I run a couple record shops in Wisconsin; Ear Wax Records and this label Barbarian Records. I think the first extreme album I bought was War and Pain, after seeing them in a Metal Blade catalog in the HS library. I never looked back. It would take a long time to re-appre
ciate bands like Judas Priest, etc. Some never made it back (Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath). Today I like to look for newer forms of metal which are more extreme and incorporate new sounds to metal, like ambience or noise.