Judas Priest's Sad Wings of Destiny marked a major leap forward for not only the band, but the entire heavy-metal genre. Featuring epic song structures, fast guitar leads and incredibly high-pitched wails from vocalist Rob Halford, the album continues to influence bands to this day. Completely excised was the blues influence of Black Sabbath's music, and left in its place was heavy metal in its purest form. If Black Sabbath were the earliest pioneers of the doom-metal subgenre, then Priest were primal progenitors of power metal. From older bands like Iron Maiden to current bands like DragonForce, the influence of this album can be heard.



"Victim of Changes" live in Memphis, 1982:


Meanwhile, Black Sabbath released an album that clearly marked them as a band on the way down. Technical Ecstasy was easily the band's worst LP to that point. It displayed a clear lack of focus due primarily to internal struggles which saw both bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne leave the band for short periods of time. The songs are inconsistent and lack the heaviness of prior albums. It was during this time that Ozzy first began attempting to establish a band of his own, which would become wildly successful in later years.