In the Beginning, there was a blog...

Greetings, mortals,

As a few of you know, there's such a thing as student radio. Some student radio stations have shows that play pop, indie and hip-hop. Some even have shows that play that most dreaded of genres; heavy metal. I host the former.

My name's Dylan, and I'm a metalhead.

So welcome to the first of what I hope will be many blogs, detailing my experiences, insights and thoughts on my time hosting the show, Session of Aggression on UQ's JACRadio (www.jacradio.com.au). 

First off, let me tell you a little bit about myself, and my immersion into the fast and furious world that is heavy metal.

I got my hands on a copy of Slipknot's Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses when I was around 15 or so. At that stage in time, I was listening to a great deal of pop-punk and mainstream garbage, but songs like "Duality" and "Circle" on said Slipknot album changed my perspective on heavy metal. Sure, I liked Metallica, but only because they were the biggest metal band in the history of popular music. Everyone knew "Enter Sandman," and me being the hapless young fool I was didn't even know that masterfully crafted works like Master of Puppets, Slayer's Reign in Blood, Black Sabbath's Master of Reality, Morbid Angel's Altars of Madness or Converge's Jane Doe, existed. I was blissfully unaware.

Enter heavy metal.

As soon as I sunk my teeth into the sounds of Vol. 3... I realised that there must be more out there like this; stuff that I, as a rebellious young lad, could listen to and devour with eagerness. There was. Soon, Metallica entered my regular listening cycle, as did bands like Pantera, System of a Down and Megadeth. But then, I needed something a little heavier, so along came bands like Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide and Opeth; bands that could pummel me with their sheer weighty riffs and musical technicality.

However, I was in far too deep by this stage; heavy metal had a hold on me that no other musical form ever could. I turned away from the decay of mainstream music back to a world where Vikings burned down Christian churches, the fields of battle were forever soaked with orc blood, botched surgical procedures were a fun way to pass the time, but above all, where getting together with your friends, having a few beers and having a good time was a way of life.

Since then, I've never looked back. I like to think that I've become more accepting of other forms of music: currently a few of my favourite bands are Radiohead, Queens of the Stone Age and Bjork. However, that doesn't mean that I won't continue to bring you the best from the world of heavy metal on my show, the SESSION OF AGGRESSION. Welcome to my radio show; I can't wait for you to join me on this most hallowed journey.