As a teenager, being proficient in any instrument is a big accomplishment, but being a band of teens (or mostly teens) and putting out your first album is just plain ridiculous — even more so when those albums are landmarks in rock and metal.
Imagine recording an album at 16 and years later that album gets certified Gold. That’s what happened with Paramore’s All We Know Is Falling. Or how about Children of Bodom, whose melodic tandem of guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho and keyboardist Janne Wirman were only 18 when they dropped Something Wild? It’s an appropriate title for two kids going bonkers with neoclassical shredding at such an early age, nevermind in an era where lead guitar playing had practically vanished from metal?
Of the 27 mostly teenage debut albums we found, a lot of it leaned toward the extreme side, showing that kids with little preconceived notions about how music should be played and structured were capable of inciting a metal revolution.
READ MORE: The ‘Big 4’ of 27 Rock + Metal Subgenres
On the other end, there’s quite a few scene releases. For a segment of heavy music that places so much emphasis on emotion, this makes perfect sense — it’s a challenging period of life and one that calls for expression as teens ready themselves for adulthood and further define the type of person they want to become.
Marvel at 27 albums by total whiz kids below. Oh, and keep in mind, these musicians were even younger when they began recording these albums!
27 Bands Who Were (Mostly) Teenagers When Their Debut Album Came Out
We Asked an AI Chatbot Why 20 Classic Albums Are So Great – Here’s What It Said
Here’s what an AI Chatbot had to say about classic rock and metal albums.