and Thunder in an NFS game! Thought it was awesome

I read a post here yesterday about a band called Vektor, absolutely blown away. First 'love at first listen' in ages. I haven't really done much discovering at all in the last year.


But, the big one will always be SiKth, I remember seeing _How May I Help You?_ on the telly and not believing what I heard. They've calmed down a lot since then (if you compare Opacities to the first record) but it's the only time I ever heard something for the first time and being flabbergasted.


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## classicalmetal24 (Mar 29, 2016)

Seeing John Petrucci play glassgow kiss live at G3 was a groundbreaking moment to me and made me think about music in an entirely different way.


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## PunkBillCarson (Mar 30, 2016)

Dillinger Escape Plan
Trivium
Metallica
Chimaira
Sky Harbor
Periphery
Eric Clapton
Jimi Hendrix
The Scorpions


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## M3CHK1LLA (Apr 6, 2016)

PunkBillCarson said:


> Dillinger Escape Plan
> Trivium
> Metallica
> Chimaira
> ...





several on that list for me too


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## Arkeion (Apr 7, 2016)

Just discovered Plini after putting off listening to him. Selenium Forest is omg. I need more like that.


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## M3CHK1LLA (Apr 8, 2016)

Arkeion said:


> Just discovered Plini after putting off listening to him. Selenium Forest is omg. I need more like that.



not bad at all


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## HeavyMetal4Ever (Apr 11, 2016)

Iron Maiden without a doubt. They are the reason I got into metal.


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## dm496 (Apr 14, 2016)

I've been checking out some of the bands listed that I hadn't heard of. So far I've been impressed with and picked up Devin Townsend (Ocean Machine), Gunship, and some from August Burns Red. 

Here are a few of mine, 
-Mechina Infineon

I ran across these guys by another thread in this forum, have become a big fan. I think Xenon is their best overall album. 

-Scar Symmetry, Holographic Universe

-Fear Factory, Demanufacture


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## daveyisgreat (Oct 29, 2017)

Inmazes by VOLA -- haven't been this blown away since I first heard Obsolete by Fear Factory


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## Eden (Oct 30, 2017)

Always my favorite; Coheed and Cambria.
Out of curiosity I started listening because I heard they were a concept band, listened to 'Welcome Home' and 'Time Consumer' and was immediately in love. I still remember being besides myself when I bought Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV and listened to it all the way through again and again. These guys gave me a new standard of what songwriting could be


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