"Rocka Rolla" was a promise. "Sad Wings Of Destiny", released in 1976, was the record where JUDAS PRIEST stopped promising and started defining. Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing, Ian Hill and drummer Alan Moore put "Victim Of Changes", "The Ripper", "Tyrant" and "Dreamer Deceiver" on one side of plastic, and heavy metal acquired most of its vocabulary in the process.
Fifty years on, the album is being reissued in two separate editions — and both of them fix something the band has been quietly annoyed about since 1976. "Original 1976 Masters" and "Remixed & Remastered" each restore the track sequence JUDAS PRIEST actually envisioned, opening with the atmospheric "Prelude" rather than the order the label shipped.
"Original 1976 Masters" is the archival one. It is sourced from the original analog master tapes, in storage for decades, and remastered for the anniversary. The vinyl is hand-poured Solar Flare, meaning the colour pattern is different on every single copy; Europe also gets a "Galaxy" option. The CD comes in a plain jewel case with liner notes by Bryan Reesman, previously unseen archival photographs, and the original 1976 version of "Diamonds And Rust" — recorded during the "Sad Wings" sessions and then left off the album.
"Remixed & Remastered" is the new one: a fresh mix built from the original multitrack reels, produced by Tom Allom, mixed by Luie Stylianou and mastered by Matt Colton — the same three who handled the "Rocka Rolla" remix. It arrives as a 45 RPM, 180g double LP on black vinyl, cut at half speed, and as a CD in a digipak. Both physical versions carry a newly remixed "Diamonds And Rust" as a bonus track.
Both editions hit streaming worldwide on October 2. Physical copies of "Original 1976 Masters" land October 9, with early access through the Exciter Records webstore on October 2. "Remixed & Remastered" follows on November 27, with early access on November 6.
"Original 1976 Masters" track listing:
- Prelude
- Tyrant
- Genocide
- Epitaph
- Island Of Domination
- Victim Of Changes
- The Ripper
- Dreamer Deceiver
- Deceiver
- Diamonds And Rust (CD bonus track)
The anniversary year opened quietly: a limited CD of the "Original 1976 Masters" was sold only to fans at JUDAS PRIEST's European "Faithkeepers" shows this summer — the same tour on which "Victim Of Changes" and "The Ripper" were back in the set, fifty years after they were cut.