Source of inspiration

[aquarius]

There's a popular myth that regards The Velvet Underground as being the band that never sold many records, but that everyone who bought one was inspired to write music of their own. I found this interesting, not that I personally find their music all that inspiring. But I can think of other music that fits the example either as compositionally dynamic or in having an abundance of simple creative energy, giving rise to many potential variations. In this way it's often the lesser material that inspires the truly great. Just think of what came out of the black/death/thrash prototype genre of the late 80s.

And the real question: Are there any recent metal or ambient records of note that might apply to this idea?

[Linnaeus]

The Red in the Sky is Ours maybe? It contains riff patterns like no other album, and was the first music I heard that required the sort of attention that made one want to write their own, if for nothing else, then to gain a more insight into the album.

As for recent stuff, maybe Lord Wind will spark the start of a genre in the same way that Sol Invictus/Death in June did. There's a simple uniqueness in the last two Lord Wind releases, and I think a lot of room for alteration and some improvement.