Albums/artists you used to dislike that just clicked.

I tried to give Confessor's Condemned an honest listen a few years back and just shrugged it off as overrated underground tech metal that I didn't get the appeal of. I stumbled across the three year old spotify playlist of the album I made tonight and gave it another shot... and what the hell did I not get? I think the vocals initially turned me off but now they seem to really fit the angular-riff filled doomy tech metal that I've only heard Confessor create.

It makes me wonder how much perception/perspective effects how much a person enjoys something.

Needless to say, something about their sound just finally came together and made sense to me after I'd initially written them off as something I didn't enjoy. Do you guys have any similar stories?

I didn't really warm up to Def Leppard's latter albums like Slang, Euphoria, or X initially, but I felt more positively about them after listening to them in recent years.

Metallica's Load and Reload also left me rather cold initially, now I can appreciate them more(though they still do have too much filler), can't say the same about St. Anger though, it's still every bit as bad as I remembered it being.

I hated Savatage when I first heard a full album of theirs. Granted, it was Dead Winter Dead which, though improved in my view, is probably their worst album overall. So, some of it was down to my introduction, but I've come to really love their stuff all around.

I also remember hating Elvis Costello's voice when I was first introduced to his stuff and have since come to really appreciate his stuff. Not metal, but same principle.

Radiohead I always thought that they were just overrated miserable indie boys until I heard Paranoid Android (for the umteenth time) over headphones. I was blown away and have continued to be blown away ever since.

In the 80s I absolutely loathed this album. If someone put Sledgehammer or Big Time on the stereo they risked permanent injury or death by my hands.

Flash forward to 2015 and after becoming a fan of both Gabriel's work in Genesis and his solo albums I would now consider "So" to be one of the very best albums of the 1980s.

I've always loved "So" as a whole, but initially I hated Big Time... and after living with the album for a long time, having a fuller understanding of the satirical aspect of the song has helped me appreciate it and even enjoy it.
Peter's solo stuff is so nuanced and there's always more layers to peel back and uncover in later listens. He was and is a master of his craft.

One of my favorite quotes is one of his, "A good song is something that makes you feel, makes you think, and if you're really lucky, it makes you move." I love that sentiment. He's one of my idols in life.

For myself, Peter Gabriel was like Dylan, Lemmy, Stevie Nicks, art, independent movies & various alcoholic drinks...an acquired taste. It took some time for myself to get past his vocal style. Once I did that, I found out how much I loved early Genesis and some of his solo stuff.

Pantera. I'm kind of embarrassed about it but the first time I listened to a few songs I must not have been in the right mood so I brushed them off. A few years later I dug out the cd that I'd bought again on the advice of a friend and couldn't figure out what my issue was when I listened to it before.

I can't think of any artists or bands I didn't "like" and have since become a fan; but there are a few that I "ignored" for a long time or the greatest hits/ best selling album was enough for me. Saxon, as I said in another thread, was one that I grew to love. Manowar is another. And also, April Wine. There are a few bands that I no longer actively buy new releases from and just don't consider myself much of a fan anymore- Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, and anything involving Geoff Tate.

Easy one for me, Duran Duran. In their 80's heyday viewed them almost as a boy band, til one day I actually listened to them and then became a fan

manny wrote:

Easy one for me, Duran Duran. In their 80's heyday viewed them almost as a boy band, til one day I actually listened to them and then became a fan

It's funny you should mention Duran Duran. I just picked up "All You Need Is Now" (2011) from the library. It's really good and it's a return to their 80's sound, with of course some elements of the current music scene. I don't think I had EVER listened to their s/t (1981) up until a few days ago. I knew "Girls on Film" and "Is There Something I Should Know?" (which was added as part of a re-release in '83), but never heard the rest. One of my favorite songs off that album is "(Waiting for the) Night Boat". It's a pretty heavy/dark song for Duran Duran. I remember picking up "Red Carpet Massacre" (2007) from the library a couple of years ago and that one did nothing for me. I remember feeling that there wasn't one good song on the album. I guess they just released "Paper Gods" within the last few weeks. I will have to check that one out.. Hopefully it has that "All You Need Is Now" feel to it.

Rush - Signals

After the brilliant 'Moving Pictures', Signals left me really cold for a LONG time. The overall sound/tone took a complete 180 in my opinion. Then one day, I gave it another shot and VOILA! It clicked, just like that. It still stands as one of my favorite Rush albums.

Signals is really not that big of a departure. In fact, the last song on Moving Pictures (Vital Signs) points the way. Signals is one of my favorites and has been since I first saw the music video for Subdivisions on HBO Video Jukebox back in the fall of '82.

I'd say the synth period (excluding Hold Your Fire and Presto, which are kinda bland & mediocre) is the most wrongfully underrated part of Rush's career. Signals, Grace Under Pressure, and Power Windows are all among my favorites of theirs.

My dad had this when I was a thrasher in the mid-80's. HATED IT.Now I consider it a fantastic album.Still hate most of their other stuff though.

John Madden wrote:

My dad had this when I was a thrasher in the mid-80's. HATED IT.Now I consider it a fantastic album.Still hate most of their other stuff though.

The first 3 albums are essential (in my opinion). Same goes for the first two Blood, Sweat & Tears albums (though they went to utter shit on their third record).

S.D. wrote:

In the 80s I absolutely loathed this album.  If someone put Sledgehammer or Big Time on the stereo they risked permanent injury or death by my hands.  

Flash forward to 2015 and after becoming a fan of both Gabriel's work in Genesis and his solo albums I would now consider "So" to be one of the very best albums of the 1980s.  

I've always loved the So album. Red Rain, This Is The Picture, We Do What Were Told, That Voice Again, Mercy Street; all great songs along with the hits. Yeah, Duran Duran was one that I always kinda liked, but didn't until I gave the first album a good listen (and after getting into Japan).

Ahem...Judas Priest.


The problem was, my only exposure to them was what was on the local rock channel. Once Fight - A War of Words exposed me to the true awesomeness of Rob Halford was I able to go back and look into Judas Priest. Now I consider them an essential part of my collection.

Ditto for Duran Duran. Could never get into them until i heard Seven and the Ragged Tiger. Great album, and the stuff that came afterwards is just as good.

Nevermore. I couldn't really get into them.

But I've grown to appreciate them over the years. As a matter of fact, I picked up three of their albums a few days ago.

this said, their music is still no easy ride for my ears.

Britny Fox, when I first heard them all I could hear is that slap beat from Girlschool driving me nuts! Never cared for them at all back in the days they were around.
Low and behold I found an old cassette I bought cheap from somewhere "Boys in Heat" around 6-7 years ago and 2 days later I was cleaning out amazon of their 4-5 albums on CD.

I used to not be into King Diamond...I love those albums now!

scottmitchell74 wrote:

Ahem...Judas Priest.


The problem was, my only exposure to them was what was on the local rock channel. Once Fight - A War of Words exposed me to the true awesomeness of Rob Halford was I able to go back and look into Judas Priest. Now I consider them an essential part of my collection.

You think you know somebody...


JK of course

Getizzyback wrote:

Britny Fox, when I first heard them all I could hear is that slap beat from Girlschool driving me nuts! Never cared for them at all back in the days they were around.
Low and behold I found an old cassette I bought cheap from somewhere "Boys in Heat" around 6-7 years ago and 2 days later I was cleaning out amazon of their 4-5 albums on CD.

That is such a killer album!

I LOVE GUNS n ROSES NOW!!!!!