Intro
There aren't many things that make my heart beat with passion, but the mix of loud drums, fast guitars, heavy bass, and a unique scream certainly does. It was never meant to be just a phase. The origins of metal always captivated me, and I would like to share my introduction to metal with you, my fellow metalhead.
The first song I remember listening to - with the exception of happy birthday - was Dancing With Myself, by Billy Idol. I was 3 or 4 at that time and was going wild with that song, as my dad laughed on the corner by his record player. He's a Beatles fan and also listened quite a lot to Zeppelin and Presley, which later made my reencounter with rock music quite difficult, but that's another story.
Yeah, I can't deny I had my "dark" phase in my childhood and teenage years. In this context, dark isn't related to metal at all. Some pop, some rock, some pop-rock - why not? I also tried to learn how to play the guitar, and it clearly wasn't for me.
One day my best friend - who had come back from a trip to his cousin outside of the estate - brought an album from a band his cousin had shown him: Iron Maiden. I'm pretty sure many bangers know exactly how this feels. A freaking game changer.
I got addicted to Maiden really fast, and it was - and still is - my all-time favorite band, besides some ups and downs. Then I got into 'tallica, got some peak at Sabbath (which I didn't really like in the beginning, gotta admit the stupidity), fell in love with Priest's Painkiller and that was all I needed for a while.
I remember hating Sepultura at the time I got into power metal. To me, it was the opposite direction of the melodic vocals, which should fly as high as dragons. I was into heavy drugs such as Helloween, Arthemis, Power Quest, Stratovarius, Edguy, Hammerfall, Blind Guardian, Angra, Shaman, Viper, Steel Warrior, Dream Evil and so many others. I was hungry for more power metal, which led me to other bands like Grave Digger and Manowar (RIP), bringing me another view on this subgenre. Now I needed more aggressive vocals.
Suddenly, the falsetto gave place to the rage of Brujeria and Hour of Penance. I still don't know what happened.
I went directly for the heart of the beast and found there my peace with Sepultura. While enjoying the true power of headbanging, I was introduced to Kreator, which became another pivot in my life. From there on, I dug deep into thrash and never left. It's such a wide and rich genre. One may love Slayer and for some crazy reason dislike Toxic Holocaust for they are so different in many aspects.
When I was leaving school, I called some friends and we formed a band, which I left only when I moved to Germany. Years later, I was really happy to know that my former guitarist was moving to Berlin, too. The stage was set, a new band was needed. That's when Agent Hellfire was born.
I'm glad to be in the country where so many metal bands came from - especially Kreator, Destruction, and Sodom. The scene here is more united and full of energy than I thought, and that's one of the reasons why I'm writing this blog. I love to meet thrash metal bands, talk about metal, and of course, go to the fucking concerts.
My love for the city is inexplicably great, so that's why I'll try to aim for the local bands, concerts, and the scene.