10 Songs Which Gave Birth To Heavy Metal

1. Judas Priest - Exciter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO2DYwvseiY Recorded: 1978 By their 4th album, Judas Priest had ditched their previous Progressive Rock and Blues influences and embraced a style that was true Heavy Metal; speed, aggression and an unwavering commitment to shredding your ears with each ear-piercing scream and flailing guitar solo. Completely disregarding conventional Rock and Heavy Metal themes and styles, "Exciter" was the opening track from the album Stained Class and in one fell swoop, Judas Priest altered the Hard Rock landscape forever. Compared to previous work, Priest increased the tempo exponentially, led by double-kick drums which had been used intermittently up to this point but never throughout entire songs. Adding to the fury were K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton's scathing, scything riffs, peeled off at light speed and ultimately culminating in a record so clinically precise you needed surgical gloves to handle it. Rob Halford, a man blessed with one of the most versatile throats in Rock, all but cast aside melody in favour of an eardrum bursting banshee wail as ferocious as the unhinged, high-speed, music backing it; the heart and soul of Speed Metal, Thrash Metal and the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal instantly laid bare. "Exciter" may sound tame to ears used to the extremes modern Metal has embraced in the preceding years, but Priest were tearing up the Hard Rock rulebook back in 1978. Imitated countlessly ever since, "Exciter" may appear cliched and even passé in its approach but only because the ferocity of its attack has been diluted by so many imitators. On "Exciter", Judas Priest discarded the Blues, dumped Progressive Rock and ditched Psychedelia, leaving only one thing left; pure Heavy Metal! Things would never be the same again.