Album Details

• Artist: Judas Priest
• Album: Sad Wings Of Destiny
• Label: Gull
• Year of Release: 1976
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: gwhill on 2012-10-24

While most of Judas Priest’s catalog fits under the general heading of “heavy metal,” and lean towards the pure metal sound often called “true steel,” they have dabbled with sounds that could be called “progressive metal” at points. Surely their latest studio album, Nostradamus could earn that label. When Point of Entry was released, it got referred to as “progressive metal” and that might have been the first use of that term ever. The truth is, this, their second album, certainly flirted with progressive rock and might truly fit under the heading of “progressive rmetal.” Whatever it’s called, though, it’s quite a strong album that covers a lot of musical territory.

Other than their debut, the early Judas Priest albums, this one being the first of those, had an angular sort of guitar sound that was unique. It really set them apart. Several Judas Priest classics (“Victim of Changes,” “The Ripper,” “Tyrant” and “Genocide”) were first presented to the world on this album. If one wanted to look at just one portion of the disc to present the many sides of Sad Wings of Destiny, though, it would probably be the one-two punch of “Dreamer Deceiver” paired with “Deceiver.” The two songs seem to be intended as a suite, at least that’s the indication of both the title and the music, with “Deceiver” representing the resolution of the tension that builds on its predecessor. Combined they present an epic piece that is at the start mellow, oddly compelling and quite progressive rock like. When it ends, though, it’s a real indication of the fiery, literally screaming, sound that would later typify Judas Priest’s brand of heavy metal.

Sad Wings of Destiny presented a different sound for Judas Priest. It also had the foundation of the type of menacing metal Priest became known for creating. It has a lot of range and really did a great job of cementing the Judas Priest sound. It also had a better production than the group’s debut and allowed vocalist Rob Halford to shine.

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