How did you first encounter this music? - The Guardians Edition

Tell us about your first encounters with the Heavy Metal, Neoclassical Metal, Power Metal & Symphonic Metal subgenres. How did you lose your Guardians virginity?

HEAVY METAL - Thinking back I've come to the decision that my first experience with genuine heavy metal would have been through the music video for Motorhead's "Ace Of Spades" in the very early 1980's. I was immediately attracted to the speed & intensity even though I was only so young so I guess you're born with it.

NEOCLASSICAL METAL - I started playing guitar in 1988 & very quickly became obsessed with finding progressively more technically proficient examples of lead guitar technique. The first example of neoclassical guitar playing I encountered was Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force's "Heaven Tonight" single which quickly led me to their "Odyssey" album. Possibly more of a heavy metal record overall but the same can't be said for their "Rising Force" debut which I picked up a short time later.

POWER METAL - I'm pretty sure this was through tracks from Helloween's "Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II" which were being played on underground metal radio in the late 80's I didn't like it much at the time & I still don't although I would find the US variety of power metal much more easily palatable in the near future.

SYMPHONIC METAL - I think this might have been through X Japan's "Art Of Life" E.P. through tape trading with a Japanese trader in the mid-90's. Another release that didn't do much for me & the whole symphonic metal subgenre has been something that I've always struggled with since too.

There was one band that got me into power metal and eventually symphonic metal, the band that made me become a metalhead, one band to start it all, my taste in metal.... DragonForce! More info about my encounter in my "Introduce Yourself" post.

Heavy Metal: This is a difficult one since most of my scattered listening when I was younger was either through video games or classic rock radio. Iron Maiden attracted me the most and I had a few songs by them including "Number of the Beast", "The Trooper", and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" that I remember having on repeat for quite a while. Everything else in terms of classic heavy metal came after them I believe. 

Neoclassical Metal: Rhapsody/Rhapsody of Fire through rhythm games. I remember playing "Black Dragon" and "Ancient Forest of Elves" on Stepmania and thinking the songs sounded hilariously fun and super technical. It would be a very long time until I listened to a full album by them though. I actually listened to Luca Turilli's King of the Nordic Twilight way more than any of Rhapsody's albums when I was younger.

Power Metal: Without a doubt this was Avantasia's The Scarecrow. The song "The Scarecrow" absolutely blew my mind as to what heavy music could actually sound like. I've been a pretty avid Power Metal fan since. This might be classified as more Symphonic than Power Metal, but I'm gonna count it.

Symphonic Metal: Nightwish's The Poet and the Pendulum album was another massively important album for what I would come to enjoy in metal. Since I started without Tarja I never got as attached to the "Old Nightwish" as other fans did, and looking back that was for the better, since I still really enjoy the band as a whole. Symphonic Metal as well as Power Metal would really captivate me for years to come, even though good Symphonic Metal bands are hard to come by sometimes. 

Heavy metal was just 'old metal' my parents, uncles, and whoever older folk had playing. Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Scorpions and the like. It was always kinda around, I couldn't even try to tell you the first album I really listened to. Maybe Iron Maiden's The Number Of The Beast? 

Neoclassical Metal: Um... can't say I've really listened too much of this. I've listened to some of Yngwie Malmsteen but um, nothing here keeps my interest. Maybe i'll find something more here. 

Power metal: Oh man, I'm going with Kamelot Black Halo. I heard this in high school and was hooked. Brought me down the path of Iced Earth, Helloween, Hammerfall, and so many others. 

Symphonic Metal: Same with Xephyr honestly, The Poet and the Pendelum, was the first symphonic album I personally owned. However, I knew of the band and Tarja before due to their Phantom Of The Opera (cover?) they did as it went around the internet, limewire, back in the day and I fell in love. I've always been a kinda sucker for good musicals and when you add loud guitars and banging drum work over that I needed more. Still remember The Poet and the Album was the first metal album I had that my mom was like ooh that's pretty you should bring that in the car on trips. Good times.