L3: My Musical Influences

 My influence on musical has been mainly metal based so I will start with Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden

My dad was the biggest Maiden fan ever. He had been listening to them since he was young boy and saw them live multiple times over the years. My first listening to Iron Maiden came when I got my Music player at the age of about 7. The book of souls album had just released and my dad put a lot of other metal bands on there but nothing stood out to me like the song "Empire of the clouds" an 18 minute masterpiece to close the album. I Stopped using my music player when my phone came around when I turned 10 and stopped listen to metal really, until I rediscovered them in late 2022 and they instantly became my favourite band. Music had a new meaning to me and I found that in Iron Maiden. 

Influence

Iron Maiden influenced me to play guitar, in 2023 I tried to learn "The Parchment" which was a 12 Minute track from the "Senjutsu" Album. The Parchment was undeniably my favourite Maiden track and I could not stop listening to it. With great tutoring and guidance from my support worker "Brendan" I became the ambitious and stylish musician I am today. Maiden taught me that songs should have meaning, and they should tell stories wether they are 3 minutes long or 14 minutes long. Songs MUST have meaning. 

The Parchment

 

The Parchment is without a doubt my favourite Maiden song. Released on the "Senjutsu" album, this track inspired me to pick up a guitar in the first place. I connect with the war element of the song and how it represent a battle of the ages, and in my life I have fought many battles with myself, my enemies, and the government. This song does teach me a lot about music and song structure in itself and about how repetition can lead to amazing build ups. 

Iron Maiden's Influences

The bands that influenced Maiden were Black Sabbath for basically inventing heavy metal, Led Zeppelin, UFO which inspires the fact they play Doctor Doctor before every show, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Uriah Heep, Jimi Hendrix, Jethro Tull, Genesis, and Thin Lizzy. The inspiration from Maidens songs come from ancient historic stories. One of the greatest Iron Maiden songs and one of the best examples of this is found in "The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" which is a story about a man known as "the mariner" who stops a guest at. wedding to tell him of an old sailing voyage he took years ago and whilst on this trip killed an albatross which cursed the mariner and all of the 200 men of the ship, but eventually he lived to tell the tale. The track is 14 minutes long and tells and remarkable story through music and incredible lyricism.

Megadeth

Megadeth in more recent times has impacted me the most as a musician. Megadeth in my opinion are the best thrash metal band in the world in my opinion; the riffs they have released over the years have been incredible. Songs like "Wake up dead" and "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" have shown this to an exceptional standard. 

Influence

The influence that Megadeth have had on me is as I said, more than any other band.  Every time I pick up a guitar I tend to play Megadeth. What stands out to me from Megadeth is the complexity of their riffs and how intricate their songs are; the story telling is so specific to either an ex girlfriend, or a religion, or the government but I feel like I can relate to the songs so well and it's almost like the song was written about you and aimed towards someone in your life.

She-Wolf

 

She-Wolf is my favourite Megadeth song by a mile because it resonates with me so well, frighteningly well at that. The song is about an evil woman and the way Dave Mustaine portrays her is genius. What I connect with the most in this song is the fact that it's about an evil woman, and I've met an evil woman in particular, quite a lot of them, but the one who stands out to me as the worst is the person I think of when I hear this song; she is simply the worst human being I know on this planet, a broken, bitter, and spiteful villainous mess. After all the shit she put me through she doesn't feel a flicker of emotion or remorse for me because she's got it worse. It's almost like she is in a competition with the universe to see who's got it worse. Knowing she is still out there, lurking, potentially waiting to strike in vain attempts to defame me is utterly terrifying and daunting but this song gives me the power to move past that and see her in a way that not many people will. The solo is incredible, and it proves you don't need to shred at 180BPM to sound cool, but it proves that solos sound better with not just one guitar, but two. 

Megadeth's influences

Firstly, Dave Mustaine's sole reason for creating Megadeth was to be better than Metallica since Mustaine was kicked out Metallica for his drug use Once Mustaine was kicked out, he formed Megadeth and was filled with anger and bitterness towards his former bandmates so on a technicality, Metallica influenced Megadeth. The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal heavily inspired Dave Mustaine and bassist Dave Ellefson which included bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Speed metal pioneers like Venom and Motörhead were big influences too which helped create a faster paced musical style. Megadeth did a cover of "Anarchy in the UK" by the Sex Pistols. Megadeth also did a cover of "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath on the Hidden Treasures album. Other influences include The Scorpions, UFO, Diamond Head, and AC/DC.

Slayer

Slayer is the heaviest of the big four, and one of the first bands to introduce satanic themes into the genre of metal. Tom Araya's intense and fast paced vocals coupled with Kerry King and Jeff Hannemen's heavy and fast paced riff's make slayer one of the most unique and distinctive bands out there. The one thing that stands out to me about slayer is the drummer Dave Lombardo who spend a lot of time in and out of the band. His drumming was unbelievable just listen to the speed of some of his tracks, it is astounding. Lombardo is now in a band called "Empire State Bastard".

Influence

Slayer was one of the first metal bands I listened to, with songs like Angel of Death and Raining Blood being one of the first songs I had listened to. Slayer influenced me to listen to heavier bands like Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, and multiple other black metal bands. Other tracks like Seasons in the abyss, South of heaven, Black Magic, Dead Skin Mask, and War Ensemble were excellent listens and inspired me to continue pursuing music.

Angel of Death

This track is incredible, just listen to Dave Lombardo's drums in this song, it is simply breathtaking. The breakdown riff in the middle of this song is the best part and probably one of the greatest riffs in all of metal. I feel very privileged to have witness this riff live played by Kerry King. I don't write many riffs like slayer, but it's taught me have to write fast and thrashy riffs and that drums are significantly important.

Slayer's Influence

Slayer started as a cover band, doing covers of Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Venom, and Judas Priest at parties and clubs in southern California. Deep Purple was a big influence for Kerry King as Richie Blackmore's fast paced style in songs like "Highway Star" was a big influence on thrash metal. Slayer covered "In a Gadda Da Vida" by Iron Butterfly on the album "Soundtrack to the apocalypse". Other influences include Mercyful Fate, The Doors, Rainbow, and Angel Which.

Metallica

Metallica is without a doubt the most well known metal band there is, with James Hetfield's phenomenal down-picking and tight riffs and Cliff Burtons revolutionary bass lines, it makes Metallica one of the most distinct bands out there. The first few albums were untouchable, but after the black album things went a bit downhill since they sold out.

Influence

Metallica heavily influenced me when I first started playing guitar as I learned loads of riffs by them. Songs like Battery, Orion, Master of Puppets, For Whom The bell Tolls, and One were some of my favourite songs I had ever heard. What stood out to me about Metallica is how metal they were for the first few years. The lifestyle they lived, the music they made, the speed of which they played their music was definitely one of my favourite things about them. Metallica was my favourite for a while and I still listen to them every now and again.

Orion

Orion is my favourite Metallica song and i don't even think it is close. This is a nine minute instrumental song mainly written by former bassist Cliff Burton. On the 27th of September 1986, during the Damage Inc tour, Metallica were touring in Sweden and their bus was involved in a fatal accident which killed Cliff Burton. The band was devastated and had no clue what to do next but with determination, they found a new bassist and continued on without their iconic bassist. This song is without a doubt Cliff's greatest composition and still stands to this day. The bass solo is the best part of the song.

Metallica's Inspirations

Black Sabbath was a big influence for Metallica as they covered "Sabbra Cadabra" and basically pioneered heavy metal. Iron Maiden was a big influence, they also covered "Remember Tomorrow" on the "Death magnetic" album. Diamond Head was a massive influence on them as they covered "Am I Evil" on the Ride The Lightning album. Other significant influences include Motörhead, UFO, Deep Purple, Mercyful Fate, Misfits, Aerosmiths, and Thin Lizzy.