What was the first metal band you ever heard, and what was your reaction?

Mine was probably Danzig. I remember being blown away by the sheer power of his voice and the simplicity of the riff in Mother. I was hooked, to me the shock factor of hearing the lyrics (I was raised [brainwashed] Christian) was astounding, yet intriguing. After that a friend hooked me up with some Metallica, and an obsession was born!

What's your story?

Well, dong it was the vocals, and not necessarily the volume of the music, just the riff itself.

Ahh you kids! What about the pioneers? Kiss, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest?!!
I love all the bands you guys have mentioned so far, and for the same reasons. I really got hooked up though when bands like Megadeth started up and gave me lyrics that had a meaning, ya know? Danzig + Korn have the same qualities too!
My reaction, by the way- the same as it is today when I hear a nasty riff or solid Bass line--**** YEAH!

first metal i heard was probably korn, and i was like, holy sh*t i'm hooked!! i don't like a lot of the screamin stuff tho...mostly just the instrumental work in metal music.the guitars are so much more powerful than regular hard rock!!

Mine was Slipknot's Before I Forget. I was caught on by the guitar riffs, drums, and the vocals. Now i'm in Black, Folk, and Death metal (All mostly from Scandinavia)

Well at the time I was into all the punk pop/ska music that's always the gateway to harder rock. My mate got hold of a tape from someone he knew; it was ...And Justice For All by Metallica. He hated it, so he gave it to me. I put it in my tape deck and... wow.

I'd never really listened to political songs, songs about war, songs that felt they could make a difference, but here were these 4 guys telling it like it was. They were the fastest, angriest, metallist band I'd ever heard.

I soon found out my dad was into heavy stuff, and he introduced me to AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Helloween, Megadeth, Deep Purple etc. When I used to go visit him I'd 'borrow' one CD each time. I'd bring it back the next time I saw him, after religiously copying it to tape.

And then I was born.

Glenn Danzig is my idol! Mother isn't even his best song. If you haven't heard a lot of other songs by Danzig, try listening to these:

Devil's Plaything
Long Way Back From Hell
How the Gods Kill
Bodies
It's Coming Down
Dirty Black Summer
Cantspeak
Sacrifice
Black Mass
Wicked Pussycat
Kiss the Skull

When I was really young (6 or 7 I think) I remember hearing Motorhead's Ace of Spade and Iron Maiden's Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter.

I knew from that day on that this music would rule my life.

Does Black Sabbath count? 1970 I thought yeah this ozzy dude is pretty cool, these guys might have a future.

Mine was Pantera. I was hanging out with my big brother & some of his friends & one of them put in Vulgar Display of power. I loved it the second I heard Dime's first riff. I was in awe at how well Dime could shred. That, & Phil's voice is just f*cking amazing. Soon after that my brothers friend got me hooked on Slayer & I've been a metalhead ever since.

Sorry about your brainwashing. Prior to that you should have heard a church Hand Bells band. Some of them are pretty heavy. It seems that all these heavy metal bands only need a very high powered amp to succeed now days. Was it the amps or the vocals that blew you away?

Night Ranger and the song was "When you close your Eyes"

I thought it was AWESOME!

Kiss-back in the 70s & I still love their music

My first exposure was Kiss in 1976. I hear Alive and I was hooked. I even got to see them live original lineup way back when. From there it just took off through the late seventies and the metal days of the '80's. My obsession really was total when I first heard Van Halen...I have been hooked ever since.

My dad introduced me to Black Sabbath when i was really little (one day when my mom was gone. she hates their music and wouldn't let me listen to it) and the song Black Sabbath made this huge impression on me, It was dark and creepy like a horror movie and from then i just wanted more! ^_^ Then my brother was a huge Slayer and Pantera fan and that rubbed off on me around the same time.
But, Black Sabbath was the first. They'll always be on the top of my list for greatest bands ever.

The first metal band I heard was M枚tley Cr眉e. My brother started listening to them and I liked them also. From there we branched off to other bands like Skid Row and Helloween. From there we went into heavier bands such as Exhorder and Megadeth. I also listen to older metal such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden.

woohoo finally sumbody
asks me-
i dont really consida kiss as
metal, theyre hard rock
n if u do think theyr then its
them who made me love metal,
they r one of my fav bands btw
but i think the REAL first metal
i loved is Iron Maiden-when i heard
theyre song iron maiden-i was
GONE...that song is the work
of genius!
after wards i started listenin
to judas priest,then black sab,
then mot枚rhead and just sum
time ago i realised i like sum
of slayers stuff.
i cant rememba exactly wen but
in between dose i was listenin
to other metal and lots of sleaze,
hair and glam and others like-
m枚tley cr眉e,def lep,van halen,
wasp,aerosmith,dio,dokken,
lita ford,ratt,warrant,journey,
scorpions,helloween,metallica,
vinnie vincent invasion,frehleys
comet,anthrax,queensryche,
pantera n so on.
i think i got into all of that older stuff
coz of the darkness in the first place!
i think i must say its Maiden wat my
defenition of good heavy metal is.
i cant stand sittin around in skool
with all of those ignoring, fellow
14 yr olds. none of my friends listen
to real music!
BTW cant wait to see WASP in
concert nxt tues! im gettn a SOD
fan from my class
to come.
the others laughed wen they saw
a pic of WASP..i feel soo alone

Mine was Arch Enemy
that band kills.........

the first metal band i heard was damage plan and they were bad @$$

Blue Cheer- "Vincebus Eruptum". Mind-blowing sludge-metal from 1968 BZ (before Zep). Not exactly "flowers in your hair", but still part of the San Francisco sound of the 60s. More proof that the power trio is the purest expression of rock music.

tool ... there lyrics were awesome

I think it was Motorhead playing 'Ace of Spades' live on the 80's TV show The Young Ones {I was watching repeats in the 90's}.

My reaction? Probably indiference. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't look into the genre either. For the most part, Metal isn't my thing, but if a good song came on the radio, I'd listen to it.