Judas Priest's Reviews

Sad Wings of Destiny

(Average Rating: 9.18 out of 10)

Judas Priest's first "Outstanding" album.

(Rated this album with 10 out of 10)
Reviewed by tkdmateo from Manhattan, Kansas United States

Before their persona of Harley Davidsons and studded leather, Priest was shrouded in the image of flowing, hippie, big girls blousons, and so it was during this period that the band was searching for the right style to go with. After the seriously lackluster debut, 'Rocka Rolla' (see my review for details on that album), Glen Tipton (lead guitarist) decided to take K.K. Downing's (lead guitarist) place in co-writing the songs with Halford (vocalist). In doing so, the songs became much better in quality and a hard-edgedness was established that influenced nearly every album that came after it. Because of this, many fans consider this to be "the best priest album" or "best metal album ever". While I can't say that it is flawless, I still agree that anyone who loves the band or classic metal in general should add 'Sad Wings Of Destiny' to their collection.

You will certainly find alot of vintage tunes here, that much I can guaruntee. 'Victim Of Changes' is a great way to start off, followed by the band's first haunting metal tune, 'The Ripper'. 'Dreamer Deciever' is a decent ballad, while 'Deceiver' is a short, but upbeat rocker. My favorite one is the 'Prelude/Tyrant' track. This track alone influenced the later Priest "intro/fast-paced tune" songs, like 'Electric Eye', 'The Sentinel', and 'Night Crawler'. Even the last three tracks, 'Genocide', 'Epitaph', and 'Island of Domination' are great enough to follow up the first songs without being considered "fillers".

Overall, this is an excellent 70's-era Priest album. It may not sound as heavy as 'Hell Bent For Leather' or 'Defenders Of The Faith", but 'Sad Wings' was in fact the seed that sprouted this band into becoming the "Metal Gods". It delivers outstanding classic metal from front to back. Not as dreary-mooded as the next album, but a giant step up from the previous effort, it's definitely a good one to start off with.

Buy this album on Amazon at $10.99