David_J1973

It all started ca. 1987 when somebody gave me a copy of "Hysteria" by Def Leppard. I liked nearly every song on the album. Then a friend recommended "Permanent Vacation" by Aerosmith, so I picked that up too. I liked it, but "Hysteria" always seemed to fit my burgeoning tastes better. From there, the same friend gave me a copy of Van Halen "5150" and I remember being impressed with its sound - especially the guitar work on the song "Get Up," which I thought was "really heavy" back then.

From there, I mentioned my tastes one day in woodshop class in middle school to the only head-banger I knew, a guy named Josh. He had been my friend since grade school, and so I had no problem asking him what I could listen to that had more guitar. He recommended Metallica's "Kill 'Em All," and so I bought it that day. The next week, I grabbed "Ride the Lightning" and "Master of Puppets." Then about a year later my friend and I bought "...And Justice for All," which is my favorite Metallica album.

I had some Judas Priest ("Ram it Down" and "Screaming for Vengeance") but I wanted more. So I spent some time in the record store and I remembered stumbling upon Iron Maiden's "Somewhere in Time" and I thought the album artwork was so cool that it didn't matter what they sounded like. I just wanted that awesome cyborg Eddie in my growing rock cassette collection. I got it home, popped it in, and the intro to "Caught Somewhere in Time" took me by complete surprise. I expected death-metal, or thrash at the least, but instead I got something more melodic and harmonious than I expected. I was totally blown away. Each song was a real treat, and to this day I hold "Somewhere in Time" as my favorite Iron Maiden album, and quite possibly my favorite metal album. The guitar solos in "Caught Somewhere in Time" never get old to me.

From there a close friend fed me some recorded cassettes of a lot of older rock that my friend's older brother had in his collection. I was introduced to The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath/Ozzy, and Pink Floyd. Of all those, only Zeppelin and Floyd have remained with me. I'm still hit with a stiff breeze of nostalgia when I listen to "Dark Side of the Moon" or "Animals." I used to listen to it with the lights low in my bedroom before bed and I suppose during those teenage years, memories were created much easier than they are now that I'm older.

As I've grown I diverged a bit into classical, some pop, reggae, electronica, and smooth jazz. Now and then I'll pull out some of that other stuff, but I always wind up going back to my roots - classic thrash and NWBHM. Lately I've been digging mild death/doom stuff, some modern prog rock, and prog metal. I'm always open to recommendations!

Curious Facts:
* My first vinyl record: "Centerfold" 45 rpm single by J. Geils Band, ca. 1985
* My first cassette tape: "Hysteria" by Def Leppard, ca. 1987
* My first CD: "Vulgar Display of Power" by Pantera, ca. 1992
* My first digital download: "Forget Me Nots" by Patrice Rushen, ca. 1999
* My preferred headphones: Grado SR80i
* My preferred file format: FLAC (free lossless audio codec)
* My favorite song: "Largo," Symphony No. 9 in E Minor "From the New World" (Op. 95, B. 178), by Antonín Dvořák
* My favorite album: "The Dark Side of the Moon," by Pink Floyd
* My bass guitars: Yamaha RBX765-A 5-string in translucent green; Yamaha P4F fretless 4 string w/ active humbuckers in natural oak (custom).
* Words I hate: "awesome," "amazing," "sick," and "sexy."
* Words we should use more: lalochezia, sinecure, quidnunc
* My Steam ID