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Staff page - Michael Terrax
 Like many metal fans of my age, early in my life I consumed a healthy diet of Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth, and other good old fashioned thrash metal. Two albums were to take me on a horizon-expanding journey that has never stopped progressing - Operation: Mindcrime by Queensryche and Altars of Madness by Morbid Angel.
No two albums could be poles apart in terms of lyrical nature, song structure, or style, yet both contained the essence of what metal means to me: an unfearing devotion to an ideal. I have been following both bands since throughout their years, and still consider these two albums to be critical to the growth and expansion of metal, that paved the way for countless other bands to follow in their footsteps and develop their own unique sound.
These days, although I still fanatically follow my favourite bands from years gone by, I also enjoy Swedish Melodic Death Metal such as Dark Tranquility, female vocals like Nightwish, as well as the more melancholic offerings from Katatonia and Anathema. Killswitch Engage and Apocalyptica are also in heavy rotation.
For me, the great aspect of metal is its continuous effort to deliver new sounds and concepts to its listeners. Metal fans are united in a way no other genre can claim. There is something intangible yet extraordinary about seeing a person pass you on the street that's wearing a shirt of a band that you thought no one else knew about. Metal is so wide in styles and personalities, one could spend a lifetime immersed in the depth of talent in the metal world. And so many of us do.
Late last year, I launched my own website as a tribute to the lyrical power of metal, and it has grown in interest and content with the support of like-minded fans. One unchanging characteristic of metal is that it is a community, and technology such as the internet has given us more freedom to share our opinions and expose us all to music and content we may not have previously has access to. This can only be a good thing.
Michael Terrax,
Sydney, Australia
www.metalpoet.com
Portrait of Michael Terrax by Eddie Mize |
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RevelationZ Comments
| Comment by metalman (Anonymous) - Thursday, February 16, 2006 | G'DAY MATE
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