THE METAL GOD, ROB HALFORD, LISTS THE TEN ALBUMS THAT CHANGED HIS LIFE
When asked by MusicRadar which ten albums changed his life, his list included Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and the Beatles.
His top pick was Electric Ladyland by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Halford said, “Listening to this music at the time it was being made is something I’ll never forget. Simply because of the sheer audacity of this extraordinary guitar player and artist. He made the room light up so vividly. To listen to the sounds that he made with the electric guitar was unbelievably special.
Things were changing at this time. The music in general was getting louder. Marshall amps were being made, speaker cabinets were being used – everything was getting bigger, louder, more impactful. I think Jimi had something to do with that.”
He also praised Led Zeppelin II, describing it as the “roots of heavy metal.” Halford explained, “When I heard the riffs that Jimmy was doing, I got a real sense of where things were going. Even though Led Zeppelin never expressed, ‘We’ve got some heavy metal in us,’ it’s quite apparent that it was there all along.
The riffage and the way they played live – they were a bit like Cream on steroids. John Bonham smashed those drums, and along with the powerful musicianship of Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, they made a sound that was simply incredible. And then you’ve got Robert Plant, screaming and wailing in a way we’d never heard before. Led Zeppelin were such an important band.”
He continued, “The music that touches you in your youth is magnified as you get older. Each record can be a virtual time machine – all you need is to hear a second or two and you go back to that place and time when you first heard it. It’s a brilliant feeling when music touches you so profoundly and stays with you through time.”
The 10 records that changed Rob Halford’s life:
1. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland
2. Cream – Disraeli Gears
3. The Beatles – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
4. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II
5. David Bowie – The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars
6. King Crimson – In The Court Of The Crimson King
7. The Rolling Stones – Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out
8. John Mayall – Blues From Laurel Canyon
9. Alice Cooper – Billion Dollar Babies
10. Queen – Queen
Also, Happy Birthday to the Metal God who celebrates his 63rd year today (August 25th). Judas Priest’s Redeemer of Souls was released on July 8th through Epic Records.
additional source: classicrockmagazine.com
Okay now: Top 10 metal songs of all time: Go!
Not in any order:
1. Killers- Iron Maiden
2. Screaming for Vengeance-the mighty Priest
3. Angel of Death-F’in Slayer
4. Disposable Heroes-Metallica
5. Symptom Of The Universe-Sabbath
6. Iron Fist-Motorhead (sorry Lemmy, it’s pretty much metal!)
7. Blackout-Scorpions
8. Bloodlust-Venom
9. A Dying God Coming Into Human Flesh-Celtic Frost
10. War Pigs- Sabbath
11. Weekend In New England-Barry Manilow (ha ha) : )
Eddie, let’s see your list(s)…?
Just 10, OK:
2112 – Rush
Go For What Ya Know – Pat Travers
Narita – Riot
Wild Cat – Tygers Of Pan Tang (1st time I heard Slave To Freedom, never heard anything like that before!)
Strangers In The Night – UFO
Killers – Maiden
Rising – Rainbow
Made In Japan – Deep Purple
On Through The Night – Def Leppard
Rust In Peace – Megadeth
Too many to choose from, but here’s ten that molded my life.
1. Stained Class- Judas Priest
2. Vol. 4- Black Sabbath
3. On Through The Night- Def Leppard
4. 2112- Rush
5. Rock N Roll Machine- Triumph
6. Heaven And Hell- Black Sabbath
7. Get Your Wings- Aerosmith
8. High Voltage- AC/DC
9. Free For All- Ted Nugent
10. Van Halen/II- Van Halen
I know , i cheated on #10 but the 1st two Van Halen albums influenced me equally, very hard to narrow it down to just 10.
Here is my list in no particular order:
Van Halen I
Tnt – Intuition
Queen – A Night At The Opera
Deep Purple – Machine Head
Kiss – Destroyer
U.F.O – Strangers In The Night
Thin Lizzy – Live and Dangerous
Led Zeppelin – II
AC/DC – High Voltage
Dio – The Last In Line
Honorable Mention goes to Whitesnake’s self titled 1887 album and Motley Crue’s Shout At The Devil
The Whitesnake record released in 1887 is a real rarity to find in mint condition, considering the fact that the Vectrola really did a ruinous job on vinyl back then.