Following a band/artist from the beginning

[Adami]

I guess also Slipknot and Stone Sour. Remember when they both came out with their first singles and I’ve gotten most of their records since.

I remember a bunch of nu metal bands starting but I never really stuck around.


I guess Evanescence too? Just kinda stopped caring about them for a good while now.

[jingle.boy]

Jealous

Over Radiohead?

[Adami]

Over Radiohead?

I assume he meant Eazy E.

[nick_z]

I guess also Slipknot and Stone Sour. Remember when they both came out with their first singles and I’ve gotten most of their records since.

I remember a bunch of nu metal bands starting but I never really stuck around.


I guess Evanescence too? Just kinda stopped caring about them for a good while now.

Slipknot and Evanescence for me too!

[Skeever]

If super groups count, I will give myself A Perfect Circle under my belt.

[HOF]

I don’t think there is one for me. At least not one with multiple albums. I guess to some extent some 90s bands like Pearl Jam or Counting Crows who’s debuts I grew up with on the radio but didn’t really get into until later.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Haken - I heard their demo Enter the Fifth Dimension back in '09, but I can't remember how or where I heard it, but I loved it and bought the first album the day it was released.

The Dear Hunter - I was already into Casey's other band The Receiving End of Sirens, so when the first Act album was released I was all over it.

The Mars Volta - Similar to The Dear Hunter, I was already into At the Drive-In, so this was a logical next step.

Coheed and Cambria - Bought The Second Stage Turbine Blade on a whim a couple months after it released and have been a fan since.

Riverside - I heard Loose Heart on Progulus back in early '03, was an instant fan.

I'm sure there are a lot more....

Were you on DTF at that point? If so it was probably me.

I wasn't, I didn't come over here until the Mike Portnoy forum was shut down. I believe somebody over on Mike Portnoy's forum turned me onto the demo in '09. Were you over on that forum back then? Maybe it was you, or perhaps someone that was here and there at the time.

[krands85]

Just looking at my Last.fm profile and the closest example I can see is maybeshewill. Their debut album came out in May 2008, but they had an EP before that that I was listening to in February of that year. Though you can't really say I was with them from the 'beginning' as that EP came out in 2006. I've seen them live and also have one of their t-shirts though  They disbanded in 2015, but got back together and released a new album in 2021.

I was hooked on Linkin Park the first time I saw the One Step Closer video, which may have been before Hybrid Theory came out, but I was only a fan of their first 2 albums. A few others I can think of that I got in to pretty early and still listen to sometimes: Muse, System of a Down and Audioslave (though of course they were a supergroup and didn't last very long).

The only one I can think of where I had my foot in the door really early is with Bad Salad. Some of them had done the famous split-screen DT covers on Youtube and I was intrigued when they said they were writing their own album. I remember watching live streams of them discussing the songs, playing snippets of riffs etc. But they only released one album and an EP and seem to have given up.

[jammindude]

I’m almost always in the 2nd stage crowd.  It’s not quite “from the beginning”, but it’s way before they hit it big.

I bought Ride the Lightning off the new release rack the day that Elektra rereleased it. So I wasn’t quite there for the beginning of Metallica, but I was definitely in the crowd before anyone knew who they were. Same with all the big 4. I was there for the sophomore albums, but not the debut.  Fates Warning as well. I bought The Spectre Within when it was brand new, but I wasn’t there for Night On Brocken.

Same with Jane’s Addiction.

Even my favorite Seattle band Soundgarden. I wore out their debut album, but there was a widely circulated (around here anyway) SubPop EP before that came out.

I guess I was there for the beginning for Mother Love Bone. But that unfortunately didn’t last very long.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Even my favorite Seattle band Soundgarden. I wore out their debut album, but there was a widely circulated (around here anyway) SubPop EP before that came out.

They had 2 Subpop EPs before their first album dropped, Fopp and Screaming Life. Although Fopp was only released a couple months before the album. They also had a split they did with Melvins, Green River, Malfunkshun, Skin Yard, and U-Men back in '86, but I haven't heard it. I'm not sure you can even get it anymore, as far as I know it's been reissued on cassette and CD a couple time in limited quantities, but not for 30 years.

[Stadler]

They had 2 Subpop EPs before their first album dropped, Fopp and Screaming Life. Although Fopp was only released a couple months before the album. They also had a split they did with Melvins, Green River, Malfunkshun, Skin Yard, and U-Men back in '86, but I haven't heard it. I'm not sure you can even get it anymore, as far as I know it's been reissued on cassette and CD a couple time in limited quantities, but not for 30 years.

It's out there; I found a copy on Discogs for a reasonable price not that long ago.

[jammindude]

I was aware of Fopp as well. I always thought it was weird they called that an EP when it was a bit more “Maxi-Single” to me. But po-tay-to, po-tah-to. 

After Louder Than Love came out I upgraded everything to CD anyway.

[efx]

The Aristocrats are probably that band for me. Heard the first single when that came out and have followed them somewhat obsessively since.

[jammindude]

It occurred to me later that I had the same “2nd stage” experience with Dream Theater.

I was working at Tower Records shortly after IAW was released, and I fell in love with it a few months before PMU broke on radio and MTV.

Myself and a couple other employees were playing it on the overhead at least 3 times a day and the rest of the employees hated us.  We were also calling the local rock station every week trying to explain to the program director that we were selling out of this album every time a few copies came in and they needed to start playing it. A couple months later, they did.

[Trav86]

The Killers. They’re celebrating 20 years. I bought their debut Hot Fuss after “Mr. Brightside” blew up on the radio. I’ve gotten all of their albums quickly after they’re released but to this day “Mr. Brightside” is probably still my favorite of their songs.

[Zydar]

It's been really interesting reading all the posts here over the last few days. I didn't think there would be so many replies, but I should never doubt DTF.

I still haven't come up with one that applies to me, I'm always late to the party

[ReaperKK]

This is tough, I'm usually late to the parties when discovering music. The couple I can think of:

Alter Bridge - I remember hearing about their formation and anticipating the debut release which I immediately fell in love with.
Kaki King - Got into her shortly after her first release, still follow her now but her recent work doesn't really do it for me.

[ariich]

Haken - I heard their demo Enter the Fifth Dimension back in '09, but I can't remember how or where I heard it, but I loved it and bought the first album the day it was released.

The Dear Hunter - I was already into Casey's other band The Receiving End of Sirens, so when the first Act album was released I was all over it.

The Mars Volta - Similar to The Dear Hunter, I was already into At the Drive-In, so this was a logical next step.

Coheed and Cambria - Bought The Second Stage Turbine Blade on a whim a couple months after it released and have been a fan since.

Riverside - I heard Loose Heart on Progulus back in early '03, was an instant fan.

I'm sure there are a lot more....

Were you on DTF at that point? If so it was probably me.

I wasn't, I didn't come over here until the Mike Portnoy forum was shut down. I believe somebody over on Mike Portnoy's forum turned me onto the demo in '09. Were you over on that forum back then? Maybe it was you, or perhaps someone that was here and there at the time.

Hmm not sure if that was me. I was a member but not very active and can't remember if I would have been plugging the band there like I did here. Every chance it was someone from the band itself though, a few of them joined some forums to advertise themselves a bit.

[hefdaddy42]

Run-DMC

[dparrott]

Run-DMC

Nice.  I didn't get into rap until 1987, mind was blown.  I listened to almost nothing but rap from 87-89.

[hefdaddy42]

Nice.  I didn't get into rap until 1987, mind was blown.  I listened to almost nothing but rap from 87-89.

Yeah, for those early years, I was rap heavy.  LL Cool J, Whodini, Fat Boys, Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew, Kurtis Blow, eventually Beastie Boys...it was a fun time.

[cramx3]

The one that comes to mind immediately is Breaking Benjamin. My college friend freshman year had their debut album because they were "local" to his family in Scranton.  I even saw them live, almost 20 years ago today, 4/20/2004 in a small club before their second album came out.  I still have my ticket stub.

Some others that were mentioned because their first album was a hit so I was a fan from the start... Disturbed and Slipknot.

There's a bunch of other bands I got into by their second album too. 

There's a lot of newer bands of recent years that I could list too, but they've yet to really have a full career to list IMO but maybe one day would be a worthy band to mention here.

[Stadler]

Yeah, for those early years, I was rap heavy.  LL Cool J, Whodini, Fat Boys, Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew, Kurtis Blow, eventually Beastie Boys...it was a fun time.

No Sir Mix-A-Lot?  I dug Doug E. Fresh, though.

[hefdaddy42]

No Sir Mix-A-Lot?  I dug Doug E. Fresh, though.

Well, it wasn't an exhaustive list.

Yeah, I listened to him too, but he's no Run-DMC.

[jammindude]

SWASS is an underrated masterpiece

[hefdaddy42]

SWASS is an underrated masterpiece

I'm glad you like it, but I didn't care for it all that much.