3 Heavy Metal Songs From the Early 1980s That Pointed Toward the Decade’s Darker Future
The article identifies three early-1980s heavy metal songs that it argues anticipated the genre’s darker late-decade direction. It highlights Black Sabbath’s “Heaven and Hell”, Judas Priest’s “The Sentinel” and Iron Maiden’s “The Number of the Beast” for their ominous, dystopian and occult themes.
“Heaven and Hell”, written by Ronnie James Dio, became a staple for Black Sabbath and related Dio projects. Judas Priest’s “The Sentinel”, from the Billboard 200 No. 18 album Defenders of the Faith, is presented as an early example of futuristic violence in metal, while Iron Maiden’s 1982 title track reached No. 18 in the UK despite controversy in the United States during the Satanic Panic.
- Three songs foreshadowed metal’s darker late-1980s themes.
- Black Sabbath supplied ominous grandeur.
- Judas Priest and Iron Maiden explored dystopia and occult horror.