Anthrax emerged in 1981.
Sully Erna , vocalist of Godsmack , spoke in an interview with Louder Sound about the ten albums that changed his life. Check out the list:
Aerosmith – Rocks (1976)
“The first record that changed my life in a huge way was Rocks . I’d been a musician since I was three and a half years old, and I was raised on blues and more jazzy music: Buddy Rich, Ray Charles, Etta James , and a lot of other old-school stuff. But then I discovered Joe Perry and Aerosmith . A friend played ‘Last Child.’ I think that was the first time I smoked a joint, and it was really a turning point for me because it really drew me into the world of rock. It was super cool for a kid.”
AC/DC – Back In Black (1980)
“This was a huge album for me. They were loud, incredible, they were really cool and basic…but they had really catchy songs. It was just a powerful album. Even the artwork was simple. There was nothing. It was just pure rock.”
Metallica – Kill 'Em All (1983)
Metallica song I ever heard was on vinyl. A friend of mine brought home Kill 'Em All and Ride The Lightning at the same time, and I remember being instantly struck by 'The Four Horsemen' and 'Hit The Lights'. I'd never heard a band like that before. It was incredibly fast and loud…and shocking! I remember not even being sure if I liked it at first, but after listening a few times, I was in a completely different place.”
Judas Priest – Unleashed In The East (1988)
“The first time I heard Judas Priest was the live version of 'Victim Of Changes,' and it blew my mind. It was so insane. My friend, who was playing the record, turned up the volume, and I remember just being paralyzed. The power of the music – the groove, the riff, the vocals, and the notes – absolutely blew my mind. That was a huge moment for me in music.”
Iron Maiden – Piece Of Mind (1983)
“This was a great album in my life. Being a drummer my whole life, I found that they were a bit more technical than Judas Priest and AC/DC, and it was becoming more fun to play.”
Rush – Moving Pictures (1981)
“That was a life-changing experience for me. I dropped out of school, left my family, left my friends, I stopped everything at that moment. Because all I wanted to do was go home and study Neil Peart . He was the Mecca of drummers for me. I’ll never forget when I first heard ‘Tom Sawyer.’ I remember what city I was in, I remember who I was with, and I heard the song on the radio. At the end, I was like, ‘What the hell am I listening to now?’ And the only time I went back to school after that was to steal blocks of wood from the music room because I was trying to build a huge drum kit to replicate everything he did on the album. Discovering Neil Peart was the biggest life-changing experience.”
Pink Floyd – The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)
"One of my favorites to this day. It taught me how to make music that takes people on a journey. It taught me how to sequence an album. It taught me many artistic details beyond the music. They were geniuses. They were brilliant, and it doesn't surprise me that it's still one of the best-selling records of all time."
Alice In Chains – Dirt (1992)
“As I was transitioning from drummer to vocalist and starting the band, Alice In Chains really stood out from Stone Temple Pilots and Soundgarden Layne Staley ’s voice was so good. […] They were really cool: great songwriters with a really cool vibe.”
Dead Can Dance – Into The Labyrinth (1993)
“In 1993 I discovered Dead Can Dance . They changed my life dramatically in the sense that it was the first time I discovered this kind of organic, mystical, hypnotic, eclectic music. Lisa Gerrard changed my life. It's the reason why songs today like 'Voodoo', 'Serenity', 'The Spiral' and some of my songs on [my solo album] Avalon sound the way they do. They were a tremendous inspiration to me musically. It was a totally different world.”
Godsmack – Godsmack (1998)
“This album changed all of our lives. It was the first time we finally wrote a bunch of songs that took us from being a garage band, hanging out on the streets of Boston, still living in that fantasy world and dreaming of becoming a successful musician or rock star, to actually becoming one.”
