Originally Posted by The_Juke

I was always told that Iron Maiden was a Punk band but after gaining popularity became Heavy Metal.

Iron Maiden is probably one of the most inspiring bands in metal history. I talked to lots of young metal bands almost daily and the Iron Maiden is clear in their music.

I like how you say Judas Priest is the start of Heavy Metal. Most people say its Black Sabbath and call Ozzy the God Father of Metal. That is something I have always thought to be a false. I always thought that Black Sabbath was a real dark metal, but lacked an element of Heavy Metal, two guitars and lots of leads with power vocals.. While I like Black Sabbath and Ozzy (most the earlier stuff) I think Black Sabbaths popularity of the older material was for the most part due to Ozzy’s solo carrier. Judas Priest was well established when Blizzard of Oz came out I heard of Sabbath when Heaven and Hell came out with Dio. Like most fans I researched Black Sabbath and discovered that Ozzy was the original singer. The 2 most successful albums from Black Sabbath are Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules.

But it was Judas Priest that really laid the foundation for metal.

In my life Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Rush and Led Zeppelin have been the biggest influence on my music.