Dead Can Dance

I first heard Dead Can Dance over a winter semester during which I lived on campus. Winter Session students were housed in a high-rise dormitory so sparsely populated that many of us had entire floors to ourselves. The one class I was taking wasn't all that demanding - a Phys. Ed. credit I needed to graduate - so I spent a good bit of time either walking the campus grounds or up on "my floor" reading and listening to music. A good friend who managed a record shop slipped me a free copy of  "Into the Labyrinth" over Christmas break saying, "I'm pretty sure you're going to like this." She was right, to say the least; I just about wore out the tape during the first few weeks I owned it. I still have that cassette, but "Toward the Within" has since become my favorite album, and "Rakim" is still my favorite track.
Fun fact: Brendan's singing "in tongues" for most of the song.