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Heavy metal has a strange relationship with its heroes. On the one hand, figures like Rob Halford, Bruce Dickinson and Ozzy Osbourne are as beloved as the bands they front.

On the other, all of them left or were fired from those bands that made them famous and replaced with other singers. Dickinson was himself a replacement singer for original Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno. While most of the acts are replaced with singers that are considered a step down from the originals (although don’t get the Sabbath die-hards started on Ozzy vs Dio all over again), that’s a completely unheard of prospect in most other worlds of rock ‘n’ roll.

You might get away with replacing Henry Rollins in Black Flag (except you can’t replace Greg Ginn, no matter how hard you try), but the moment Morissey wanted to go solo, The Smiths were done. Which is a pity, isn’t it? Same with The Police, Oasis and the Pixies, once the singer wanted out, the band was no more. Now, in those cases, the singers were also at least one part of the main creative hub of the band. In Sting and Black Francis’ case, they were the creative hub of the band.

In heavy metal, it’s actually surprisingly rare for there to be a main creative hub of any band. It’s a more democratic genre than most would give it credit for, so when the singer wants to go solo, there’s more than enough creative voices in the band to keep the band going afterwards. In theory, anyway. In practice, it often shows just how much musical quality comes from the right kind of chemistry with the right kind of people.

Case in point, the story of Rob Halford leaving Judas Priest in 1992 to form a new band, and eventually putting together the band Two (or “2wo” if you’re feeling particularly ’90s-tastic) in 1996.

Why did Rob Halford form Two?

All this served to prove was that while Halford was a man of impeccable taste, he really needed a collaborator to make his work truly great. As it stood, all Fight proved was that Halford had listened to Cowboys From Hell, Rage Against the Machine and especially The Downward Spiral and gone, “Yeah, I’ll have some of that”. Their debut record was even released on Trent Reznor’s record label. The Nine Inch Nails influence didn’t just go into the music; it also went into the visuals.

Now, this is nothing new for Halford. In fact, one of the greatest tricks ever pulled in music was getting a generation of regressive, knuckle-dragging metal fans to dress like leather daddies in droves. His aesthetics had pioneered heavy music for a generation. So, despite the music video for Two’s debut single ‘I Am A Pig’ being agreeably perverse, sexual and joyously not safe for work (not for nothing did they hire a literal porn director to shoot it), there was, ironically enough, something a little hum-drum about it.

There’s no doubt that it came from the heart. Halford had *ahem* close working relationships with half the adult performers on set. This was no case of a dilettante rock star trying to be shocking and yet… It just didn’t shock. This was just what rock ‘n’ roll music looked like at the time. Marilyn Manson was the biggest name in heavy music. Nine Inch Nails had released ‘Closer’ two years earlier. No matter how legit his credentials were, Halford just wasn’t shocking anymore.

Fittingly enough, the band lasted “2wo” years, and by 1999, Halford was back fronting Priest again.