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yungstirjoey666
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Sep 23, 2019 8:47 am
Posts: 639
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 1:53 am 
 

So I've gotten into metal since I was 14, and I have always envisioned myself as a metal musician since then. I'm about to turn 22 soon and graduate from university in about a few months, and I haven't made much musical progress since then; I mainly blame myself for not taking the initiative at that time, but I know it's still not too late, and I guess I'll get piano or guitar lessons when I secure a job and maintain a stable income. As Bruce Dickinson said, I shouldn't waste my time always searching for those wasted years.

I know being in my early 20s is light years away, but I'd still like some motivation anyway with some metal musicians who started learning at a somewhat older age, as many famous and successful metal musicians that I know of seem to have started in their teenage years. In a sense, "late" could mean anything after that; Glenn Tipton didn't start learning the guitar until he was almost 20, and the legendary Christopher Lee was in his 80s when he started recording metal. I wonder if there may be some obstacles to overcome if I start now due to adult responsibilities, commitment issues, or maybe issues finding bandmates or a way to gain recognition for your work, but I guess it's worth it as an adult since you know more from experience and what you truly aim for. Still, what are your thoughts on this?

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Ivan Drago
Metal newbie

Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2021 6:10 pm
Posts: 292
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 4:01 am 
 

If you can play a bit, just get out and join a band or put one together with, one of the best ways to improve is jamming with other people. You don't need to wait to get a job for lessons either, there's countless free ones on youtube, set aside even half an hour a day and just practice

The other thing is what you mean by seeing yourself as a metal musician. If it's someone that makes a living out of metal it's going to be extremely tough. That's not due to your age or ability but just the nature of the business. I know a few people in mildly successful bands and they all still have day jobs to pay the bills

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BleedingMoon
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Jul 29, 2017 4:37 pm
Posts: 104
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 5:32 am 
 

I don't know about full on extreme metal but the members of Rammstein were all in their late 20s/early 30s when they started, Tool were all mid to late 20s, Brian Johnson was 33 when Back in Black was released, Lemmy formed Motorhead at 28, no one really knew who Dio was until he joined Rainbow at 33 and he was 41 when Holy Diver came out....you got plenty of time.

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Jebator
Metal newbie

Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2008 8:11 am
Posts: 198
Location: Croatia
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 5:37 am 
 

When Nile released its debut in 1998, Karl Sanders was 35.

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Paka01
Metalhead

Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 12:34 pm
Posts: 573
Location: Croatia
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 6:20 am 
 

BleedingMoon wrote:
I don't know about full on extreme metal but the members of Rammstein were all in their late 20s/early 30s when they started, Tool were all mid to late 20s, Brian Johnson was 33 when Back in Black was released, Lemmy formed Motorhead at 28, no one really knew who Dio was until he joined Rainbow at 33 and he was 41 when Holy Diver came out....you got plenty of time.


Almost none of those musicians started late. All of them had careers before they performed in bands/albums you mentioned.
Lemmy actively performed and recorded with various bands since he was 20 (Rockin Vickers, Sam Gopal, Hawkwind...), Dio since he was 17 (Elf and various previous versionsof the band), Brian Johnson formed Geordie in 1972 when he was 25, and so on...
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Samoroth
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2007 2:59 pm
Posts: 342
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 8:00 am 
 

Type O Negative guys became famous when they were in their 30s, although they've been musicians since the the mid 80s or so. So yeah, there is still plenty of time for you to become a musician, but you do need to put in the effort.

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King_of_Arnor
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Oct 10, 2020 12:35 pm
Posts: 777
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 9:47 am 
 

Michael Romeo started playing guitar at age 12, but didn't form a band (Symphony X) until he was 26.

Charlie Dominici was almost twice as old as the rest of Dream Theater (late 30s) when he joined briefly for their first album, although he had a few appearances with other non-metal bands going back to 1970.
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Required Fields
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:32 pm
Posts: 1248
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 5:27 pm 
 

When the first Defeated Sanity album came out, guitarist Wolfgang Teske was 51 years old.
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SanPeron
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2023 6:56 pm
Posts: 1022
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 5:54 pm 
 

Learning to play an instrument is a lot different than being in a band and being successful. I think is awesome that you want to learn how to play an instrument, but the distance between that and living off your music like the musicians that you named is honestly, pretty big. I would advise you to learn how to play but don't do it for fame or success, do it because you like to play music. Most musicians have side jobs and don't live off the money they make in their bands, have that in consideration at least.

As for famous metal/rock musicians who started their careers at a grown age and are relatively known, I can name Mark Sandman from Morphine and Treat Her Right. He worked in a lot of blue-collar jobs like being a taxi driver before being relatively successful with Morphine in the 90s. But I think he is an exception to the rule more than a common thing.
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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4266
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 11:39 pm 
 

The only one I can think of who started a career in metal late is David Bower, but that was a pretty special circumstance.
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King_of_Arnor
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Oct 10, 2020 12:35 pm
Posts: 777
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 12:15 am 
 

Opus wrote:
The only one I can think of who started a career in metal late is David Bower, but that was a pretty special circumstance.

Yeah, namely that his brother Kev was reviving Hell (his old band) after 25 years and wanted a singer who could approximate their former vocalist (who committed suicide shortly after they broke up). Turns out his brother was the best fit for that - Martin Walkyier was supposed to get the role initially but he was let go.

Another singer I just thought of was Brian Ross - in his mid-late 20s when he started in metal with Blitzkrieg and then Satan.
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traxan
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2015 6:52 pm
Posts: 1434
PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 1:52 am 
 

Surprised no one has mentioned Serj Tankian of SoaD. He was 30 when their first album came out.

I can think of a remarkable story but it's a decidedly non-metal example.

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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4266
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 2:03 am 
 

traxan wrote:
Surprised no one has mentioned Serj Tankian of SoaD. He was 30 when their first album came out.

He was 25 when Soil was formed, but that's not saying he hadn't played in bands before that.
Soad is decidedly non-metal though.
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Samoroth
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2007 2:59 pm
Posts: 342
PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 9:17 am 
 

You by the way don't need guitar lessons to become a good musician or even guitarist. Pick up a guitar and start right now!

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Napalm_Satan
Ever-Opening Flower

Joined: Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:27 pm
Posts: 3812
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 1:40 pm 
 

My go to example for this is Wrest. 28-29 is not super late to start your whole music career (born in '69, Leviathan started in '98) but he wouldn't actually drop his debut until 2003, when he'd be 34-35. For really any established metal musician that came about in the '00s that does strike me as a fairly late start. The dude's 54 now, and he'd have dropped Scar Sighted in his mid '40s.

So yeah honestly, don't let your age get in the way of making the music you want to make; keep at it. We've had people old enough to be dads dropping classic, album of the decade-tier material.
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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4266
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 2:52 pm 
 

Napalm_Satan wrote:
We've had people old enough to be dads dropping classic, album of the decade-tier material.

You are old enough to be a dad when you are 20.
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Goatizer
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2023 2:31 am
Posts: 128
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 5:27 pm 
 

Pagan Alter

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Nocturnal_Evil
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Apr 19, 2021 12:00 am
Posts: 668
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 7:50 pm 
 

Granted it wasn't his first band, but Karl Sanders didn't get started with Nile until he was in his 30s I think. Same with Peter and Type O Negative (at least late 20s on that one).

Back to add some thoughts to this.

yungstirjoey666 wrote:
I know being in my early 20s is light years away, but I'd still like some motivation anyway with some metal musicians who started learning at a somewhat older age, as many famous and successful metal musicians that I know of seem to have started in their teenage years.


Don't get caught up thinking you're out of time or too old to play music - so long as you want to and physically can, there's nothing stopping you. To quote Lemmy, "if you think you're too old to rock n roll, you are." Just play what you want and don't stop.
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Last edited by Nocturnal_Evil on Sun Jan 07, 2024 10:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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democracyiscringe
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2023 5:44 pm
Posts: 187
PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 9:09 pm 
 

Paka01 wrote:
BleedingMoon wrote:
I don't know about full on extreme metal but the members of Rammstein were all in their late 20s/early 30s when they started, Tool were all mid to late 20s, Brian Johnson was 33 when Back in Black was released, Lemmy formed Motorhead at 28, no one really knew who Dio was until he joined Rainbow at 33 and he was 41 when Holy Diver came out....you got plenty of time.


Almost none of those musicians started late. All of them had careers before they performed in bands/albums you mentioned.
Lemmy actively performed and recorded with various bands since he was 20 (Rockin Vickers, Sam Gopal, Hawkwind...), Dio since he was 17 (Elf and various previous versionsof the band), Brian Johnson formed Geordie in 1972 when he was 25, and so on...


Yes but since the thread title says "metal musicians," that can be interpreted to mean artists who started doing stuff in metal late. Elf and Halkwind are probably listened to mainly by metalheads these days, but they're not really metal.

Anyway, Grimnir of Grand Belial's Key started doing vocals when he was 30 or something, which isn't that old, but it's old for metal.

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draconiondevil
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:21 pm
Posts: 710
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Mon Jan 08, 2024 1:24 pm 
 

22 isn't too late at all. There are plenty of musicians who have formed bands way later than that. A more modern example than the others in this thread, Jason Tarpey of Eternal Champion was 26 on the first Iron Age album and 32 when he joined Eternal Champion.
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StarshipTrooper
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Aug 07, 2010 12:42 pm
Posts: 313
Location: Chile
PostPosted: Mon Jan 08, 2024 1:26 pm 
 

Christopher Lee?

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greywanderer7
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2012 4:37 pm
Posts: 164
PostPosted: Mon Jan 08, 2024 2:10 pm 
 

Big Boss started Root when he was in his mid 30s. I don't have enough information about him to know if he had other bands before forming Root, though. It's funny to see the band pictures and see that the other members are usually 30 years younger than him, he's pretty old now. Probably the first black metal musician in the world that will retire of old age.

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Necrodictator
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2009 1:33 pm
Posts: 263
Location: Zimbabwe
PostPosted: Mon Jan 08, 2024 5:10 pm 
 

I bet there is a plenty of example when musicians started young, recorded a couple of demos, split-up and then picked up instruments only a decade or two later.

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Horned_Owl_Holocaust
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 5:04 am
Posts: 302
PostPosted: Mon Jan 08, 2024 7:06 pm 
 

This thread is demotivating me to get started at the age of 37.

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HighwayCorsair
Knows a guy

Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2015 11:40 pm
Posts: 700
Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon Jan 08, 2024 7:09 pm 
 

I picked up guitar at 18 and haven't felt particularly hampered by it. Started in my first band when I was 19 or 20. Not 30 yet and I've toured, played around the world, and released a few albums. I'm not "notable" but I can say with conviction that based on my experience you are far from too late.
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mirons
Metalhead

Joined: Tue May 11, 2004 12:59 pm
Posts: 660
Location: Latvia
PostPosted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 5:19 am 
 

Wolfgang Teske (R.I.P.) formed Defeated Sanity in 1993 together with his son. He was born in 1953, so he was 40 at the time, and 51 when their debut full-length came out in 2004. However, he was an accomplished musician outside of metal before starting DS. Sadly, he passed away in 2010, but I think it's a pretty safe bet he was the oldest member of a death metal band at the time (in extreme metal altogether Big Boss has him beat by a year).

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Samoroth
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2007 2:59 pm
Posts: 342
PostPosted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 6:35 am 
 

Another example, though not metal, Mark Lanegan made his first solo record in 1990 without even being able to play guitar. He does have a really unique and beautiful singing voice and was in Screaming Trees since 1985 or so. He made this solo record by learning basic cords on guitar basically.

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Horned_Owl_Holocaust
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 5:04 am
Posts: 302
PostPosted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 1:07 pm 
 

Is there a single example of somebody picking up a guitar at the age of 35+ and releasing a successful project?

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SanPeron
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2023 6:56 pm
Posts: 1022
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
PostPosted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 1:46 pm 
 

Horned_Owl_Holocaust wrote:
Is there a single example of somebody picking up a guitar at the age of 35+ and releasing a successful project?


Not a single chance.
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HighwayCorsair
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Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2015 11:40 pm
Posts: 700
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 2:04 pm 
 

Most metal stuff is stupidly easy to play by the general standards of other genres of music, and quite a bit of modern metal is made by older dudes that either didn't pick up guitar til later in life or that didn't really play seriously until they had stable jobs as adults, which is the same thing as far as I'm concerned. It's never too late. A couple years of focused practice and any dipshit can be playing 90% of the genre. Don't listen to anyone saying that any particular age is "too late" because that's just not true.
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Aooga
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2003 7:05 am
Posts: 105
Location: United Arab Emirates
PostPosted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 2:05 pm 
 

SanPeron wrote:
Horned_Owl_Holocaust wrote:
Is there a single example of somebody picking up a guitar at the age of 35+ and releasing a successful project?


Not a single chance.


Not 35 but I remember reading somewhere that James Murphy first picked up the guitar at age 25. That would be bonkers if true.

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SanPeron
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2023 6:56 pm
Posts: 1022
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
PostPosted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 2:19 pm 
 

Aooga wrote:
SanPeron wrote:
Horned_Owl_Holocaust wrote:
Is there a single example of somebody picking up a guitar at the age of 35+ and releasing a successful project?


Not a single chance.


Not 35 but I remember reading somewhere that James Murphy first picked up the guitar at age 25. That would be bonkers if true.


25 makes more sense to me, 35 to learn how to play the ABC of an instrument and then become a successful musician is utopic, at least for me. Is like don't knowing how to play a sport, learn how to play it at 35 and then try to become a professional athlete.
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TadGhostal
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2006 10:31 pm
Posts: 1172
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 2:30 pm 
 

yungstirjoey666 wrote:
So I've gotten into metal since I was 14, and I have always envisioned myself as a metal musician since then. I'm about to turn 22 soon and graduate from university in about a few months, and I haven't made much musical progress since then; I mainly blame myself for not taking the initiative at that time, but I know it's still not too late, and I guess I'll get piano or guitar lessons when I secure a job and maintain a stable income. As Bruce Dickinson said, I shouldn't waste my time always searching for those wasted years.

I know being in my early 20s is light years away, but I'd still like some motivation anyway with some metal musicians who started learning at a somewhat older age, as many famous and successful metal musicians that I know of seem to have started in their teenage years. In a sense, "late" could mean anything after that; Glenn Tipton didn't start learning the guitar until he was almost 20, and the legendary Christopher Lee was in his 80s when he started recording metal. I wonder if there may be some obstacles to overcome if I start now due to adult responsibilities, commitment issues, or maybe issues finding bandmates or a way to gain recognition for your work, but I guess it's worth it as an adult since you know more from experience and what you truly aim for. Still, what are your thoughts on this?


Most of the examples cited here are guys who either playing in bands for years before they had a breakthrough or played music other than metal or, in cases of people like Christopher Lee and David Bower, had established careers as actors and did metal albums on the side later in life. 22 is really not too young at all if you want to make a go of it but I think knowing your goal is important. If you want to play your instrument, write songs, and start a band then don't let your age be an obstacle. If your goal is to live off music...well, you better get started and dedicate your all to it. I used to work part time at a music store and the guys I knew who made music their career were working at it 7/52/365, and unless they had a spouse who had a good job, they were scraping for every penny they could find (or racking up debt and mooching off friends and family). If you have a (non-music) job and/or a family, those things will impact how much time you can dedicate to your music. I know a guy in his mid 40s who has a long-term partner and they have a number of kids and still has a band and plays shows a number of times a year, but he's not making a living off it and he's not hitting the road for weeks or months at a time.

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Horned_Owl_Holocaust
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 5:04 am
Posts: 302
PostPosted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 4:28 pm 
 

The issue with playing sports at a high level at an older age is the physical decline, though (mostly). There are countless old dudes who are already established who continue to pump out worthwhile music and tour behind it. It seems like ageism among fans or the industry when it comes to embracing / backing new artists might be a barrier, though. Time to come up with another mask gimmick I guess.

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HighwayCorsair
Knows a guy

Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2015 11:40 pm
Posts: 700
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 5:02 pm 
 

Horned_Owl_Holocaust wrote:
The issue with playing sports at a high level at an older age is the physical decline, though (mostly). There are countless old dudes who are already established who continue to pump out worthwhile music and tour behind it. It seems like ageism among fans or the industry when it comes to embracing / backing new artists might be a barrier, though. Time to come up with another mask gimmick I guess.


Highly disagree. Many new bands- sometimes it seems like most- are older guys, many of them in their very first band. Feels like people assume a lot of bands are younger than they are because they're "new" but all the members are in their 40s or 50s.
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Dr_Funf
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2022 7:58 am
Posts: 19
Location: Wales
PostPosted: Thu Jan 11, 2024 7:21 am 
 

SanPeron wrote:
25 makes more sense to me, 35 to learn how to play the ABC of an instrument and then become a successful musician is utopic, at least for me. Is like don't knowing how to play a sport, learn how to play it at 35 and then try to become a professional athlete.


There's almost no validity to that comparison. Professional athletes are usually done by the age of 40 at most, usually earlier, with a few exceptions (Ronaldo/Ibrahimovic etc). Plenty of musicians continue well past 70. Like learning a second language for the first time, it's harder to learn an instrument later in life, but it's still very much possible to become proficient at it short of suffering from arthritis or the like.

Horned_Owl_Holocaust wrote:
There are countless old dudes who are already established who continue to pump out worthwhile music and tour behind it. It seems like ageism among fans or the industry when it comes to embracing / backing new artists might be a barrier, though. Time to come up with another mask gimmick I guess.


It's not as black and white as that. Younger artists are certainly more fashionable and appeal to audiences of a similar age, but many younger bands get signed so early on as they are more likely to jump aboard whatever 'the trend' is at that moment in time. Think how many young bands started out as death metal acts in the late 80s and early 90s, before gradually evolving into a very different sound. Older bands/bands with older musicians do that too, but they are more likely to know exactly what they want to do when they start their band.

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