The bands/musicians that changed the way you thought about or played music

[Polythoral]

Number one for me, by far. This is the album that created my interest in metal in it's entirety. Before hearing this I listened to pop punk like Allister and Fenix TX and MxPx, as well as emo stuffs. All I cared about what vocals and lyrics. My friend showed me Kezia in early high school and I listened to that album multiple times a day for months straight, listening to just the instrumentals for so long, being amazed at what could be done. I later also realized the wonder of the vocals and lyrics. Absolute favorite album and band ever, will always be. Perfect as fuck.


Not much else to be honest, most of my evolution and influence outside of that has been gradual. I slowly evolve into new interests and gain ideas from new music as I hear it.

Colors by BTBAM probably had a noticeable impact, just by the reason that I suddenly realized, yet again, what was possible with music and how complex and musical metal can be.

Periphery I guess had a decent impact. The idea of such rhythmic stuff and the focus of groove has been pretty huge for me, I focus a lot of groove these days.

Scale The Summit as well, just because I love the earthy and natural sound they have, it's something I utilize a lot. Sus2 and 3/4 and 5/4 everywhur.

 

[Uno Mas]

First phase for me in the early 80's: Dave Murray and Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden. Second phase for me were the Thrash bands of the mid and late 80's: Big Four, Testament, the mighty Tommy T. of Coroner, Violence, Exodus. Went completely crazy over Pantera. Late 90's Morbid Angel. A guitarist who I have been obsessed with for the last five or six years has been Chris Poland (Megadeth, Ohm), incredible phrasing and extremely hard to emulate. I traveled from Indianapolis to LA just to see Chris do a gig in the back of Tone Merchants. Very intimate show, only 20 people. It is not very often one gets to talk to and hear one of their heroes so closely

 

[The Only Factor]

Sorry for the long-winded reply to this, but my musical ventures are as long as my history of breathing and being a musician. So here's my part of it...

I remember being a toddler, and my brother and sister being into stuff like AC/DC, Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, all the good and hard 80's stuff. Then at some point a few years later I had heard Rush with songs like Tom Sawyer and Limelight. I didn't know what it was about Rush, but it instantly hit some kind of raw nerve, basically love at first hearing. When I was 4, my parents got me my first drum set and I'd practice to Dokken's "In My Dreams" whenever it came on MTV. But as I got a little older, I started getting into Led Zeppelin, Queen, Cream/Clapton, CCR, The Guess Who and Deep Purple. A lot of really great classic rock and early metal. My mom and dad really were into the Eagles then, and seeing the video for "Hotel California" got me started. Seeing Don Felder with that white Gibson EDS-1275 really grabbed my attention.

At about age 9, I wound up getting a guitar for christmas since I couldn't have a drum set (no room, damn neighbors would complain, way too expensive...). My parents had split up when I was 4, so I had stayed with my dad, who was into a lot of the older classic stuff like CCR. I would just goof with the thing for the first year. The next year I got a slide and tried to play that way when I went and lived in Florida with my mom for a year. God I must have drove my mom nuts with that thing back then... In school and on MTV I found out about Bob Marley & The Wailers which I was super hooked on the grooves they have and the style. But it wasn't until I moved back home up north that I finally said that I wanted to get serious with the thing, so that's when I started taking lessons.

When I moved back home, the kid next door got me into Metallica, Megadeth and White Zombie. Some of this stuff I knew about, others I had no idea but found it awesome. Then when I started taking lessons, my instructor got me more into Metallica with a lot of the older stuff "...And Justice For All" and back. He also got me into Steve Vai, with one of the tracks off "Fire Garden". That was a major start in what I was looking to do with the guitar at that point. Then a buddy of mine showed me the hidden Fear Factory video for "Replica" on the game Test Drive 5, and that was the ultimate. Dino's playing, style, technique and sound really hit me and it became an instant "MUST DO" on guitar. A few years after lessons started, I got into a lot of the local metal/hardcore bands in the area and hung out at practices which led me to getting a guitarist spot one particular day. But also at the time thanks to good old Beavis & Butthead, I wound up discovering Pantera, Crowbar, Cannibal Corpse and a lot of other really surprising stuff. Cannibal Corpse really got me after seeing and hearing them in Ace Ventura, Pet Detective. That sound had me mesmorized for months and I would be constantly humming the breakdown part to "Hammer Smashed Face". Crowbar became another instant favorite after really digging into a lot of thier stuff. The really low-tuned guitars, heavy yet slow stomping grooves grew on me just as fast and hard as Cannibal Corpse did. Then there were other bands too like Sepultura, Sevendust, Deftones, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Stevie Ray Vaughn and so much more. This was the first major milestone in my musical endevours and many more to come.

And one of the pinnacles of my metal evolution came to life when I got the 2-song sampler tape of Slipknot during a Fear Factory show. Once that album came out, it was unlike anything I'd ever heard. From the intro blasting into "(sic)", was just fucking unreal. Then seeing them live before they blew up for OzzFest was the most insane thing I'd ever seen. They started the show just like the album started. As soon as the intro started, it was like someone let loose a psychotropic drug because everyone started to get as close as they could and became really uneasy. Once they ripped right into "(sic)" it was like a zombie pit out of the first Resident Evil. The amount of power, insanity and violence I saw unfurl in a split second like that that night will live with me forever. That album and Iowa became my "soundtracks" at the time. Everything I'd ever felt and thought Corey and the gang was able to say it and display it and for me to be able to scream the lyrics at the top of my voice was a whole different release in itself . It felt great to grind the strings to this stuff or scream out the anger and hatred I had for everyone in those days and not be locked away somewhere because I'd be on the verge of snapping. This was big at the time because shortly after these albums came out, I started having a lot of personal issues and issues with family. It had gotten to the point that my depression and darkness got so bad that I was hospitalized for a week in the psychiatric ward. But everyone that spoke to me got told the same thing - That if it weren't for my music, I wouldn't be here now! And that's the God's honest truth.

After about a year, I got booted from that band due to an egotistic drummer, and jumped right into another band a week later after an unexpected phone call. This band I had played shows with before hand and really got into them a lot, especially since they were a 7-string band that tuned down a whole step to A. So this was perfect as I had my first 7-string - an Ibanez RG7621 at the time - and wound up with a Universe UV7BK shortly after joining this new band. But what happened musically and what I wound up discovering musically has forever changed my life, influences/inspirations and outlook on music of almost every and any style.
My drummer had gotten me into bands like Faith No More/Mr. Bungle/Fantomas/Tomohawk, Morbid Angel, Carcass, Deicide, Lenny Kravitz, Soulive, John Coltrane, Primus, Asesino, Brujeria, The Red Chord - you name it, he got me into it. So ever since then, I've been keeping my eyes and ears open for anything that catches me musically. Ranging from Snoop Dogg, Wu Tang Clan, Redman, Method Man, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Zao, Pysopus, Isis, Dillinger Escape Plan, Pig Destroyer. But Pig Destroyer was another one of those bands that really grabbed me and had me hooked. Their album "Prowler In The Yard" was by far THE heaviest, the most aggressive and angry thing I'd ever heard. Scott Hull is still among my top 5 favorite guitarist. I still say that if I ever go on a murdering spree when I snap, that album will be in my headphones because it's pure aggression, anger and hatred at it's finest. There was a lot of other stuff to like Satriani, Dream Theatre/Liquid Tension Experiment (which I liked better being instrumental...) got really heavy into Vai again due to the album "Alien Love Secrets", other stuff like Zao, Burnt By the Sun, Human Remains, Exodus, Lamb Of God, Meshuggah, Death, Queens of the Stone Age, Vital Remains. I started getting into a little bit of country with Billy Gilman and Beverly Mitchell, but that's about the extent of that.

Lately, it's been a lot of newer stuff like Animals As Leaders, Fred Brum, Keith Merrow, After The Burial, Whitechapel, Mastadon, Norma Jean, Miss May I, Periphery, Tesseract, Vildhjarta, Sacred Mother Tongue, and even Toto along with anything and everything else that catches me and gives me new ideas and influences. Even when I go back and listen to a lot of the older stuff like Rush, The Guess Who or even Deep Purple, I have a whole new appreciation and love for it because I hear and feel things in a lot of music that I didn't before. Things that stimulate nerves and brain cells in ways that never were stimulated before, things that spark new ideas and interests in all the music I listen to and in turn play on either drums or guitars. Music does sooth the savage beast. And it don't matter what style, genre, band or whatever it is or may be either. Because there will be something you hear and it just grabs your attention and gives you new sparks of creativity or just lets your mind go and levels you out again.

So like I said earlier in this post, that if it weren't for my music, I wouldn't be here now. So a huge thank you to any and every artist and band that has helped create some of the best music in history, and for also speaking, playing and feeling everything I could never put into words. And that is the TRUE beauty of music because you can make it as easy and mellow all the way to as angry and serial killer-esque as you want - It's free and limitless.

 

[Panacea224]

Metallica changed my entire perception of music. They were the first metal band I ever heard (besides 80's hair metal, if you call that metal). They inspired me to pick up guitar. I still have a lot of respect for Metallica but my taste in music has changed a lot since.

More recently I discovered Nevermore and Jeff Loomis has had a big influence on me.

For the last year or so my playing has been heavily influenced by some modern technical death metal type bands, particularly Allegaeon.

 

[barfarkas]

Rush
Nine Inch Nails
Suffocation
Meshuggah

 

[revclay]

I'm going to try and do this chronologically and what they taught me about music.

Smashing Pumpkins - Music is fucking awesome
Opeth - Music is multi-dimensional
Converge - Music is anger
Miles Davis - Music is silence
Ulver, specifically Lyckantropen Themes - What is music?
Jesu - Music is beautiful
Boredoms - Music is hilarious
Sunn 0))) - Music is JDGLKAHGDHLKGAWDJGWJLDKAFKWDFAJHDFVAKJHD aka noise
Marvin Gaye - Music is purpose

 

[Fredguitar1996]

The list just varies widly. There's Guthrie govan, Steve vai, slipknot, Wes Montgomery, revocation, Nile, cannibal corpse, rush, rusty Cooley, joe pass, dream theater, not anymore but children of bodom, etc. it's in no specific order.

 

[Kiwimetal101]

Slipknot: I had never herd anything that heavy when i started listening to them years ago, still have not found anything more darker and heaver than Iowa since..

Scale The Summit: Made me realise that instrumental music didn't have to be filled with sweeps/tapping the whole way through to keep a listener interested, made me focus on creating new and interesting melodies. Also love how they keep a very original natural sound..

Between The Buried And Me: Basically color's changed how i think about music, the twists and turns it takes creating and then resolving tension, not to mention the amazing musicianship, then the fact they toured it in full with no breaks. For me thats the pinnacle of a metal musician today..

Periphery: So much grove! And the do it yourself attitude all those guys have..

 

[Brodessa]

There was really one band that inspired me to start performing Vocals. It hit me a couple years ago playing Xbox to some WHITECHAPEL in my room. Father of Lies started, and I couldn't help but try and sing along. When I realized that I could actually produce the sound, I spent HOURS UPON HOURS pacing around listening to their album "This Is Exile" over and over.
This new interest in performing gave me a whole new perspective on what it's like to appreciate music, and enjoy it. It has made me take up writing, and it's also helped me develop an interest in other instruments. (Such as guitar) Phil Bozeman and Whitechapel opened the door to a whole new view on music, and my love for it grew Ten-Fold!

 

[heregoesnothing]

Guthrie Govan, not just because of his music & terrifying skills, but also because of his personality. To me, he is much more than a virtuoso, He is a guitar philosopher. He taught people how to be humble.

 

[abandonist]

I don't really know what influences my playing, but I can tell you the stuff I was obsessed with:

Arcturus - La Masquerade Infernale
Merzbow - Venereology
WOLD - Screech Owl
Meshuggah - Destroy Erase Improve
Dr Dre - The Chronic
Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood
Machine Head - Burn My Eyes
Motown Singles

Vocally:
Prince
James Brown
Kristoffer Rygg

 

[jehu12141987]

Jon Gomm.

 

[Vostre Roy]

Mike Patton.

Do I really need an explanation?

 

[BeyondAntares]

My guitar playing really evolved over the years.

I started out at the age of 12 when i was forced into learning Spanish flamenco guitar by my Mom. I hated guitar back then but looking back my Guitar teacher gave me alot of the foundations i needed for alot of my guitar playing.

By Grade 8 - I was listening to alot of Grunge - Nirvana, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots etc etc.

By the start of Year 9 and 10 - I got heavily into Metallica, Iron Maiden, Ozzy, Pantera etc I couldn't dream of playing that stuff - not for about 2 years.

By year 11 and 12, I discovered Children of bodom and Yngwie Malmsteen. That kept me busy for 2 years. I still couldn't play up to the speed I wanted to reach but the fact that the fretboard opened up to me was dramatic.

this was also around the time when nu metal was realy picking up. I was listening to deftones, incubus, korn, spineshank, sevendust etc but I didn't play their music. It was my guitly pleasure.

By college I was into New york hardcore and the straightedge movement. Such as Earthcrisis, Glassjaw etc. Listened to alot of dredg.

Later mid way through college - I discovered Opeth that got me back into playing acoustic guitar. I went back to playing entire songs again. I soon moved into more progressive metal - such as dream theater, tool, katatonia, rush, king crimson, Yes etc.

3 years after college, I'm taking guitar lessons again and now I'm focussing on Pitch Axis theory and learning lots of satriani and vai. Though I don't have as much time to practice as much as a like (job has me stuck at work for 70 hrs/week) - I'm learning alot.

Sumarry of what bands/music got me to where I am today:
1. metallica, slayer, pantera, sepultura, megadeth
2. Children of bodom(First 3 albums), Malmsteen(1983-1988), symphony x, racer x, Jason Becker
3. Dream Theater, Tool, meshuggah,
4. Opeth, katonia, edge of sanity, necrophagist
5. Steve Vai, Satriani, Guthrie Govan, Misha Mansoor (pre-periphery/bulb era), animals as leaders, scale the summit, also going back to symphony x

 

[xFallen]

That is just way to many to count. I'll probably go on youtube later and find someone that does something amazing and I'll just look at the screen like "How?' xD

 

[spawnofthesith]

Off the top of my head:

Meshuggah
Sleep
Bulb
Electric Wizard
Defeated Sanity
Suffocation
and just recently, Tool

 

[zakatak9389]

Dance gavin dance
Guthrie govan
Veil of maya
Dream theater
Tosin Abasi

And my jazz improv professor from a few years ago, Delbert Bump. Best piano/organ player I've ever seen in person, guy knew something crazy like 2000 songs. He really inspired my love of jazz and improvising

 

[Double A]

To me there are 3 or 4 guitarists that generally changed the way that guitarists thought about guitar itself. Hendrix, Van Halen, and Vai. The fourth is just IMO because Tosin is not very widely known in the same way as those guys are but he has shown me that the way I looked at the guitar itself was very limited and I should have been looking at my approach to playing guitar in a much broader sense, just like those other guys.

Now, these guys are not my "heroes" and there were other influences on me but I think those 4 guys are like the stepping stones of guitar playing and it's infinite possibilities.

 

[Pablo Zuta]

Adam Jones
Tom Morello
Kurt Cobain
Tosin Abasi

And many more

 

[karjim]

Dimebag Darell
Tom Morello
James Hetfield
Gods of Nineties

...and then something strange happened in Sweden...almost NOTHING but it cut my throat