A neat little summary of metal history, with emphasis on the role of metal icon, Judas Priest (aka Rob Halford and Co.).
Rob Halford and Co. even adopted this particular style of dress for most of the 70¹s, but it was only a matter of time before the LEATHER reared it’s ugly head!!! Now some of you might say that Rob Halford merely pulled from the gay bar/S&M scene and to that I say, maybe…but it’s a bit more complicated than that. The aforementioned look actually can be traced to the motorcycle gang look that originated in the 1950’s. This “look” is obviously a highly masculine one due to the fact that the human body is basically being draped in dead animal skin (and I suppose this might provide us male members of the species with a glimpse back at our primitive selves). Anyway, the highly-charged, masculine overtones in question obviously appealed to the gay underground scene and they, in turn, stole it from the bikers!!! Besides, the biker look has a definite universal appeal and many film and music icons have used the leather look to their advantage. Marlon Brando’s use of it in the 1950’s biker film, The Wild One catapulted him into superstar status and Elvis’ cool-as-hell, black leather ensemble played a huge part in making his famous ’69 comeback so successful!!! So whatever you want to think…go ahead and think it, just know the history of the leather clad, alpha-male before you start making assumptions!!! Anyway, to tie this shit together, Judas Priest perfected the look that became PURE FUCKIN’ METAL.
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The METAL SOUND is quite another thing and god grant me the reserve to make this brief!!! Sabbath brought us the almighty riff (a big chunk ‘o destruction that destroyed all in it’s path) and, let us not forget, the godly solo. Some say this pattern of heavy riffing broken apart by an extended guitar solo started out with heavy hippie bands (for example, Cream and Hendrix) and that’s partially true. However, Black Sabbath (and other heavy greats like the proto-METAL, Led Zeppelin) solidified this pattern and made it a permanent part of the metal sound!!! So, you might be askin’ yourself, what was Judas Priest’s contribution to the “metal sound” you speak of??? Well, for starters, THEY SPED IT UP TO A LEVEL OF INTENSITY THAT COULD ONLY BE DESCRIBED AS BRUTAL!!! All jumps forward in levels of sonic assault (Metallica, Slayer, etc.), in my opinion, have been just minor blips on metal’s radar screen as opposed to the giant leap made by PRIEST!!! And so it was written, Judas Priest established a pattern of “upping the ante” that metal bands followed throughout much of the 80’s and 90’s!!!
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True, to some it is only a word, but I think that most of us understand the power of words over man (and woman). We metalheads have invested a great number of years into this one word and to us it is much more than just a word…IT IS LIFE!!! We are and will always be METAL!!!
AMEN
[From Breaking Away from the PRIEST: The Unforgivable Sin By JesseMetal-Rules.com]