Your biggest or most important musical influences?

[Trollheart]

I'm talking about the one artist you saw, heard, met even, who changed what was at the time your view of music and set you on a different path. The one who made you realise maybe that music was not just a pastime or something to form the background noise, and could be something deep and interesting and rewarding and powerful.

For me personally it would first be Genesis (yeah yeah) whose live album Seconds Out impressed me so much at 17 years old and turned me onto progressive rock. Second would be Iron Maiden, who two years later got me into heavy metal, something I had assumed was loud, noisy and dirty. I was right of course, but there was something there I had not expected: well crafted and well played songs.

And thus began my descent into the maelstrom that is music.

How about yourself?