FEATURE:
A Buyer’s Guide
I am recommending the essential work of the legendary Metal band, Judas Priest. The band have been together over fifty years and their released their most-recent album, Firepower, in 2018. Led by the amazing Rob Halford, he is also an icon of the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ community. Someone who helped break down barriers and walls by coming out. Before getting to the albums, here is some biography from AllMusic:
“Judas Priest were one of the most influential heavy metal bands of the '70s, spearheading the New Wave of British Heavy Metal late in the decade. Decked out in leather and chains, the band fused the gothic doom of Black Sabbath with the riffs and speed of Led Zeppelin, as well as adding a vicious two-lead guitar attack; in doing so, they set the pace for much popular heavy metal from 1975 until 1985, as well as laying the groundwork for the speed and death metal of the '80s.
Formed in Birmingham, England, in 1970, the group's core members were guitarist K.K. Downing and bassist Ian Hill. Joined by Alan Atkins and drummer John Ellis, the band played their first concert in 1971. Atkins' previous band was called Judas Priest, yet the members decided it was the best name for the new group. The band played numerous shows throughout 1971; during the year, Ellis was replaced by Alan Moore; by the end of the year, Chris Campbell replaced Moore. After a solid year of touring the U.K., Atkins and Campbell left the band in 1973 and were replaced by vocalist Rob Halford and drummer John Hinch. They continued touring, including a visit to Germany and the Netherlands in 1974. By the time the tour was completed, they had secured a record contract with Gull, an independent U.K. label. Before recording their debut album, Judas Priest added guitarist Glenn Tipton.
Rocka Rolla was released in September of 1974 to almost no attention. The following year, they gave a well-received performance at the Reading Festival and Hinch departed the band; he was replaced by Alan Moore. Later that year, the group released Sad Wings of Destiny, which earned some positive reviews. However, the lack of sales was putting the band in a dire financial situation, which was remedied by an international contract with CBS Records. Sin After Sin (1977) was the first album released under that contract; it was recorded with Simon Phillips, who replaced Moore. The record received positive reviews and the band departed for their first American tour, with Les Binks on drums.
When they returned to England, Judas Priest recorded 1978's Stained Class, the record that established them as an international force in metal. Along with 1979's Hell Bent for Leather (Killing Machine in the U.K.), Stained Class defined the nascent New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. A significant number of bands adopted Priest's leather-clad image and hard, driving sound, making their music harder, faster, and louder. After releasing Hell Bent for Leather, the band recorded the live album Unleashed in the East (1979) in Japan; it became their first platinum album in America. Les Binks left the band in 1979; he was replaced by former Trapeze drummer Dave Holland. Their next album, 1980's British Steel, entered the British charts at number three, launched the hit singles "Breaking the Law" and "Living After Midnight," and was their second American platinum record; Point of Entry, released the following year, was nearly as successful.
At the beginning of the '80s, Judas Priest was a top concert attraction around the world, in addition to being a best-selling recording artist. Featuring the hit single "You've Got Another Thing Comin'," Screaming for Vengeance (1982) marked the height of their popularity, peaking at number 17 in America and selling over a million copies. Two years later, Defenders of the Faith nearly matched its predecessor's performance, yet metal tastes were beginning to change, as Metallica and other speed/thrash metal groups started to grow in popularity. That shift was evident on 1986's Turbo, where Judas Priest seemed out of touch with current trends; nevertheless, the record sold over a million copies in America on the basis of name recognition alone. However, 1987's Priest...Live! was their first album since Stained Class not to go gold. Ram It Down (1988) was a return to raw metal and returned the group to gold status. Dave Holland left after this record and was replaced by Scott Travis for 1990's Painkiller. Like Ram It Down, Painkiller didn't make an impact outside the band's die-hard fans, yet the group was still a popular concert act.
In the early '90s, Rob Halford began his own thrash band, Fight, and soon left Judas Priest. In 1996, following a solo album by Glenn Tipton, the band rebounded with a new young singer, Tim "Ripper" Owens (formerly a member of a Priest tribute band and of Winter's Bane). They spent the next year recording Jugulator amidst much self-perpetuated hype concerning Priest's return to their roots. The album debuted at number 82 on the Billboard album charts upon its release in late 1997. Halford had by then disbanded Fight following a decrease in interest and signed with Trent Reznor's Nothing label with a new project, Two. In the meantime, the remaining members of Judas Priest forged on with '98 Live Meltdown, a live set recorded during their inaugural tour with Ripper on the mike. Around the same time, a movie was readying production to be based on Ripper's rags-to-riches story of how he got to front his all-time favorite band. Although Priest was originally supposed to be involved with the film, they ultimately pulled out, but production went on anyway without the band's blessing (the movie, Rock Star, was eventually released in the summer of 2001, starring Mark Wahlberg in the lead role). Rob Halford in the meantime disbanded Two after just a single album, 1997's Voyeurs, and returned back to his metal roots with a quintet simply named Halford. The group issued its debut in 2000, Resurrection, following it with a worldwide tour that saw the new group open up Iron Maiden's Brave New World U.S. tour, and issue a live set one year later (which included a healthy helping of Priest classics) -- Live Insurrection.
In 2001 the Ripper-led Priest issued a new album, Demolition, and Priest's entire back catalog for Columbia was reissued with remastered sound and bonus tracks. In 2003 the band -- including Halford -- collaborated on the liner notes and song selections for their mammoth career-encompassing box Metalogy, a collaboration that brought Halford back into the fold. Owens split from the group amicably in 2003, allowing the newly reunited heavy metal legends to plan their global live concert tour in 2004, with their sixteenth studio album, Angel of Retribution, to be released the following year. In 2008 the band released Nostradamus, a sprawling, two-disc conceptual piece that charted the life and times of the famous French seer. On December 7, 2010, Priest broke the news that their upcoming Epitaph world tour would be their last. The following month, however, they clarified that they were not disbanding, announcing that they were working on new material. Before the tour began, founding member Downing left the band over differences with the other members and their management; he was replaced by Richie Faulkner.
Priest worked on their new album during the tour, which ran until 2012. The album's release was delayed several times, but it was eventually announced that it would see the light of day in July 2014. Entitled Redeemer of Souls, it was described by Priest as a traditional, crowd-pleasing return to their roots, and went on to become the group's first Top Ten album in the U.S., landing at the number six slot on the Billboard 200 chart. A lengthy tour followed, and in early 2016 Priest issued the concert album/DVD/Blu-ray Battle Cry, which featured highlights from their August 1, 2015 performance at Germany's Wacken Festival.
Judas Priest began loosely demoing ideas for a studio album in 2016, but didn't enter the studio as a band until a year later. It wasn't until January of 2018 that they announced to the press and social media that they'd completed Firepower, their 18th studio album. They revisited their original, organic way of recording, with the entire band playing together at the same time in the studio. They underscored this by enlisting producers Tom Allom -- who worked on all of the band's records from 1979 through 1988 -- and Grammy-winning veteran Andy Sneap. In a press release, Halford explained, "Tom Allom has got this classic metal thing, and Andy is a bit more of a 'modern metal producer'," adding, "I think to get this balance between that classic old-school metal to what Andy's world is was just a remarkable coalescence."
In January of 2018, the band announced the March release of Firepower with a teaser video for the single "Lightning Strikes" and news of a forthcoming world tour. In February, guitarist Tipton -- diagnosed with Parkinson's disease a decade earlier -- announced that it had progressed to the point where he had to retire from touring. Sneap would fill his slot on the road. Former guitarist K.K. Downing, who claimed he was shocked that he wasn't asked to replace Tipton on tour, asserted in public that "Sneap's role was actually much more than as a producer on Firepower" -- i.e., he actually played Tipton's parts on the album. Halford took to the media to respond, saying that "everything that you hear from Glenn on Firepower is the amazing Glenn Tipton." He called Downing's accusation "completely superfluous" and "a thousand percent false." On March 2, Judas Priest released the lyric video for second single "Never the Heroes." Firepower was issued on March 9”.
If you need a guide to Judas Priest, then I have recommended their four finest albums, one that is underrated, the latest studio album. I also brought in a book suggestion that should serve you well. Here is my guide to…
THE epic Judas Priest.
_____________
The Four Essential Albums
Sin After Sin
Release Date: 8th April, 1977
Label: Columbia
Producers: Roger Glover/Judas Priest
Standout Tracks: Starbreaker/Raw Deal/Dissident Aggressor
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/741024
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/2GXeHOkRouW0LnKBMUnVtv?si=NzHqBR01TeCl-H9TQwwE0A&dl_branch=1
Review:
“Judas Priest's major-label debut Sin After Sin marks their only recording with then-teenage session drummer Simon Phillips, whose technical prowess helps push the band's burgeoning aggression into overdrive. For their part, K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton employ a great deal more of the driving, palm-muted power-chord picking that would provide the basic rhythmic foundation of all but the most extreme heavy metal from here on out. Sin After Sin finds Priest still experimenting with their range, and thus ends up as perhaps their most varied outing. Yet despite the undeniably tremendous peaks here, the overall package doesn't cohere quite as well as on Sad Wings of Destiny, simply because the heavy moments are so recognizable as the metal we know today that the detours stick out as greater interruptions of the album's flow. The proggy ballad "Last Rose of Summer" is the biggest departure here, with florid lyrics and "red blood/white snow" imagery that would be fully at home on any goth rock band's most depressing bedsit dirges. "Here Come the Tears" is musically dissimilar, with heavy guitars and Halford's downcast wailing, but it's just as lyrically mopey. These two sit rather uneasily against the viciousness of the more metallic offerings. Classic opener "Sinner" is packed with driving riffs, sophisticated guitar interplay (including a whammy-bar freakout during a slower middle section), a melody that winds snakily upward, and nifty little production tricks doubtless inspired by Queen. A galloping, fully metallic reimagining of the Joan Baez folk tune "Diamonds and Rust" is a smashing success, one of the most effective left-field cover choices in metal history. "Starbreaker" is the first of many "alien monsters from the sky!" tunes in the band's catalog. Proggy, churchy guitar intro "Let Us Prey" quickly leads into the speed-burner "Call for the Priest," which may just be the earliest building block in the construction of speed metal, and features some of Tipton and Downing's most impressive twin-guitar harmonies yet. "Raw Deal" is a less immediate metal offering that faintly recalls the band's blues-rock roots, though it may be most interesting for the blatant lyrical references to S&M bars and gay haven Fire Island, not to mention an unmistakable endorsement of gay rights. Things close on a high note with the utterly stunning "Dissident Aggressor," one of the heaviest songs in the band's catalog, so much so that it was covered (and not outdone) by Slayer. Once the bludgeoning main riff abruptly kicks in, Halford screams at what must be the very top of his range; a completely manic Phillips offers some of the earliest double-bass drumming in metal; and the crazed guitar solos prove that Tipton and Downing had more than just pure technique at their disposal. It's not a stretch to say that at the time of its release, "Dissident Aggressor" was probably the heaviest metal song of all time. It's the biggest sign here that as good as Judas Priest already was, they were on the verge of something even greater. In what must seem like a much bigger oddity now, the inaugural American tour that ensued found them opening for REO Speedwagon and Foreigner” – AllMusic
Choice Cut: Diamonds and Rust
British Steel
Release Date: 14th April, 1980
Label: Columbia
Producer: Tom Allom
Standout Tracks: Rapid Fire/United/Living After Midnight
Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/judas-priest/british-steel-3954bff0-1f56-40f1-abc6-5a75540ef3b6
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/4OwBaU87F1fKR9xAQ5qdhQ?si=5lpLSNe3R42G0zHHAduJng&dl_branch=1
Review:
“The mighty Priest are everything that makes heavy metal the last true youth tribe. To the uninitiated they represent the naffness of the genre: the leather, denim, studs and spandex uniform and the harsh, histrionic, almost operatic vocal delivery. To their legions of fans, however, they will always remain the most important of all heavy metal groups. They represent the bridging point between the heavy doom rock of Black Sabbath et al and the myriad forms of extreme metal that came after the late 80s. They basically laid the bedrock for thrash, death and black metal. Also aiding the genre’s longevity is the uniform, which was popularised and codified by the group who combined the Hells Angels uniform with Viking and fetish elements.
But if Judas Priest are the gatekeepers of real metal, even they have an entry drug and that is British Steel, which here receives the lavish 30th anniversary treatment. The band was already 11 years old and onto their second (and most famous) vocalist, Rob Halford, by the time they released this revolutionary album. In very loose terms it represented a new found maturity and individualism in metal, as it severed the last remaining links to the blues that had informed earlier albums by fellow Black Country bands Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.
The showy virtuosity of previous albums was replaced by the chugga-chug riffola of Rapid Fire. The twin guitar assault of Glen Tipton and KK Downing was promoted to the fore on tracks like Metal Gods – meaning this would be the first album which would break the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) into the mainstream. But mainly it was Priest’s continued ability to pen stone cold classics like Breaking the Law, Grinder and Living After Midnight that saw them move into the 80s at the top of their game.
This is an essential heavy metal artefact, packaged here with a live disc and accompanying DVD, recorded in 2009. The bonus content gives an important album of the past some contemporary context, rendering it every bit as relevant as fare from today’s younger pretenders” – BBC (30th Anniversary Edition)
Choice Cut: Breaking the Law
Screaming for Vengeance
Release Date: 17th July, 1982
Label: Columbia
Producer: Tom Allom
Standout Tracks: Electric Eye/(Take These) Chains/Screaming for Vengeance
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=26341&ev=mb
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/0V7mTTzioHiYIjfM8ATZBI?si=LO11w_hYS_m7kLUeWiImXg&dl_branch=1
Review:
“Judas Priest rebounded from the shaky Point of Entry with Screaming for Vengeance, arguably the strongest album of their early-'80s commercial period. Having moved a bit too far into simplistic hard rock, Vengeance found the band refocusing on heavy metal, and achieving a greater balance between commercialism and creativity. The results were catchy and accessible, yet harder-hitting, and without the awkwardly apparent calculation that informed the weakest moments of the album's two predecessors. Ultimately, Screaming for Vengeance hangs together better than even the undeniable landmark British Steel, both thematically and musically. There's less of a party-down feel here -- the remaining traces of boogie have been ironed out, and the lyrics return to the darkness and menace that gave the band its mystique. Sure, if you stop to read the lyrics, all the references to demons and devils and monsters can look a little gratuitous, but the music here is so strong that there simply aren't any seams showing. Even the occasional filler is more metallic this time around -- in place of trite teenage rebellion, listeners get the S&M-themed "Pain and Pleasure." In fact, "Pain and Pleasure" and "Fever" are the only two songs here that have never shown up on a band retrospective, which ought to tell you that Priest's songwriting here is perhaps the best it's ever been. The midtempo grooves that enlivened British Steel are here in full force on the band's signature tune, "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" (their only American chart single), as well as "Bloodstone," "Devil's Child," and unfairly forgotten single "(Take These) Chains," all uniformly great. But there's a nearly equal emphasis on uptempo headbanging, thanks to the classic "The Hellion/Electric Eye," the terrific album track "Riding on the Wind," and the stupendously high-velocity title cut, which is the closest they ever came to thrash metal (at least in the '80s). Despite a one-album misstep in between, Screaming for Vengeance managed to capitalize on the commercial breakthrough of British Steel, becoming the first Priest album to be certified double platinum, and reaching the Top 20 in America and the U.K. alike. Along with British Steel, it ranks as one of the best and most important mainstream metal albums of the '80s”- AllMusic
Choice Cut: You've Got Another Thing Coming
Painkiller
Release Date: 3rd September, 1990
Label: Columbia
Producer: Chris Tsangarides
Standout Tracks: All Guns Blazing/Night Crawler/A Touch of Evil
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=26296&ev=mb
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/7LgrhuKnAXpNEv8qzcVd2t?si=cajHQg0YToKSX7SS3qux6A&dl_branch=1
Review:
“Judas Priest finally released Painkiller on September 3rd, 1990. It was an instant classic. The band came roaring back into the heavy metal universe with perhaps its heaviest release yet. Painkiller was a speed metal masterpiece, and its take no prisoners style was very influential over the next decade and a half, especially to German power metal bands such as Primal Fear and Gamma Ray.
Unlike in previous albums, every song is strong on Painkiller. Whether it be the heavy, intense title track; the short but energetic Leather Rebel; The very metallic sounding Metal Meltdown; or the mid paced and dark Between the Hammer and the Anvil; each song is worth listening to. None of the songs could really be considered filler except for maybe Battle Hymn, as it is just a short introduction to the tenth track, One Shot At Glory. The two bonus tracks on the remaster: the ballad Living Bad Dreams, and Leather Rebel (Live), are also excellent, excellent tracks and very well deserve to be on the album.
Painkiller is full of many memorable riffs and leads from Glenn and K.K. Among the finest moments of the album come from the intense riffing combined with Halford's wailing vocals. In many of the songs, the guitar work is very aggressive, especially in the relentless title track. The songs found on Painkiller are very energetic from start to finish, and each member seems to feed off each other's performances.
If Painkiller had a weak point, it would be the lyrics that were put together for the album's songs. Judas Priest has never been known for writing deep or introspective lyrics, but what you'll find on Painkiller is some of the worst of their career. Silly lines such as "Faster than a lazer bullet / Louder than an atom bomb!"(Painkiller), "Cross cutting thundercharge / Blade of destruction / Flame throwing hurricane destroys the cage"(All Guns Blazing) or "Imminent Collision / Shockwaves all around / Generating energy / Screams so loud"(Metal Meltdown) can be heard throughout the album. The lyrics aren't bad enough to bring down an album Painkiller's stature, but at times they are very cringe worthy. This is my only complaint with Painkiller, however, and it isn't really that big of a problem.
Unfortunately, this would be the last album that vocalist Rob Halford would take part in with the band until 2005's Angel of Retribution, fifteen years later. Rob went on for form many projects such as Fight or his solo band, Halford in the coming years. Priest, on the other hand, layed low for seven years, before releasing their next album Jugulator with Tim 'Ripper' Owens. While this occurred, their 1990 release, Painkiller, flexed it's influential muscle, particularly in the field of power metal, where many band's tried to recreate it's intense riffing and unforgettable leads in their own albums. Painkiller is easily one of the all time great speed metal albums, and definitely ranks among Judas Priest's top 3 albums” – Sputnikmusic
Choice Cut: Painkiller
The Underrated Gem
Rocka Rolla
Release Date: 6th September, 1974
Label: Gull
Producer: Roger Bain
Standout Tracks: One for the Road/Deep Freeze/Run of the Mill
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=26328&ev=mb
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/4AxwGk6EmqSZMadj39ZI3T?si=0lqbiSazTDqq8Ah4rdtKiQ&dl_branch=1
Review:
“A sketchy and underfocused debut, Rocka Rolla nonetheless begins to delineate the musical territory Judas Priest would explore over the remainder of the decade: frighteningly dark in its effect, tight in its grooves, and capable of expanding to epic song lengths. On the other hand, Rocka Rolla is also murkier, less precise and powerful in its riff attack, and more blues-based; the stylistic debts to Black Sabbath and Deep Purple are obvious at this juncture, although they would become much less apparent on subsequent releases. The compositions alternate between short songs and extended suites; some are decent, but overall they don't establish a real direction and tend to plod aimlessly in many of the longer pieces. Mostly a curiosity for hardcore fans, Rocka Rolla definitely hints at Judas Priest's potential and originality, but doesn't always suggest the quantum leap in vision that would occur with their very next record” – AllMusic
Choice Cut: Rocka Rolla
The Latest Album
Firepower
Release Date: 9th March, 2018
Label: Epic
Producers: Tom Allom and Andy Sneap
Standout Tracks: Lightning Strike/Never the Heroes/Flame Thrower
Buy: https://store.hmv.com/store/music/vinyl/firepower
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/7p3G0OCxtlWyJcPE1FxnyB?si=WWLo_idvQ7KGU69ybFR-_w&dl_branch=1
Review:
“What do you do when you made your name hitting notes high enough to summon all dogs within a 40-mile radius, but age takes your pitch down and puts the screech out of reach? It’s an issue particular to metal, and particularly relevant to Rob Halford of Judas Priest, who has responded to age by taking his smoke-alarm voice down an octave or two, into a stentorian baritone. Given that his voice helped define Priest, one needs to treat the assertions that this 18th album is a return to their classic late-70s and early-80s Priest sound with a pinch of salt.
It’s different in other ways: though Tom Allom – who oversaw their breakthrough albums – returns as co-producer, he’s joined by Andy Sneap, and the result is an album whose sound is far thicker and richer than British Steel or . Sometimes the updates are intrusive – the double kick-drums slathered across the first three tracks might be meant to be reminiscent of Exciter, but they’re so overbearing they start to irritate. But by and large it’s all done tastefully enough (if tasteful is the right word for a track like Necromancer, with its none-more-14-year-old boy lyrics: “Raising the dead! Cadavers consumed!”).
Firepower’s success depends on the songwriting, though, and that’s pretty strong. At 14 songs, there is inevitably some sag – neither Rising from Ruins nor Sea of Red achieve the windswept epicry they are striving for – but the riffs are strong, choppy, hooky and powerful: Traitor’s Gate has one that James Hetfield would have killed for, even 30 years ago. Of course, Firepower could never sound as revolutionary as Priest did when they were codifying metal 40 years ago, but it’s often excellent. If only they’d release the now, eh?” – The Guardian
Choice Cut: Firepower
The Judas Priest Book
JUDAS PRIEST: 50 HEAVY METAL YEARS
Publication Date: 1st February, 2021
Publisher: Rufus Stone Limited Editions Ltd
Synopsis:
“JUDAS PRIEST and Rufus Publications are pleased to announce the publication of the first ever official Judas Priest Photographic Book documenting the bands extensive history over the last 50 years - JUDAS PRIEST - 50 HEAVY METAL YEARS, the book has been put together by David Silver, Ross Halfin and Jayne Andrews.
“I've photographed Judas Priest from 1978 until now and of all the bands I’ve worked with they are one of the most enjoyable to me - you have to love the mighty Priest,” Ross Halfin, August 2020
This huge, 648 page coffee table book chronicles the history of the world’s foremost heavy metal band using hundreds of unseen, unpublished photographs from Rock’s greatest photographers including Ross Halfin, Neil Zlozower, Mark Weiss, Fin Costello, Oliver Halfin and many more. With a linking text by renowned journalist Mark Blake the book explores the bands exciting history on stage and off in a unique photo documentary designed to excite fans and devotees of true heavy metal the world over. Current band members have all contributed to the book with written pieces detailing their love and passion for the band, making this an extraordinary artefact for their legions of followers. The book features an exclusive cover by Mark Wilkinson who has worked with the band for many years now.
Rob Halford comments "The photographs in this book capture the life of Judas Priest in all our glory!"
The Deluxe Leather Edition: 500 numbered copies 12” square - bound in black leather with a 3D lenticular to the front - gold foil in a beautiful, embossed leather clamshell box and an exclusive fold out poster. Each copy is personally signed by Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill, Richie Faulkner and Scott Travis” – Rufus Publications