Judas Priest - Sad Wings of Destiny

No 'Victim Of Change' Here!

"Sad Wings Of Destiny," Judas Priest's second album, is an absolute classic and set the benchmark for what an intelligent, musically intricate rock album should be. Luminaries such as Metallica and Megadeth among many others have cited this album as an inspiration - and rightfully so.

Judas Priest's "Sad Wings Of Destiny" was a complete departure from their lackluster debut "Rocka Rolla" and was the impetus for the sound Priest would embark on for the next thirty years of their career. Beginning with the anthemic "Victim Of Changes," which has to be one of the best metal songs of all time, "Sad Wings Of Destiny" shows Halford, Tipton, Downing at their best.

To be honest, I didn't enjoy "Sad Wings Of Destiny" at first but found that is has grown on me over time and is now my perennial Priest favorite. This album showcased the best Priest has to offer and songs such as "Victim Of Changes," "Tyrant," and "Dreamer Deceiver" are still staples of their live shows.

"Sad Wings Of Destiny" is a seminal metal work and deserves a rightful spot in anyone's music collection. October 8, 2008

What a classic

This album is so good. Album cover is awesome as well. Its good to know that good metal can be made without using seven string de-tuned guitars played through mesa-boogie amps. June 10, 2008

If you can only own *one* Priest album

Leaving aside the somewhat restrained production, which in some ways works, the material on this album is astonishing, and you don't even have to add "for 1976". Though Priest is my 2nd favorite band (behind Blue Oyster Cult), I have criticized a lot of their later material. This classic, though, has nothing not well worth listening to. First off, the lyrics are the best they've ever done, quite sophisticated without being difficult to work with. Then, it's just flat out heavy (except for a few tracks which aren't supposed to be). "Tyrant" is *the* example of what metal should be. Other awesome tracks include "Ripper" (Priest really nails short metal songs -- see "Hell Bent"), "Victim of Changes", "Dreamer Deceiver", and "Genocide" (though it is better live). Actually, IMO, these songs sound better on this album than faster live on Unleashed in the East. It's just one of the best metal albums ever. May 3, 2008

Yep, it's a classic

Following the release of their mediocre and widely ignored debut, 1974''s "Rocka Rolla," the members of Judas Priest wisely decided to buckle down and take their music seriously. Two years later, the English quartet emerged with a surprisingly heavy, and extremely powerful and hard-rocking follow-up called "Sad Wings Of Destiny." This release was also extremely influential, and would go on to spawn legions of followers, since it went down in the history books as one of the earliest ever examples of speed and thrash metal. In fact, it could be said that this album almost single handedly inspired a whole new generation of metal, since most thrash/speed metal bands from the 1980's (including Venom, Iron Maiden, Metallica, and Slayer), the 1990's (i.e. Pantera, Iced Earth), and the Twenty-First Century (see High on Fire, Avenged Sevenfold, Dragonforce, Three Inches of Blood, Bullet For My Valentine, etc.) cite it as a major influence. In addition, it also played an important stepping stone in the development of the hard rock and traditional, progressive, power, glam, black, doom, groove, and gothic metal genres. All this considered, it is indisputable that "Sad Wings of Destiny" was officially the first link in what would turn out to be a long chain of truly great, groundbreaking, and timeless records from the almighty Priest.

Granted, "SWoD" does not have a perfect song sequencing, because the album's front-to-back flow can seem to get a little choppy at times. But the songs themselves are more than good and contagious enough to take up that slack. They are chockablock full of delicious goodies. Guitarists K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton are both in top form here, and their surprisingly technical interplay is just unbeatable. Together, they lay down the music's foundation with great, meaty riffs, unique, dual-guitar leads, and excellent, winding solos. The songs are then anchored by an industrial strength rhythm section comprised of Ian Hill's strong bass lines and Alan Moore's traditional, and natural-sounding drumming. And finally, the legendary Rob Halford tops it all of with his world-renowned, lung-stretching vocals, irresistibly catchy chorus hooks, and interesting, often fantastical lyrics. ("Dreamer Deceiver" and "Genocide" are of note for their really out-of-this-world subject matter.)

At around eight minutes in length, the opening "Victim of Changes" was Judas Priest's first epic. It begins with a fade in harmonized guitar part, before alternating catchy, single-note picking with galloping, Black Sabbath-y riffs and a steady, humming bass line throughout the verses. Rob's beautiful singing voice soars over the top of the mix, and the song is completed by memorable choruses, a slow, gloomy breakdown, and several tasty solos (including an especially wailing one around the midpoint). "Dreamer Deceiver" is another instant classic, and is also arguably among the best ballads any metal band has ever recorded. It is a positively beautiful and ethereal piece highlighted by a gorgeous, multi-parted melodic solo that lasts almost two whole minutes, and the kind of brilliant, electrifying vocal performance that only Halford could give. However, this gentle, non-threatening power ballad is surrounded by two unexpectedly fast blitzkriegs. "The Ripper" (which is about Jack The Ripper), and "Deceiver" are very brisk, charging, straight forward, and hard rocking sneak attacks fueled by mindblowing fretwork, including tons of inventive, muscular, crunching riffing. The former is also of note for its fairly hulking bass part. (In fact, some even might say "The Ripper" is bass-driven.) Moving along, track five, "Prelude" is a moody and depressing, neo-classical instrumental interlude.

After that, "SWOD" returns to its aggressive roots. "Tyrant" and "Genocide" are both early thrash songs, and both are superbly and instantly catchy, too. They are beefed up with strong, deft, skipping hooks, stellar twin guitar leads, and cool, blazing solos. Next comes "Epitaph," a really weird and proggy ballad that wouldn't have been out of place on a Queen recording. It is based around a nice piano line, and also finds Rob's impressive, proper, and often soulful singing being accented by angelically high backing vocals. Finally, the album comes full circle with its set closer, "Island of Domination," which is another speedy and more driving number. It boasts gobs of delicious, propulsive, chug and churn guitar licks that possess a classic rock and roll vibe, and are arguably among Glenn Tipton's finest of all-time.

The bottom line here is simple: "Sad Wings of Destiny" shouldn't be chalked-up as anything other than a classic, a landmark on heavy metal's timeline, an eargasmic listen, and an essential purchase for anybody who loves music. April 26, 2008

This is the one !

The best stuff they did. They had some 3 or 4 differnet periods, and this is their second one (if Rocka rolla was one) This is so much more "entertaining" than the stuff from Ram it down or Painkiller. -and even better than British Steel. April 16, 2008

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