THE METAL GOD, ROB HALFORD, LISTS THE TEN ALBUMS THAT CHANGED HIS LIFE

robhalfordleathersuit 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

73 Responses

  1. Happy Birthday to the Metal God!! He makes some great choices, but here are mine:

    1. KISS – Rock & Roll Over
    2. Judas Priest – Unleashed in the East
    3. Black Sabbath – We Sold Our Souls for Rock & Roll
    4. Ted Nugent – Double Live Gonzo
    5. AC/DC – Highway to Hell
    6. Aerosmith – Toys in the Attic
    7. Iron Maiden – Killers
    8. Saxon – Wheels of Steel
    9. Scorpions – Blackout
    10. Van Halen – Van Halen

  3. Acdc- back in black
    kinks-Give the people what they want
    Ozzy- Blizzard of oz
    Reo speedwagon -Hi Infidelity
    Black sabbath -Paranoid
    The Doors -Greatest Hits
    Kiss alive 1
    Kiss alive 2
    Rush-Moving Pictures
    Motley Crue- Shout at the devil

    Honorable mention
    Queen- the game

  4. Great list from the Metal God (Happy Birthday and see you in the ATL in late October) and great internal lists! I have never really thought about this but fun none-the-less. I have some repeat from above and repeat artists too. I cannot ignore the 2nd cd/album/tape for any of them! This is in no particular order:
    Priest – Screaming for Vengeance
    Priest – Point of Entry
    Iron Maiden – Number of the Beast
    Metallica – Ride the Lightening
    Metallica – Master of Puppets
    Dio – Holy Diver
    Dio – The Last in Line
    Ozzy – Blizzard of Oz
    Queen – The Game
    Styx – Paradise Theater

    Cheers!

  5. No particular order:

    Judas Priest – Screaming For Vengeance (changed my life in more ways than I can say)
    Triumph – Just A Game
    Van Halen – Van Halen
    Ted Nugent – Cat Scratch Fever (absolutely perfect album)
    Heart – Dreamboat Annie
    Kiss – Destroyer
    AC/DC – High Voltage
    Aerosmith – Get Your Wings
    Deep Purple – Made In Japan
    Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV
    10, out of hundreds, thousands! 🙂

    1. I have to mention The Red Rocker,
      Sammy Hagar – Standing Hampton (talk about a life changer) Cheers 😉

    2. Ted’s is “an absolutely perfect album.” That is one of the most profound things ever stated about rock and roll. It calls for more investigation, not only into the said album, but exactly what is rock and roll and why does Ted capture, synthesize, what you call the “absolutely perfect album.” And what is perfection? And how does Ted defy quantification to be said to be perfect? Does this put rock and roll on a different axis? Does Ted knock rock and roll off its current one, so that rock and roll’s axis now resides in the Universe of Ted? One where Ted, much like what Manowar has tried to do with metal, is the King of the Jungle, the master of the “state of nature,’ if you will. What you have done Doug R. is state that rock and roll, in its purest form, when it has reached its data point of total purity, is Ted Nugent. So Ted, with this record, where he has made his mission statement, has taken rock and roll and redefined it almost. Uhh, right?

    3. ? Just a little over-analyzed! IMO, Cat Scratch Fever is a “perfect album” because EVERY song is strong, not just the title track. From “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang” to “Out Of Control”, and everything in between, once again IMO is as solid as it gets. It kicks my ass & makes me feel good every time I listen to that album, it gives me “Cat Scratch Fever”! Sorry for the pun, but I couldn’t resist! Cheers Clown! 🙂

    4. Come on Doug R! It’s not just he songs, it’s the way Ted captures that abstract notion of “kick ass.” I have it on vinyl. Now, please tell us why Standing Hampton is a life changer.

    5. You tell me clown, you’re the expert analyzer! You have all the answers.
      I didn’t know you wanted specific in-depth details. I thought this was just a conversation about music, not a personal philosophy lecture. Have a good one. 😉

    6. ..Doug R. music and philosophy are certainly not mutually exclusive, in fact, far from it. Besides you said one was a perfect album, and another, a life changer. I think we’re ready to move past Ted and now focus on Sammy. You said it was a life changer…please, enlighten me.

    8. Alright clown, well since you’re so interested, here goes. When I said “talk about a life changer”, I meant for me, personally, ’81/’82, well let’s just say it was a very interesting time in my life. Long story short, you know how it is, sometimes when your life turns to s**t, even temporarily, you need to hear a song sometimes, something encouraging, motivating, “I’ll Fall In Love Again”, without getting too personal, at that time in my life was just what I needed to hear. “There’s Only One Way To Rock”, “Heavy Metal”, were just the ass-kickers that I needed to help get me through a lot of other s**t. Anyway, again, for me, it was a life changing (for the better) album, and if “One Way To Rock” and “Heavy Metal” doesn’t give you motivating positive energy, I don’t know what will! Well, so there you have it, in a nutshell, I hope my explanation was good enough for you, sometimes not everything can be put into words, emotions, feelings, sometimes, there are no words. All I can say is, thank God for music. Cheers 🙂

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