New York-based groove-metal group Damn Your Eyes — featuring current and former members of Black Water Rising, We Are the Enemy and Bonesmith — recently dropped their debut full-length, Kill the Outside. Blending old-school heavy metal with Nineties grunge, stoner and sludge, the album calls on all sorts of influences, both musical and personal.
Guitarist Artie Alexander said of the album, “In the bed of all of these songs lies personal experiences. Experiences that every person on this planet can identify with, having either lived through them themselves or watched someone they love go through them. The album is about being human and the images seen through our eyes. Moments of anger, frustration, sorrow, loss, redemption, hope, recovery, revenge, survival and healing.”
Ahead of Kill the Outside’s release, we caught up with Alexander to find out what albums changed his life. Read below for his list and commentary on which LPs he considers to be game-changers and which one was his “dirty little secret.”
Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV
I had never heard anything like that before. It changed my whole outlook on music.
AC/DC – Highway to Hell
My dad was a minister and this album was like a dirty little secret.
Metallica – …And Justice for All
My favorite Metallica album. It was a riff fest and I loved everything about the album. I wasn’t smart enough to know about production when it came out. [Laughs]
Pantera – Vulgar Display of Power
Game-changer in every definition of the word. This album made me, me.
Steve Vai – Passion and Warfare
Not a big instrumental guy, but there was a time when I wanted to be Steve Vai … until I found out I would have to learn how to read music. [Laughs]
