The heaviness pretty much all started for me when I was a young teen, with the earliest Judas Priest that came out in the mid to late 70's. Now that I think about it, they could be one of the reasons why I don't put a lot of focus on vocals in some of my music these days. Since I grew up listening to everything Rob Halford, nearly every other singer pales in comparison anyway.
I was...let's say, 'under the influence', when I heard a friend play "Victim of Changes", from their second album, Sad Wings of Destiny. I couldn't find that one at the store, so the first cassette I can remember buying was their third, Sin After Sin. Released in 1977, it was produced by Roger Glover of Deep Purple, and it's one of my favorite Judas Priest recordings. I can't tell you how many copies I went through before the digital age began.
Halford's incredible piercing screams abound in "Dissident Aggressor", which I think is the album's most pummeling track. I hadn't heard anything like it at the time and the Tipton-Downing dynamic guitar duo blew me away. I was hooked from then on.
After listening to Sin After Sin again for the first time in a while, and analyzing more deeply, I remember it was about the time when some music started affecting me on a deep emotional level, too. Tossed between divorced parents and feeling abandoned, I often turned to music for comfort and release. I recall that I could really relate to the lyrics in the "Here Come The Tears". All alone. No one cares. Won't somebody love me? I never knew music could be so powerfully touching. Wow...it's all coming back to me. I needa minute, here they come.
Okay, I'm back. So If you haven't heard this album in a while, it's time to revisit your old friend. If you've never heard it and you don't have it, then you should be ashamed of yourself. There's nothing like early Judas Priest and Sin After Sin. Nothing.
--Heddbuzz