Text by Ricardo Seelig (Collector's Room) recounting how music and Heavy Metal entered his life:
Heavy metal entered my life in 1985 through Rock in Rio. I had just turned 12 when, out of nowhere, I found myself bombarded by dozens of bands I had never heard of. I always liked music, but rock hadn't yet hooked me at that time – and, it's worth saying, that time was very different from today, where information reaches people much more easily.
The bands that caught my attention the most were Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne, and Scorpions. I remember watching the shows on TV and following Rede Globo's coverage of the festival. I was fascinated, captivated, and absolutely in love with everything I saw – and heard.
Iron Maiden was the band that changed my life. I remember, soon after, hearing the track "The Number of the Beast" on a cassette tape belonging to an older cousin and being blown away. However, my first rock records weren't by Iron Maiden, but by AC/DC. I remember my godfather taking me to a department store in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul and telling me to choose a gift. I left with '74 Jailbreak and For Those About to Rock, both by AC/DC, under my arm. Regarding Maiden, my first album was Live After Death, which I listened to so much that I even memorized Bruce Dickinson's spoken parts between the songs.
All of this happened almost 30 years ago. In all that time, I discovered many other genres and bands that profoundly marked my life. If I were to list a top 5, I would say that Iron Maiden (the band that showed me heavy metal and to this day my all-time favorite), Led Zeppelin (who showed me that anything was possible), The Beatles (they changed everything), Metallica (they played heavy metal the way I imagined it should be played), and Wilco (a companion through all hours and the most varied emotions) are the most important groups and the ones I've listened to the most in my life.
All of this made me understand that music is much more than just a style. Heavy metal is spectacular, but other genres are too. Miles Davis is a genius. Jazz is unsettling. Blues is the foundation of everything, and 70s funk always surprises me. However, no matter how far I've gone in my sonic explorations – and believe me, I'm constantly researching new sounds and that will never stop – my safe haven is always heavy metal, the musical style that forms the basis of who I am as a listener.
As Troy Sanders, bassist for Mastodon, says: "Why summarize 300 years of music into just one style, when we can have them all?". That's how I think. Long live heavy metal, but long live rock, pop, jazz, blues, and whatever else comes to mind. After all, there are only two types of music: good and bad.
Ricardo Seelig
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