Judas Priest

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Re: Judas Priest

Postby Matt Wilson » 12 Nov 2021, 16:55

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British Steel 1980
Many see this as the culmination of JP's career, and it's hard to argue otherwise. Everything seemed to come together for the band in 1980. Another virtually filler-free LP (at least their third or fourth in a row), some honest-to-goodness hit songs, and an ever-growing army of fans all singing along at their concerts to the plethora of anthems the group had come up with by this time. Metal was really becoming a thing at the dawn of the decade what with the NWOBHM groups like Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Saxon, Motorhead, and a gazillion others. The movement had been rising above-ground for years and seemed to explode right when British Steel streeted.

Wiki - "The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in the United Kingdom in the mid 1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term in a May 1979 issue of the British music newspaper Sounds to describe the emergence of new heavy metal bands in the mid to late 1970s, during the period of punk rock's decline and the dominance of new wave music.

Although encompassing diverse mainstream and underground styles, the music of the NWOBHM is best remembered for drawing on the heavy metal of the 1970s and infusing it with the intensity of punk rock to produce fast and aggressive songs. The DIY attitude of the new metal bands led to the spread of raw-sounding, self-produced recordings and a proliferation of independent record labels. Song lyrics were usually about escapist themes such as mythology, fantasy, horror and the rock lifestyle.

The NWOBHM began as an underground phenomenon growing in parallel to punk and largely ignored by the media. It was only through the promotion of rock DJ Neal Kay and Sounds' campaigning that it reached the public consciousness and gained radio airplay, recognition and success in the UK. The movement involved mostly young, white, male and working-class musicians and fans, who suffered the hardships brought on by rising unemployment for years after the 1973–75 recession. As a reaction to their bleak reality, they created a community separate from mainstream society to enjoy each other's company and their favorite loud music. The NWOBHM was heavily criticized for the excessive hype generated by local media in favor of mostly talentless musicians. Nonetheless, it generated a renewal in the genre of heavy metal music and furthered the progress of the heavy metal subculture, whose updated behavioral and visual codes were quickly adopted by metal fans worldwide after the spread of the music to continental Europe, North America and Japan."

Rob Halford – vocals
K. K. Downing – guitars
Glenn Tipton – guitars
Ian Hill – bass
Dave Holland – drums

All tracks are written by Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford and K. K. Downing.

1. "Rapid Fire" 4:00
One thing Priest knew how to do was open an album with a killer tune. Just like every record prior (save maybe Rocka Rolla), "Rapid Fire" comes screaming out of the gates with hellfire intensity. Halford's imagery is all sensory and there's no time to absorb what he's saying, the music sweeps you up and sends you into the stratosphere. New guy Dave Holland acquits himself well on tubs.

"British Steel saw the band reprise the commercial sound they had established on Killing Machine. This time, they abandoned some of the dark lyrical themes which had been prominent on their previous releases, but some of it still remains. In a June 2017 appearance on Sirius radio podcast "Rolling Stone Music Now," Rob Halford said the band may have been inspired by AC/DC on some tracks after supporting them on a European tour in 1979. British Steel was recorded in December 1979 at Tittenhurst Park, home of former Beatle Ringo Starr, after a false start at Startling Studios, also located on the grounds of Tittenhurst Park, due to the band preferring Starr's house to the recording studio itself. Digital sampling was not yet widely available at the time of recording, so the band used analog recording of smashing milk bottles to be included in "Breaking the Law", as well as various sounds in "Metal Gods" produced by billiard cues and trays of cutlery. It is the first Judas Priest album to feature drummer Dave Holland, and it was released in the UK at a discount price of £3.99, with the advertisements in the music press bearing the legend "British Steal". The songs "Breaking the Law", "United", and "Living After Midnight" were released as singles." - Wikipedia

2. "Metal Gods" 4:04
The latest anthem is the first to utilize the word 'metal' in a JP song as a badge of honor to represent a new subculture for dispossessed youth. It's a major Priest recording and fan fave. Wiki: "Frontman Rob Halford said about the song in a Billboard article: "I'm a bit of a science-fiction fan, and I think I got the lyrics from that world-robots and sci-fi and metal gods, just by word association. It's a statement against Big Brother or something, about these metal gods that were taking over". Guitarist K.K. Downing said: "When we were recording that track we had loads and loads of fun trying to make it sound as metal as we can. We were shaking cutlery trays in front of the microphones to create the sound of metal marching feet". Halford added: "In those days there wasn't an Internet, so you couldn't go online and download samples. So we would whip a piece of guitar chord on a flight case or swish a pool cue in front of a microphone for the audio effects. I lifted and dropped that cutlery tray 100 times, I think". Downing also added: "Ringo Starr actually owned the house when we were there, so we would go around to see what Ringo had that we could put on our record. So I guess it's Ringo's knives and forks that created the true "Metal Gods" sound, which is pretty funny to realize".

3. "Breaking the Law" 2:33
I used to blast this whenever it came on, and it still might by their ultimate radio song, I dunno. One time I was at a jollyup when Heidi, Jim Mills' girlfriend (now wife) was singing this with another BCBer whose name escapes me and no longer frequents this forum, and they knew every word! LOL. Funny how one remembers things like that.

Wiki: "Prior to releasing 1980's British Steel, Judas Priest had been making moves toward streamlining their music into a simpler, less processed sound. That approach came to full fruition on British Steel. "Breaking the Law" combines a recognizable minor-key opening riff and a rhythmic chorus as its main hooks. There is a change-up on the mostly instrumental bridge, a new chord progression with Halford shouting "You don't know what it's like!" before the sound effect of a police car's siren leads back into the main riff. More recent live performances of the song have featured a short solo by Downing over the bridge. The outro of the song is the main riff played repeatedly with Halford singing the chorus and Downing playing power chords.

The song features some sound effects, including the sound of breaking glass and a police siren. For the breaking glass effect, the band used milk bottles that a milkman brought them in the morning, and the police siren was actually guitarist K. K. Downing using the tremolo arm on his Stratocaster. Halford later said, "It was a time in the U.K. when there was a lot of strife-a lot of government strife, the miners were on strike, the car unions were on strike, there were street riots. It was a terrible time. That was the incentive for me to write a lyric to try to connect with that feeling that was out there.

The song made VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs at No. 40. In 2009 it was named the 12th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.

PopMatters said the song, "opens with one of the most famous riffs in metal history, wasting no time getting into listeners' heads. Halford’s lyrics were originally interpreted to be about teen alienation and rebellion, but today you can’t help but hear his own pain regarding his repressed homosexuality as he bellows, 'You don’t know what it’s like!'"

Hmmm....

4. "Grinder" 3:57
Never thought of "Breaking the Law" as being some kind of code for Rob's sexuality, but one could certainly interpret this number like that. With lines like "Never straight and narrow, I won't keep in time" and "Grinder, Looking for meat" it doesn't take too much imagination to see where he's going with this. But who cares anyway, right? Yet one more propulsive Priest cut to convert the nonbelievers! Wiki - "The album was remastered in 2001 with two bonus tracks added. Bonus studio track "Red, White, and Blue" was written in the sessions for the Twin Turbos album (which would become Turbo) and recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau in July 1985. The second bonus track, a live performance of "Grinder", was recorded on 5 May 1984, in Los Angeles during the Defenders of the Faith tour."

5. "United" 3:31
Another mid-level UK hit for the guys and a fine way to end the first side of the LP. Priest's propensity for coming up with anthem-like pop songs seemed to reach a fever pitch during this era. ""United" is the fifth track and last single to be released from the album British Steel by heavy metal group Judas Priest. The song was written very much in the same vein as "Take On the World" from Killing Machine and meant to be a crowd shout-along. It is the fifth track and final song on the first side on the LP version.

The single, with "Grinder" on the B-side, peaked at number 26 on the UK Singles Chart and spent a total of eight weeks on the chart. The crowd noise on the live version was enhanced by dub overlay using family members and friends." - Wiki

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6. "Living After Midnight" 3:30
Not one, but TWO radio classics on this album might be why so many consider it their best. Every bit as good as "Breaking the Law" and just as easy to sing along to.

"The song title came about when Glenn Tipton awakened Rob Halford with his loud guitar playing at 4 AM, during the band's stay at Tittenhurst Park to record British Steel. Halford commented to Tipton that he was "really living after midnight", and Tipton replied that Halford's comment was a great title for the song he was working on.

On live performances, the line, "I took the city 'bout one a.m.", is sometimes changed to the particular city or venue the band is performing. For example, on the DVD Rising in the East, lead vocalist Rob Halford sings, "I took the Budokan 'bout one a.m.", in reference to the stadium in Tokyo, Japan, that hosted the concert. On the Westwood One recordings from the 1983 US Festival Halford recites, "I took some acid about 1 a.m ..." - Wiki

7. "You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise" 5:03
Even a JP-by-numbers song like this is still pretty cool at this stage in their career. And I can verify the veracity of the theme because I'm getting old now, but still no closer to wise than I was twenty years ago.

Wiki: "In 2009, Judas Priest kicked off their 30th anniversary tour in the US by playing British Steel live in its entirety for the first time. The only other Judas Priest albums of which all the songs have been performed live are Defenders of the Faith and Rocka Rolla, but neither of them were played in the original LP running order or during the same tour (though the original US debut LP had a different running order than the UK version).

The 30th anniversary release of the album came with a DVD and CD of a live show recorded on 17 August 2009 at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena in Hollywood, Florida as part of the British Steel 30th Anniversary tour. The live versions of all the British Steel tracks from this release were also made available as downloadable content for the Rock Band video game series beginning 11 May 2010."

8. "The Rage" 4:44
Now if I had to pick one cut from this endeavor which doesn't really do it for me, this would be it. I don't know what he's talking about, and the slower pace doesn't draw me in. However, it doesn't suck, and I certainly don't skip it.

"The album received positive reviews. AllMusic gave the album five stars out of five, explaining that the album "kick-started heavy metal's glory days of the 1980s", and saying that "There are still uptempo slices of metallic mayhem bookending the album in 'Rapid Fire' and 'Steeler', plus effective moodier pieces in 'Metal Gods'". - Wikipedia

9. "Steeler" 4:30
Almost good enough to open an album, "Steeler" closes the record with a bang and leaves the listener hungry for the next chapter.

Wiki - "Rolling Stone and BBC Music rated the album favorably, and PopMatters gave the album an 8 out of 10 rating. In 2017, it was ranked third on Rolling Stone's list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

During an interview with Wall of Sound's Educate Ebony podcast, Max Cavalera stated British Steel is the "essential thrash metal" album everyone needs to hear and says "I’m sure you can ask Metallica, if it wasn’t for British Steel they wouldn’t be here."

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Re: Judas Priest

Postby Matt Wilson » 12 Nov 2021, 17:52

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Point of Entry 1981
If we are to concede that JP's initial ten-year run of LPs from '74 - '84 is their best, then this is the runt of the litter. Not mediocre per se, rather just less memorable in terms of prime cuts than the others. I guess one could make a case for Rocka Rolla being inferior, but I rather like that one in an underdog sort of way, but I also think this isn't bad at all, so there's that. Perhaps the strain of coming up with new material for an album every year was getting to them, I don't know. But there's something about Point of Entry which causes it to seem of lesser value than the records which came before, or after.

Rob Halford – vocals
K. K. Downing – guitars
Glenn Tipton – guitars
Ian Hill – bass
Dave Holland – drums

All tracks are written by Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford and K. K. Downing.

1. "Heading Out to the Highway" 3:47
Well, you expect an earth-shattering opener from our boys, and you still get it here. One of the few Priest cuts they regularly played on rock radio in the States, this doesn't have the rapid-fire tempo of "Exciter" or "Sinner," but it still will get you where you want to go. So far so good...

Wikipedia: "Heading Out to the Highway" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest from their 1981 album Point of Entry. It was released as a single later that year, and was the band's first single to reach the US Mainstream Rock chart, peaking at No. 10. Although being featured for VH-1's Top 40 Driving Songs, a live version was included on The Best of Judas Priest: Living After Midnight, which was not endorsed by the band. Other live versions appear on the live albums Priest...Live!, Live in London, the DVD Live at US Festival and the second disc of the 30th Anniversary Edition of the album Turbo. The song was covered by American alternative metal band Stone Sour on their covers EP Meanwhile in Burbank..., and White Wizzard on the limited edition of Over the Top.

It is playable on the music video game Rock Revolution. PopMatters said, "More cynical minds would call this "Living After Midnight Part Two", but it’s actually the superior song, rigidity replaced by a much more relaxed groove, its ebullience a clear reflection of the band’s Ibiza surroundings, where the album was written and recorded. Perfectly suited for summertime listening, it’s nothing but fresh air and optimism, driven by a great opening riff."

2. "Don't Go" 3:18
A tad slower than what we're used to, and you can see how the band were attempting to branch out from the norm, and there's nothing wrong with that. The narrator's lover is going to leave him in the morning, you see, and the plea is not to go. Wasn't Rob the one who was leaving in the morning on an earlier number from a previous album? Tsk, tsk...

"Three singles were released from the album: "Heading Out to the Highway", "Don't Go" and "Hot Rockin'", all of which had accompanying music videos. The song "Heading Out to the Highway" has been a staple in live shows since its release, "Desert Plains" was regularly played throughout the 1980s and "Hot Rockin'" was returned to the setlist for the 2005 Reunited Tour, where Priest also played "Solar Angels" on rare occasions. On the World Wide Blitz Tour of 1981 supporting Point of Entry, "Solar Angels" had been the opening song of every show, while "Troubleshooter" was also performed on parts of the supporting tour. Contrariwise, five songs from the album – “Don’t Go”, “Turning Circles”, “You Say Yes”, “All the Way” and “On the Run” – have never been performed live." - Wiki

So "Don't Go" was a single but never performed live?

3. "Hot Rockin'" 3:17
Another cool JP tune designed for the airwaves, even if I rarely heard it. Anthem-like, as you would expect, with K.K./Glenn's usual excellent riffing to push the song along. On the LP cover: "Europe, Mexico and most of South America got an intriguing and colorful sort of futuristic metal wing over a horizon shot...designed by Roslav Szaybo, who had done all the band's CBS albums to date." The North American cover differed from the rest of the world, this being repeated with the remaster. The US artwork, featuring computer printer paper to simulate the line in the middle of the road and white cardboard boxes on the back, was designed by Columbia Record's John Berg. "'The sleeve was awful, scoffs the guitarist (Glenn Tipton), 'and we've got to blame management for that because they didn't shop around enough to get one that was suitable. The American cover was different, but that turned out to be even worse!'" The American artwork also saw the introduction of the 3D Judas Priest logo, which would be used up to Turbo." - Wikipedia

4. "Turning Circles" 3:42
I don't mind this one at all, though I wouldn't make any claims for its greatness either. Sometimes I feel that most people are turning circles rather than moving forward in their lives. Probably at sixteen when this album came out, that's exactly how I felt.

5. "Desert Plains" 4:36
With this and "Heading Out to the Highway," Priest entered into the world of car songs - or rather motorcycle songs as this one mentions "The engine roars between my thighs." Again, a bit slower in tempo than usual, but I like that, actually. The thrash bands would come along shortly and slower metal songs would all but go out the window. In the liner notes to the remastered CD it states: "Recorded on the island of Ibiza with multiple distractions, glorious sunshine, and extremely low cost alcohol, this album was regarded with mixed feelings because it was different from what people expected. The album was nearly all spontaneously written and performed in Ibiza - it was an experiment in the sense that before this we had already written the majority of the songs before going into the studio."

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6. "Solar Angels" 4:04
Five years later and Rob is still writing about spectral beings coming down from the sky. Has he ever discussed this in an interview? Not the best opener to side two to be honest.

Wikipedia - "Following the commercial success of their previous album British Steel (1980), Priest pursued a more radio-friendly direction on Point of Entry. Following the conclusion of the British Steel Tour, the band began work on their next project. By this time, the band possessed sufficient funds to fly all their equipment to the state-of-the-art Ibiza Studios in Spain. This gave Point of Entry a louder, stronger, more "live" sound than previous Judas Priest albums."

If you say so.

7. "You Say Yes" 3:29
Halford is so lustful in this number he can't think straight. It needs a better chorus for one thing. The first track where the term 'filler' can easily be applied. Wiki: "In 2005, Point of Entry was ranked number 352 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time. In the 2007 book Metal: The Definitive Guide, author Garry Sharpe-Young wrote that the album consists of "radio-friendly fillers." Moreover, Sharpe-Young called the original British artwork "bland" and subsequent American alternative artwork "an even worse compromise."

8. "All the Way" 3:42
Now this is an interesting one because perhaps for the first time Rob addresses his attraction for another man. You have to pay attention though, or you'll miss it. Check this out:

"Now with your hands on your hips, and a
Snarl on your lips
Your eyes wore the look of danger
There's a lion in your heart,"

but later:

"Ya never do things by half
You're a man with a reputation
You never shy when the problems fly
You can cope with any situation
You take the wheel and crack the whip
You never slip
You rule the roost
You always boast
Yeah you're lookin' after number one."

But was anyone paying attention at the time?

9. "Troubleshooter" 3:59
One more sex tune to add to the pile. JP didn't have too many numbers like this in the '70s so I guess they were itching to catch up.

Wiki - "Opinions about the album from within the band have been mixed. Ian Hill has stated, "It came across… people think it’s just a commercial album. And it’s not, there are some good songs in there. And I think it’s overlooked.". In a Louder article, it is noted that "Halford admits to being "dismayed" by the reaction it received." In the same Louder article, K.K. Downing takes on a more mixed perspective, stating, "People don’t understand how pressurized we were by the label, either to do covers or make hits", he says. "With that album, we gave them what they wanted."

10. "On the Run" 3:47
Yeah, I like this one a lot. After some iffy tracks, they go out on a high. So to recap - I don't mind this album at all. It may not be as crankable as some of the last ones, but no one hits it out of the park every time.

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Re: Judas Priest

Postby The Slider » 12 Nov 2021, 23:36

I last saw them on the Point of Entry tour
They were fucking wicked still but the setlist was getting a bit radio-friendly and I had moved onto the more punky Iron Maiden as my pet metal band by then.
I realise they took a swing back towards proper metal after this, but I'd left the building by then.
Complete Ramones Mp3 set on its way

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Re: Judas Priest

Postby Matt Wilson » 19 Nov 2021, 17:01

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Screaming for Vengeance 1982
A proper metal album, and all the fast songs count. It's the slower-tempoed numbers which take some getting used to for me. But they don't irritate. Some say the last of the great run of Priest albums, others maintain it's the next one. I'll go with the latter option. I recall some metal heads I knew in high school were totally into this record. I mean they would dress up in their leather and studs outfits and come to class looking like that. I decided to take the piss one day and dress up like Jim Morrison with one of those oversize white shirts and I even got a Indian belt like he had. I wasn't going to pony up for real leather pants though like the headbangers wore, so I got these faux leather pants which I thought looked great because they were so funny-looking. I honestly can't recall how these guys reacted to my attire, but I've got a picture of me wearing the outfit somewhere. It's not as funny as the Elvis costume I just wore for Halloween, but it'll do... LOL I wonder what those guys would think if they knew I was writing about this LP almost forty years later?

All tracks are written by Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford and K. K. Downing, except where noted.

Rob Halford – vocals
K. K. Downing – guitars
Glenn Tipton – guitars
Ian Hill – bass
Dave Holland – drums

1. "The Hellion" (Instrumental) 0:41
Short burst of squealing metal used as a prologue for the next track. This might be yet another opportune moment to mention how JP knew how to open an album.

2. "Electric Eye" 3:39
Awesome display of thrash depicting some sort of satellite-type Big Brother thing which watches everything we do. Excellent example of amped-up energy which Priest excelled at. It's no wonder every song doesn't sound like this because there's no way Rob could've sang at this pitch for an entire concert.

Wiki - "Electric Eye" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, from their 1982 album Screaming for Vengeance. It has become a staple at concerts, usually played as the first song. AllMusic critic Steve Huey called the song a classic.

Musically, the song is in the key of E minor, and its guitar solo is played by Glenn Tipton.

"Electric Eye" is an allusion to the book Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, in the use of the name of the pseudo-omniscient camera that watches over the community at all times. In this dystopia, the form of government, Ingsoc (Newspeak for English Socialism), is utterly totalitarian, and if citizens are caught rebelling in any manner, they "disappear". In the song by Judas Priest, however, the cameras are updated to take the form of a powerful satellite, that is "elected," to take "pictures that can prove," and "keep the country clean". Thus, the song has been called "prescient" for its depiction of a modern surveillance state, operating within the context of an ostensibly democratic nation.

Helloween recorded a version of this song for the Tribute to Judas Priest: Legends of Metal. It also appears in the single The Time Of The Oath, and in the expanded edition of the album The Time Of The Oath.

"Electric Eye" is featured in the 2006 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories on the fictional in-game radio station "V-Rock". It is also a playable track in Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s as a master track, including "The Hellion", and it also appears on Guitar Hero Smash Hits. Additionally, it is available for download on Rock Band, as of 22 April 2009, as part of the entire Screaming for Vengeance album download, or as a single song. It was also featured in the second trailer for the video game Brütal Legend.

This song is referenced in the movie Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, in the song "Break in-City (Storm the Gate!)".

The song was played live at the 2011 Revolver Magazine Golden God Awards show by Duff McKagan's Loaded, with vocals by Slipknot and Stone Sour's Corey Taylor and guitar by Sex Pistols' Steve Jones.

The song was referenced in the South Park episode Fat Butt and Pancake Head; when the boys visit the mall to spend Cartman's $20 gift certificate, they can be seen arguing in front of a store called "The Electric Eye".

"Electric Eye" was covered by the metalcore band As I Lay Dying from the compilation Decas, and was released as a single. The band made a music video for the song and was first available to stream via Noisecreep on 3 October 2011.

The song was also covered in 2014 by Lissie and released on an EP album Cryin' to You and performs the songs on tour.

Professional wrestler Aja Kong uses the song with "The Hellion" as her entrance music."

3. "Riding on the Wind" 3:07
More kick-assedness with Halford's almost falsetto-like vocals carrying the melee. This stuff either does it for you, or not. Go with it, I say!

"Screaming for Vengeance was recorded at Ibiza Sound Studios, Ibiza, Spain (during this period, it was commonplace for UK-based musicians to record in continental Europe for tax purposes) mixing and overdubs were done at Beejay Recording Studios and Bayshore Recording Studios in Coconut Grove, Florida. Stylistically, Screaming for Vengeance showcased a harder, heavier sound than British Steel and saw the band quickly reverse direction back into straight heavy rock after the melodically styled direction of Point of Entry. The album also marks the first time a Priest drummer played on more than 2 Judas Priest albums, with Dave Holland having also played on British Steel and Point of Entry. - Wikipedia

4. "Bloodstone" 3:51
Rob doesn't want that bloodstone, you see. He wants the world to learn to live, and simply let it be. Not quite the fire-and-brimstone level metal as the first few tracks, but allow it to, and it'll get you where you want to go.

Wiki: "Screaming for Vengeance was released on 17 July 1982, with a remastered CD version released in May 2001. The track "Fight for Your Life", recorded during the Screaming for Vengeance sessions, was left off the album but finally saw the light of day as a bonus track on the 2001 remastered version of the 1978 album Killing Machine. As of the album's 30th anniversary in 2012, it remains the top-selling release of Judas Priest's career. To celebrate the album's 30th anniversary, a remastered CD with bonus 1982 live tracks and a bonus DVD of the band's performance from the 1983 US Festival were released. The most recent remaster was released in late 2017 as part of the Sony We Are Vinyl series, on vinyl and digital download only."

Except this isn't true as the just-released box set I'm playing has an even more recent remaster.

5. "(Take These) Chains" (Bob Halligan, Jr.) 3:07
I don't know - if I had to pick a song from side one which doesn't really do it for me, I guess this would be it. It's the only cut not written by the band too, so there's that.

6. "Pain and Pleasure" 4:17
This track goes along with the previous one because they both address a lover not treating the singer well. Slightly better than "Take These Chains," but still no gem. By this point I want Priest to blast my ears off with sheer metal madness at high velocity. Nothing else will do... Wiki - "The World Vengeance Tour began shortly after the album's release in July 1982 and focused on North America during the summer and fall, Priest not performing in Europe until December 1983. This emphasis on US audiences was in order to establish a solid commercial foothold there, and in particular because "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" became a major hit. That and "Electric Eye" became live setlist staples and some of the band's most performed songs. "Devil's Child" has also been performed on various tours between 1982 and 2008, and "Riding on the Wind", "Bloodstone" and the title track have also been in the setlist on various tours. For comparison, "Fever" was only played at the first two 1982 shows, "(Take These) Chains" only appeared in the setlist in 2019, while "Pain and Pleasure" and the short instrumental "The Hellion" have never been performed live. The 30th-anniversary release of the album in 2012 came with a DVD of a live show recorded in May 1983 at the US Festival in California on the last date of the Screaming For Vengeance Tour. During the US tour to support the album in 1982, Judas Priest were supported by bands such as Iron Maiden, Krokus, and Uriah Heep."

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7. "Screaming for Vengeance" 4:43
Now this is more like it. Good enough to open a JP record. As it is, a fine start to side two. The latest in Priest anthems for the denim-clad army which populated their shows. I never saw these guys live, and I'm sure I missed out.

Wikipedia: "While 1980's British Steel has been referred to as the band's masterpiece, Screaming for Vengeance was Judas Priest's breakthrough in North America. Although the band had achieved a cult following among American audiences by 1979 and could headline their own tours, they sold "relatively few" records there before Screaming for Vengeance. It was also extremely successful worldwide."

8. "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" 5:09
Oh, Good Lord, yes! A radio hit on the level of "Breaking the Law" and "Living After Midnight." There wouldn't really be another after this, unless "Painkiller" counts, but I'm struggling to think of how many times I've heard that on the airwaves. Turn it up!

"You've Got Another Thing Comin'" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was originally released on their 1982 album Screaming for Vengeance and released as a single later that year. In May 2006, VH1 ranked it fifth on their list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs. It became one of Judas Priest's signature songs along with "Electric Eye" and "Breaking the Law", and a staple of the band's live performances. "You've Got Another Thing Comin" was first performed on the opening concert of the Vengeance World Tour at the Stabler Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on 26 August 1982 and had been played a total of 673 times through the 2012 Epitaph Tour.

The song reached No. 67 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it Judas Priest's only song to make that chart. The song is written in the key of F-sharp minor.

Guitarist K.K. Downing on the song:

"You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'” was without doubt the song that broke Judas Priest in America. By the summer of 1982, it wasn’t just getting heavy rotation in our stronghold areas of St. Louis and San Antonio. That song was everywhere. You couldn’t turn on a rock radio station anywhere in North America without hearing it. Bizarrely, it almost didn’t make it onto the album Screaming for Vengeance. It was only when we’d reached Florida for the final mixing of the album that the pieces of a track that we’d had lying around without ever committing to fully finally fell into our laps. And when it did, the song’s appeal seemed like the most obvious thing ever. "How did we miss it?” Tom Allom said. "I don’t know. But you could just imagine putting this on, getting in the car with the sun shining, and then blasting down a freeway", Rob replied: "That’s it!” we all agreed. "It’s got all the elements of driving song. ”We hadn’t been aware of that intangible ingredient when we wrote it, of course. But there’s no doubt that it had the kind of beat and tempo that, even if you were driving and going just thirty miles per hour, when you heard that duh-duh-duh-duh intro, you’d be simply compelled to accelerate. On top of that it gave you a happy, carefree feeling that was just so undeniable. Better still, everything about America at that time seemed to revolve around the ethos of "get in the car, turn up the stereo, and drive". It was the ideal song for the time." - Wiki

Indeed. I cranked it driving to work this morning, in fact.

9. "Fever" 5:20
Halford's in lust again. He seemed to write a lot of songs like this. Again, if I had to choose a track on side two which is less than great. You're looking at it.

Wikipedia: :Screaming for Vengeance reached No. 11 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 17 on the US Billboard 200 Pop Albums. It was certified gold by the RIAA on 29 October 1982, platinum on 18 April 1983, and 2× platinum on 16 October 2001, being the band's first album to achieve the two latter awards.

Accolades
The album ranked 15th on IGN's 25 most influential metal albums. Screaming for Vengeance also came 10th on Metal-Rules.com's 100 greatest metal albums. Kerrang! listed the album at No. 46 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time". In 2017, it was ranked 12th on Rolling Stone's list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time"."

10. "Devil's Child" 4:48
I like this last tune. Priest always avoided overt Satanic imagery, despite the three-pronged devil trident used as their symbol. This song is more about someone who wounded the singer than anything else.

"You've Got Another Thing Comin'" is featured as a playable track in the video game Guitar Hero. "Electric Eye" (with the accompanying intro track "The Hellion") was playable in Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s and Guitar Hero Smash Hits. The entire album was the first album released as downloadable content for the video games Rock Band and Rock Band 2.

The title song "Screaming for Vengeance" was played on the main site for the video game Brütal Legend. In the game, Rob Halford voices a villain named General Lionwhyte, as well as a heroic character called the Fire Baron, modeled after his likeness. The track "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" was featured in the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as part of the V-Rock radio station, whilst "Electric Eye" was featured on the same radio station in the 2006 prequel Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. The song "Riding on the Wind" was featured in the 2012 video game Twisted Metal.

As well as "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" featuring in the eleventh season's first episode, Archer continues the running gag of Dr. Krieger's vans with "Screaming for Van-geance" featuring in the episode "Helping Hands"." - Wiki

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Matt Wilson
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Re: Judas Priest

Postby Matt Wilson » 19 Nov 2021, 18:09

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Defenders of the Faith 1984
Well, I guess this'll be it for me. Lack of faith amongst the BCB cognoscenti and all that... I got through the first ten years though and it's hit-or-miss after this. By this time metal had amped up another notch with the thrash bands like Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, etc. Soon to be followed by Megadeth and all the others. Priest had been around a long time by 1984, and even though they were considered gods of the genre, the field was being taken over by younger American bands. It all got to be a bit silly when Death metal, black metal and all that Scandinavian stuff entered the picture, and they were burning down churches and killing people - all while wearing makeup and whatnot. There's some interesting music to be found in all of those sub sects of metallurgy, but by that time I was getting too old for this kind of music anyway. Not that I can't find time for some of it to this day, only I don't make it a habit, if you know what I mean. I do love me some thrash though, and if I thought a Metallica thread would gain some traction here, I'd be up for it. But alas, ye of little faith...LOL

All tracks are written by Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford and K. K. Downing, except where noted.

Rob Halford – vocals
K. K. Downing – guitars
Glenn Tipton – guitars
Ian Hill – bass
Dave Holland – drums

1. "Freewheel Burning" 4:22
Yep, you guessed it - more awesomeness-as-LP-opener from our heroes. How many times have I used the word 'anthem' to describe these songs? It's amazing to me that they could find so many ways to fine-tune the same type of material for their first decade in the business. All the experimental nature of their music was pretty much gone after the '70s, and the songs were paired down to their essentials for maximum consumption and riffage. It would all shortly become rather mundane and pedestrian of course, but by this point in their career I'm still digging it.

Wiki - "Freewheel Burning" is a song by the English heavy metal band Judas Priest, appearing on their 1984 album Defenders of the Faith, and first released as the first single off that album. The song was released in late 1983, several weeks prior to "Defenders of the Faith". The 12" version of the single contained an extended guitar intro that was omitted on the full-length release.

The guitar solo in the song is played by Glenn Tipton. The 12" single has an extended version with a guitar harmony intro not included in the 7" and album version.

The B-sides of this single are live versions of "Breaking the Law" and "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" recorded at the US Festival from Glen Helen Park, near Devore, San Bernardino in California on 29 May 1983 in front of an approximately audience of 375,000 people. The version of "Breaking the Law" is also the first official version released to feature K.K. Downing's added live guitar solo.

The music video contains footage of the band playing while a boy is playing the arcade game Pole Position over which Rob Halford's face is superimposed. PopMatters said, "Tom Allom's production is incredibly dense, lending an already heavy song an added layer of darkness. The guitar tone is tar thick, yet sleek, Holland’s robotic drumming — a far cry from the unhinged speed of Metallica and Slayer that same year — cold and impersonal, while Halford’s vocals are over the top, screaming, screeching, spitting out lines like bullets."

Loudwire noted the, "savage twin guitar riff, thunderous drum beat and falsetto-emblazoned vocals". Blabbermouth said, "There's still magic listening to Rob Halford blitz his way through those tongue twisters".

2. "Jawbreaker" 3:25
More metal madness showing the guys in fine form. Compared to the thrash bands, this kind of stuff almost seemed average, or mid-tempo by the mid eighties. But to fans, they couldn't get enough. "Defenders of the Faith was recorded at Ibiza Sound Studios, Ibiza, Spain, and mixed from September to November 1983 at DB Recording Studios and Bayshore Recording Studios in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida. The LP and cassette tape were released on 4 January 1984, and the album appeared on CD in July. A remastered CD was released in May 2001. Simultaneously with the album's release, the band kicked off their tour in Europe, with the bulk of concerts taking place in North America during the spring and summer."

"Jawbreaker" was covered by Rage for the single "Higher than the Sky" and also appeared on the tribute album A Tribute to Judas Priest: Legends of Metal and All G.U.N. Bonustracks CD. In 2010, "Jawbreaker" was covered by Swedish power metal band Sabaton on the Re-Armed Edition of their album Metalizer. In 2017, "Jawbreaker" was covered by Swiss band Burning Witches on their debut self-titled album. - Wikipedia

3. "Rock Hard Ride Free" 5:34
I guess one could say this was another motorcycle song, but that interpretation isn't necessarily reinforced by reading the lyrics. Did Rob really ride a Harley offstage?

Wiki: "Stylistically, Defenders of the Faith did not greatly depart from its predecessor and featured a similar formula of short, up-tempo metal anthems with stadium shout-along choruses, although progressive elements returned on some tracks such as "The Sentinel". The track "Rock Hard Ride Free" is actually a re-recording of a track entitled "Fight for Your Life" which was recorded during the 1982 Screaming For Vengeance sessions but not included on that album."

4. "The Sentinel" 5:04
One of the album's classics, and an excellent way to end the first side.

"The album was an immediate success, only going one spot below Screaming for Vengeance on the US Billboard 100 Albums Chart. Some critics nonetheless objected to the lack of a standout single comparable to "Breaking the Law" or "You've Got Another Thing Comin', and the album's general similarity to Screaming for Vengeance.

"The Sentinel" was covered by Machine Head for the special edition version of their 2011 album Unto the Locust as well as Heavens Gate for the Japan version of their 1996 album Planet E. - Wiki

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5. "Love Bites" 4:47
Their vampire number opens the second side. I'm neither here nor there concerning this one. After the juggernaut that was side one, they're entitled to an average number now and again. Wiki - "The 30th-anniversary release of the album (released in March 2015) came with a double CD of a live show recorded on 5 May 1984 at the Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California on their Defenders of the Faith Tour and was originally recorded for a radio broadcast."

6. "Eat Me Alive" 3:34
Well this one caused some controversy. I guess when you're going to command someone at gunpoint to eat you alive, you've got to expect some kind of reaction, right?

"Eat Me Alive" was listed at number 3 on the Parents Music Resource Center's "Filthy Fifteen", a list of 15 songs the organization found most objectionable. PMRC co-founder Tipper Gore stated the song was about oral sex at gunpoint. In response to the allegations, Priest recorded the song "Parental Guidance" on the follow-up album Turbo.

In a uniquely British way, Rob's S&M lyrics were intended to be tongue in cheek—and certainly not "corrupting", as Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) took them to be. They certainly didn't warrant being included on the PMRC's "Filthy 15" list a few months after the album was released. For us, the song was a bit of fun—but I won’t deny that we included it with full knowledge that it would get media attention. Little did we know at that time that its inclusion on the "Filthy 15" would be the precursor to a far more disturbing predicament for us.

— K.K. Downing (guitarist)" - Wikipedia

7. "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" (Bob Halligan, Jr.) 4:05
Halligan wrote my least fave song on the last LP, but redeems himself here. Buried deep into the second side of the LP, this shows they had an abundance of good material at their disposal in 1984. This would not always be the case.

"Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" was included on The Best of Judas Priest: Living After Midnight, which was not endorsed by the band. The tune itself was composed by Bob Halligan Jr., of the band Ceili Rain.

The first guitar solo is played by Glenn Tipton and the second is played by K. K. Downing.

The EP's B-side is a live version of "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)", recorded at the US Festival, Glen Helen Park, near Devore, San Bernardino in California on 29 May 1983 in front of an audience of approximately 375,000 people. It also includes the studio version of "Jawbreaker" from the Defenders of the Faith album.

The song was on the 2001 Clear Channel memorandum banned songs-list after 9/11. The song was also the inspiration behind the Dokken song "Into the Fire" with George Lynch stating in a 2010 interview that He had "ripped them off" - Wikipedia

8. "Night Comes Down" 3:58
I just blasted this CD driving into work today, yet this tune doesn't come to mind. That's okay - they can't all be barn-stormers. Rob's lonely again judging by the lyrics. Poor man...

9. "Heavy Duty" 2:25
This 'heavy' track segues right into the next one - and it does it for me. Indeed, a fine way to end the proceedings. Sex songs were becoming Halford's stock-in-trade at this juncture in their career. Little did most of their fans know...

Wiki: "The cover art by Doug Johnson (who also designed the Hellion in Screaming for Vengeance) depicts the Metallian, a ram-horned, tiger-like land assault creature with Gatling guns and tank tracks conceptualized by the band. The back cover contains a message:

Rising from darkness where Hell hath no mercy and the screams for vengeance echo on forever. Only those who keep the faith shall escape the wrath of the Metallian ... Master of all metal."

10. "Defenders of the Faith" 1:30
Short little coda to "Heavy Duty." Thus endeth the lesson, folks.

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