It’s not that metal-as-we-know-it didn’t exist in a nascent stage by 1976 – classics from UFO, Thin Lizzy, Rainbow, and others came out that year – but Judas Priest’s sophomore release was both a huge evolutionary leap for them and formed the entire basis of the genre moving forward. The guitar tone sounded like sword striking steel, while Rob Halford’s falsetto still sends chills down the listener’s spine (especially at the climax of “Victim of Changes”). “The Ripper” alone practically unleashed the New Wave of British Heavy Metal in its London town streets.