And that band was called Hiroshima.

I suspect the majority of Priest fans worked backwards to the Rocka Rolla era from whatever their JP initiation was.  Anachronistically, I started with it, as "Dying to Meet You" was the first track on The Best of Judas Priest with their Gull material.  It was the first time I had ever really sat down and seriously listened to metal, let alone Priest.  My young self had a very nebulous idea of metal based almost solely on aesthetics and mid '80s pop culture portrayals, and of course, like a dork, I had christened myself a fan before I had even really heard any actual music.

Initially, I found "Dying to Meet You" very disappointing--it lacked the sizzle, the power, and the excitement I was expecting.  It was very morose and lethargic compared to my preconceptions. I recall making some vague associations with whatever mental concept I had of old progressive rock at the time, but I'm sure that I had such limited grasp of genres and musical styles, the term really wouldn't have meant much to me. Were someone to tell me that's what heavy metal was, I would have moved on to something else.  Then the galloping "hero, hero" part kicked in, everything clicked, and my destiny was set. And while I won't claim to have taken any particular notice of the drumming back then, John Hinch was still involved, in some small way, in things that set my life trajectory.

The post title and audio clip* come from the John Hinch interview responses from the "Insight Series" versions of The Best of Judas Priest.**   They're available to hear on YouTube.  While Mr. Tipton is sadly not a fan, anyone interested in Gull-era Priest or the state of pre-NWOBHM British hard rock should give them a listen.

*UPDATE: Apparently it doesn't work, and I have even less interest in fixing technical issues with this blog than I do in technical death metal.  Listen to the interview stuff and you'll figure out the clip.

**The expanded edition of the CD with the Hinch tracks holds the distinction of being one of only two CDs I've ever bought at a Wal-Mart (and which are the only times I've ever gotten music at a regular department store, in fact).  Wondering what the other was, aren't you?  The Eternal Masters Black Sabbath tribute with Cadaver and Cannibal Corpse.