Why do I love metal? I love the crunch, that muted power chord, the chug. That resonates with me. Maybe that's it. This form of music resonates with me. It works on my frequency. All I know is the right riff gets me, the hairs go up, the heart beats faster, I feel it.

The journey started for me when I was about 14 or 15 years old, in my best friend's bedroom, listening to Iron Maiden's Powerslave. Something made sense. The imagery, the music. Up until that point I'd never known what music really worked for me, I just took other people's influences. I still have a love of Madness and the Beach Boys, but Iron Maiden captivated me. From that moment I immersed myself in everything Maiden. I spent days, weeks, months avoiding my homework while listening to their records and tirelessly examining every inch of the album sleeves. I was thinking, imagining, creating a whole new world. This is when I started to grow my hair and when my mum would tell her friends I was "going through a phase".

I remember the beginning of my next stage well. I must have been about 16 and we were at my house during a school lunchbreak. During the playing of various tapes, I stumbled upon part of a song. I had no clue who it was. It had a clean part that turned in to a monstrously heavy end section, unlike anything I had heard before. Back at school I took the tape to a friend in the year above. I hoped he would know who it was and, without hesitation, he said "One by Metallica". It just so happened he had the album from which the song came, ...And Justice for All, on him right then. He lent me the tape. That evening I went on a school trip to a local dry ski slope. I spent the whole journey there sat by myself on the back of the mini bus, trying to take in what I was hearing. It was love at first listen. I had found Metallica! What had begun with Iron Maiden suddenly got heavier.

The flood gates opened from there: Slayer, Anthrax, Sepultura, Megadeth, Suicidal Tendencies. My appetite got heavier. I was the only person in my year who liked heavy music. I had conviction, though. This was not a whim, this was me.

The next few years were exciting. I formed a band, playing bass and singing. Every waking hour was spent listening to, playing or watching music. I always remember setting the video to record Raw Power, on ITV at 4am on Friday night. It was the only metal programme on telly. In the time before the internet, Raw Power, MTV's Headbangers Ball (which I would watch at my best friend's house, he had Sky) and Kerrang! were the only way for me to find and discover new music. Watching Raw Power was where I first saw Dimebag Darrell, at the time Pantera's guitarist and my musical hero. Pantera were and always will be my number one love in heavy music.

As time moved on and we all started to move into adulthood with girlfriends, jobs, houses, etc, the all-encompassing world of music in my late teens and early twenties eased off. Don't get me wrong, I was still an avid fan and listened to as much metal as I could. It's just that other responsibilities take away time.

As I went through the noughties, I started to feel jaded with heavy music. Sure, there were some good bands, there were some good songs. Occasionally, I felt those moments of inspiration, but I started to feel like I was destined to be the kind of guy who lived and loved the heavy music of the early 1990s. I was taking in new music all the time, but I would always go back to my favourite Pantera and Metallica albums.

Nothing seemed to be able to steal their thunder. All my favourite bands were either making average albums or splitting up and forming new bands that I didn't connect with. Even Dime, with his new project Damageplan, couldn't light the fire. His guitar playing was phenomenal but overall the album didn't hit the mark. It wasn't Pantera, and that's what I wanted. I never gave up hope though.

Then on 8 December 2005 Dime was taken from us. Shot and killed on stage in Columbus. I remember exactly how I found out. I was up a ladder focussing some lights for a corporate show in Bagshot. My phone rang. It was my good friend Rob. All he said was "sorry". I was like, "Sorry for what?" to which his voice dropped and he replied, "You haven't heard, have you? Dime's dead".

I stepped down from the ladder and walked away. I spent the day in a daze. I spent the night speaking to friends, trying to find out what had happened. I had spent 15 years of my life listening to his music, watching his videos, going to his gigs. He was my hero. Only now did I realise what that actually meant.

In 2007 I discovered Gojira, a French metal band. They instilled a new lease of life into my metal world. All of a sudden the passion, the fire, returned. New albums started to appear that I loved: Machine Head, DevilDriver, Arch Enemy, Malefice. I connected with them. Then this year, Metallica released Death Magnetic. A massive return to form. I even attended their gig at the O2 as a fan. No thinking about the day job. Only thinking about whether or not I could get James, Kirk, Lars or Rob to spot me screaming at them from the front row. All is good again in my world of metal.

My metal favourites

1: Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power

2: Metallica - ...And Justice for All

3: Kilgore - A Search for Reason

4: Slayer - Seasons In the Abyss

5: Anthrax - Persistance of Time

6: Suicidal Tendencies - Lights, Camera ... Revolution

7: Crowbar - Time Heals Nothing

8: Iron Maiden - Powerslave

9: Machine Head - Burn My Eyes

10: Gojira - From Sirius to Mars

11: DevilDriver - Fury of Our Maker's Hand

12: Sepultura - Arise

13: Darkane - Insanity

14: At The Gates - Slaughter of the Soul

15: Arch Enemy - Anthems of Rebellion

16: Malefice - Entities

17: Pro Pain - Foul Taste of Freedom