At the beginning of my Junior year in high school, I saw a video that changed my life, musically speaking.  It's ironic that I have MTV to thank for me getting into real metal, and now, they are the enemy of metal.
September 1986, "Wasted Years", by Iron Maiden comes on, and I'm hooked with the very frist note of that fantastic riff, that Adrian Smith wrote and played.  I had some exposure to Maiden starting back in '82, and I liked what I heard, but I didn't become a Maiden freak until '86.  (Click here to read how I got into Maiden, my all time favorite band)  I wish I'd been into them more in the early to mid 80s, but when you're 12 and 13, and there's no exposure to a band like Maiden where you live, what can you expect.  Maiden's Piece Of Mind and Powerslave are out, and I'm listening to Boy George sings songs about how much he loves his drummer!

Maiden quickly became my obsession, and I got totally into them in 1987, getting all their albums, videos, etc.  There were times where I had wanted to play the guitar before, but now it was something I REALLY wanted to do.  So, on January 19th, 1987, my parents bought me my first guitar and amp, and I can't thank them enough for doing that for me.  (Click here to read about my guitar playing history)
From that point on, metal was for me, forever.  Many different metal bands quickly began influencing me.  During the college years of the late 80s into the early 90s, Metallica was one of my main bands.  Post college years saw me getting into more complex styles of metal, like Progressive and Melodic Power metal.

Outside of metal, I'm a huge fan of Classical music.  The thing I've enjoyed getting into the most in recent years, is the metal bands/guitarists that brilliantly combine classical and metal, when writing songs and solos.  Guitarists like Andy La Rocque and Pete Blakk used their liking of Barocque-era music when writing metal songs with King Diamond.  The master of this combination, is Yngwie J. Malmsteen, who is the inventor of what has come to be known as Neo-Classical metal.  At the present time (Feb. 1999), my goal has become to be proficient at combining my classical and metal influences, while always staying true to the bands that first influenced me, as long as they stay true to me.  Belive it or not, there are a few who haven't.  (See Metallica)
In the early to mid to late 90s, while grunge and total-shit alternative have taken over, metal has gone underground.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing.  It's weeded out the fake posers, and brought true metal, to the true metal fans.  True, it's harder for metal bands to get exposure, and they're selling less records, generally, and playing smaller venues, but by having the most loyal fans in music, they have survived, and will continue to survive, regardless of the mainstream's latest trend.  Personally, I like seeing my favorite bands/guitarists in small clubs for $15, as opposed to seeing them from a mile away at the Arena for $40.