Since today is the 61st birthday of Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford, I thought it would be appropriate to take a brief look at their brief groundbreaking second album, Sad Wings of Destiny.
First of all, Judas Priest is the most important metal band that doesn't call themselves Black Sabbath. The reason I make this claim is because before Judas Priest, no band openly acknowledge or embraced the moniker "heavy metal." By this reasoning, they could be considered the first "true" metal bands. Another reason they are such so important the establishment of the genre is because they were the first metal band to completely abandon any pretension of incorporating any blues elements into their sound. They played louder and faster than any band before them.
The album that started Judas Priest toward the path of metal greatness was Sad Wings of Destiny. This album was a huge departure from the band's first album, Rocka Rolla, which was often dismissed as a poor initial effort. While Rocka Rolla had some elements of metal, it was more of a bluesy, rock and roll album. Sad Wings of Destiny, unlike its predecessor, was very well received by critics and fans alike. This album established the trademark sound of Priest of screeching vocals combined with the wondrous guitar work of K. K. Downing.
The highlights of the album are The Ripper, Dreamer Deceiver, and Victim of Changes. In my opinion, this was one of their best albums from beginning to end. I could listen to this album every day.
The main highlight of any Priest album is the vocals of Rob Halford. There has never been a metal vocalist that can flat out scream like the "metal god." Although I would consider Bruce Dickinson the greatest metal vocalist of all-time, Rob Halford is a very close second.
If you haven't listened to this album yet, I would highly encourage it.
For your listening pleasure, I have attached two clips.
As always, thank you for reading,
Marty Sabin
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