Album · 50 years old this year
Sad Wings of Destiny (Original 1976 Masters)
Sad Wings of Destiny is Judas Priest's second studio album, and the one where the band settled into the sound and image they would carry forward. It came out in March 1976 on Janus Records. Rob Halford's vocals range widely, the riffs drive things along, and the influences of Queen, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath show up in the variety of moods. It is also the only Priest album with Alan Moore on drums for every track.
The nearly eight-minute "Victim of Changes" is the centrepiece, pairing heavy riffing with high-pitched vocals, extended guitar leads and a slow, moody breakdown. "Tyrant" and "The Ripper" are short, dense rockers, while "Epitaph" brings a crooning, piano-backed calm. Reviews were good but sales weak, and the band, short of money, moved to CBS for Sin After Sin. The album's influence on later metal has only grown.
Sad Wings of Destiny (Original 1976 Masters): tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 39:18Tracklist
- 1Victim of ChangesAtkins, Downing, Halford, Tipton7:45
- 2The RipperGlenn Tipton2:50
- 3Dreamer DeceiverAtkins, Downing, Halford, Tipton5:56
- 4DeceiverDowning, Halford, Tipton2:46
- 5PreludeGlenn Tipton2:02
- 6TyrantRob Halford and Glenn Tipton4:26
- 7GenocideDowning, Halford, Tipton5:47
- 8EpitaphGlenn Tipton3:20
- 9Island of DominationDowning, Halford, Tipton4:26
- Produced by
- Jeffrey Calvert, Judas Priest, Max West, Jeffery Calvert
- Recorded at
- Rockfield Studios, Rockfield (Rockfield, Wales)
- Recorded
- November–December 1975
- Mixed at
- Morgan Studios
- Engineered by
- Jeffrey Calvert, Dave Charles, Chris Tsangarides
- Labels
- Janus Records, Gull
- Length
- 39:18
Line-up
- Kenneth Downing · electric guitar
- Ian Hill · electric bass guitar
- Alan Moore · drums (drum set)
- Glenn Tipton · electric guitar, piano
- Rob Halford · lead vocals
Singles
- “The Ripper” · 19 March 1976 (UK)
- “Deceiver” · March 1977 (Japan)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 2026 | 83 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2026 | 11 |
| UK Independent Albums · 2026 | 34 |
| Scottish Albums · 2026 | 50 |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
66.3
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.5k
ListenBrainz listeners
127k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
2.2k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 26 March
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1977
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1977
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1978
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1978
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1979
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1980
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1981
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1981
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1981
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1982
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1983
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1984
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1986
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1987
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1988
Painkiller
1990
Genocide
1993
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1993
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1996
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1997
Judas Priest Live Meltdown 1998
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1998
The Best of Judas Priest: Living After Midnight
1998
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1998
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2001
Demolition
2001
Live in London
2003
Metalogy
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Angel of Retribution
2005
The Essential Judas Priest
2006
Judas Priest Visions 2008
Visions
2008
Nostradamus EP
2008
Nostradamus
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A Touch of Evil: Live
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The Chosen Few
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Single Cuts
2011
The Complete Albums Collection
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Redeemer of Souls
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5 Souls
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Battle Cry
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1976-03-26 vs 1976-03-23 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 1976 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 26 March 1976 | |
| Wikidata | 23 March 1976 | |
| US release | 1976 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1976 | earliest UK or European date |
30 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | US | Janus Records | original | |
| 1976 | IT | Gull | original | |
| 1976 | GB | Gull | original | |
| 1976 | GB | Gull | original | |
| 1976 | DE | Gull | original | |
| 1976 | FR | Milan | original | |
| 1980 | CA | Ovation Records | other | |
| 1983 | US | RCA | 078635474718 | other |
| 1983 | FR | S.P.I. | other | |
| 1987 | DE | Line Records | 4023290011262 | other |
| 1988 | CA | Attic | other | |
| 1988 | US | RCA | 07863547472 | other |
| 21 August 1990 | JP | Gull | 4988004022135 | other |
| 1995 | DE | Repertoire Records | 4009910455227 | other |
| 1995 | US | Transluxe | 789505780227 | other |
| 1995 | US | Transluxe | 0208311073242 | other |
| 1998 | GB | Snapper Music | 636551556224 | other |
| 25 January 2000 | US | KOCH Records | 099923806721 | other |
| 25 January 2000 | XW | eOne | other | |
| 6 March 2002 | JP | Victor | 4988002423958 | other |
| 2003 | GB | Snapper Classics | 636551612029 | other |
| 12 January 2006 | JP | Victor | other | |
| 2011 | DE | Repertoire Records | 4009910523728 | other |
| 25 January 2012 | JP | Victor | 4988002615025 | other |
| 23 July 2014 | JP | Victor | 4988002676002 | other |
| 2021 | US | eOne | 634164631215 | other |
| 3 January 2025 | — | eOne | other | |
| 2 October 2026 | XW | — | remaster | |
| 2 October 2026 | XW | Exciter Records | 630428444621 | other |
| 16 October 2026 | GB | Exciter Records | 5056688842987 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 600×600 | upscaled |