Monday 15 December 2008

Judas Priest - Sad Wings Of Destiny (1976)


Okay, so I've never been overly convinced by Priest within the metal realm. Like Maiden, I've found handfuls of their recordings to be noteworthy slab's but certainly not records to die for. After the raging grey seas of the mighty Sabbath, I've never aimed my studded fist towards Priest although can see how they've inspired so many acts which I've grown to love over the years. Maybe it was Rob Halford's whine which out me off, or the fact that some of the remastered cd's were just tinny, and I kinda missed the boat with the debut 'Rocka Rolla', but always read rave reviews about this particular record. Sorry, but 'The Ripper' does nothing for me, finding no real menace in its plod and this is the problem with the entire album if you ask me. Sure, it's better than the sparkle strut of lame Kiss, but Priest have long been considered gods of metal, but the frail framework of 'Deceiver' leaves me empty, and 'Tyrant' lacks the beef of even lesser metal acts such as The Who, and 'Epitaph' leaves me cringing in its theatrical wake. I failed to see the frothing, salivating praise bestowed upon chief metal reviewer Martin Popoff who speaks of 'Sad Wings...' like some kind of masterful metal paradise.

Thankfully, Priest would get better but as a band they've always eluded me. I guess at the time, thousands of thirteen year old metalheads were as excited by 'Sad Wings...' as I were with the likes of early Slayer, but listening back this just sounds out of date.

6.5/10

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