Bands that changed my life part 2 (in no particular order): Rush. If AC/DC exposed me to rock for the first time, then this album showed me how broad the scope of rock actually is and how a ‘thinking’ kick-ass rock band does exist. I had been to the drive-in (!) with my sister and her boyfriend and I don’t remember what movie it was at all, but I do remember that a late-night highveld thunderstorm broke out and some really heavy rain came down on us as we drove home. Mark put on Hemispheres, and he put it on really loud, I mean really, really loud, on a great quality sound system. At about 12 minutes into the album, on Cygnus: Bringer of Balance, the lyrics are “I see the gods in battle rage on high, thunderbolts across the sky, I cannot move, I cannot hide, I feel a silent scream begin inside”. That part has its own thunder, and that along with the build to the ‘Then all at once the chaos ceased” compounded with the rain outside, and the insane epicness of the whole scene … well, it just blew my scone off completely.