My Metal Story

Well, here I am, creating a web site about metal music. Most of you probably think: "Aha, here's another one on the metal pack". And you're right. I haven't always been a metal fan though. It has only been the last 2-3 years of my 19 that I started to like this kind of music. Before that time, I used to go down with a flu every time I listened to a metal song. There were exceptions though, three songs to be precise. The first one was "We're not gonna take it" by Twisted Sister. At that time I slightly began to reconsider my opinion about metal songs, which was that they were nothing but screaming and banging. A friend of mine, Manos, used to listen to metal, and so every time we visited each other we (he) spent most of the time listening to this "screaming and banging" stuff. I first listened to that Twisted Sister song at his house. A few months later he brought an Iron Maiden CD to my house, and so it happened that I listened to "Flight of Icarus". At that night I even asked him to let me have his CD for a week. My insight about metal music did not change, though it improved somehow. And then, a few months later, the countdown began. We were playing computer games at his house while the CD player was singing out ". . .in the sky a mighty eagle. . .". I liked the song, and especially the singer's voice.

-How is this one called?

-Eagle fly free.

-And who's performing it?

-Helloween.

-Halloween?

-Not halloween, HELLOWEEN.

After a week or so we were listening to the same album. I recognized the song and the more I listened to it the more I liked it.

-How is that called again. . .? Mighty eagle. . .

-EAGLE - FLY - FREE.

-Eagle fly free, right. You know, next time I'm gonna get you a tape to record it for me.

And so, for some time, I was listening to these three songs and thought: "Well well, who'd guess? Not all metal songs are merely screaming and banging". The time to finish school had come. Final exams of the final high school class, and I was listening to "Eagle fly free", "Rise and fall" and "Dr. Stein" during my brakes of studying, from Manos' "Keeper of the 7 keys 2" CD. I liked it so much that I soon asked to borrow his "Keeper 1" CD. I spent the summer listening to "my" music (Queen, Scorpions, Dire Straits n' stuff). By the time I got back I was ready to buy my first metal album, and since I had the required money, I bought both "Keepers" on the same day. I couldn't believe myself. Me, who used to run miles away from metal, now paying for it at my will. And I believe I really liked it because it was the first time I could listen to someone actually singing metal (not "screaming"). While praising the Hansen - Kiske duo I set out to buy some more Helloween (High Live). Though it was quite different i never complained about it. As a matter of fact I liked it so much that I decided to buy the studio albums too (Time of the oath - Master of the rings). I first listened to Hansen's voice in the "Walls of Jericho". It took me a while but eventually I loved both the voice and the style of the album (a little harder than what I was listening to). In the meanwhile, another friend of mine, Harry, had talked to me about Gamma Ray.

-You know Mits, if you like Helloween so much you should try listening to Gamma Ray.

-Gamma Ray? What's that anyway?

-It's a band assembled by Hansen himself. They're very good.

-You know, I think I've seen an album of theirs over at the "Metropolis Stores".

-Well, you probably saw their first one: "Heading for tomorrow". I can let you have my own for a while, just to listen to it.

-Yeah, ok, let's see what they're worth for.

I liked it, but I thought I'd wait to see some more of their work before buying any album of theirs. So, I spent this summer listening to Helloween, Deris and Grapow, and little of anything else. When I got back home, I bought Kiske's "Instant Clarity" as soon as it was released in Greece. Kiske also happens to be one of my favorite vocalists. At any rate, a couple of months later, I listebed to Harry's "Land of the free". I had it for a couple of weeks in exchange for my "Walls of Jericho". I couldn't help noticing that Hansen's performance of vocals had improved. When I finally gave it back I wanted more of it, so I set out to buy it. Well, it is NOT my favorite album of all, but it is the first one that I have listened to so much. As a matter of fact, I have hardly listened to anything else, but this and "Somewhere out in space" till now. It's really funny you know. I used to call Harry a "neophyte metal fan" and now I have actually become one myself.