There hasn't been much spice in the forums lately, so after having a Judas Priest marathon yesterday, I have decided to spice things up a bit with what is probably a controversial suggestion that is likely to be shot down but might lead to a lively and hopefully enjoyable debate. I checked the list of bands on the Prog Metal team agenda on Mike's Rating Freak website and I didn't see that Judas Priest has been suggested for Prog Metal, so therefore I have decided to suggest them.
My suggestion is that based on current site guidelines, a band must have 1 prog album to be included on Prog Archives. It is my opinion that their first two albums Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings of Destiny might just qualify as progressive rock or progressive metal albums, and that their 3rd album Sin After Sin has some progressive moments. The remainder of their output is just good solid heavy metal music which may or may not have influenced many prog metal bands, but I am not suggesting that they are prog albums.
Therefore, might I request that the Prog Metal team discuss the possible inclusion of Judas Priest based on the merits of their first two and possibly three albums for inclusion into the progressive metal subgenre.
Obviously, Judas Priest is not some obscure band, and the fact that they are not already in the archives hasn't alluded me, but since I don't see that they have been rejected by the prog metal team, I figure why not suggest them. I would really enjoy reviewing their albums for the site, and since I very rarely visit the metal archives sites since I don't really care for much of what passes as metal these days, I would rather review them here.
Like other controversial metal band inclusions, if there were a proto-prog metal category, they would probably fit nicely there. But since there isn't and Judas Priest isn't old enough for the Proto-Prog category that leaves the prog metal sub genre as the only possible location where they might possibly fit.
Thank you for your time and hopefully this starts a friendly discussion.
Also, my apologies to my friends on the site that would prefer more lively discussions about lesser known pure prog bands. I know that Judas Priest doesn't need the press, but they are one of my favorite bands going back to my pre-prog days, and I really would enjoy reviewing their albums here.