In 1979, heavy metal was still in its infancy. Subgenres that define the scene today – like death metal, black metal and nu metal – were years away from existing, and such generation-defining masters as Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth were yet to even form. However, in an interview with legendary UK magazine Sounds that year, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford was able to predict that heavy music would blow up in the decade to come.
The Metal God was interviewed by future Kerrang! founder and Classic Rock journalist Geoff Barton as the ’70s came to an end, and Barton closed the chat by asking Halford for his take on 1979 being hailed at the time as ‘the year of heavy metal’. The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal was in an upswing thanks to then-newcomers Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and more, so it’s easy to see why the press was so amped up. And Priest’s vocalist agreed about the genre being in rude health.
