In Norse mythology Valhalla is a giant hall, where the souls of warriors slain in battle are taken by the Valkyries. A form of heaven where they are ruled over by the god Odin, the fallen combatants spend their days fighting safe in the knowledge of never being permanently harmed.
Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford told the story of this song to Classic Rock Revisited : "I've written about a lot of things in my life as a lyricist and I'm always trying to go one step further and into different places.," he said. "There is a series on American TV called The Vikings. I love that. I loved going to Scandinavia and I love to check out the culture and the history of that place and the other places I visit. The Norse mythology of Scandinavia and Denmark and Sweden and some of England...I think about these things and then about four o'clock in the morning I wake up wondering what I can write about to go with this great music."
"Out of the blue came this word, 'Valhalla,'" Halford continued. "I categorized that as a bullet word, and I realized that was my focus. I write and I write and I write. I always overwrite my lyrics. Who knew that the Metal God would be singing about being on the North Sea and heading to Denmark or Sweden searching for Valhalla? That's the great adventure that we have in Priest."
Other songs that reference the giant hall of Valhalla include Manowar's "Swords In The Wind," Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song (the lyric "Valhalla I am coming") and for those of a more classical bent, Richard Wagner's "The Ride Of The Valkyries."
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