Tag: judas priest (Page 2 of 3)

This would be Rob Halford’s last album with The Priest for nearly fifteen years. After this he went to play with his own projects Fight and Two, as he thought Priest were not heavy enough for him. Which, if you go and see them live now his raps about how metal Priest are is quite funny. But, I digress, as this album is a bit of a belter and probably the heaviest they had done up until this point.

I mean, Painkiller, the opening track is a monster of a tune. Right from Scott Travis’ pounding of the kit at the intro, you know this is gonna be a beaut. Halford is giving it the beans and that twin guitar onslaught is the best in the biz. When people mention their favourite Priest albums nearly everyone says Screaming For Vengeance, and it is one hell of an album, but Painkiller is very rarely mentioned at all and that astounds me as I think this pushes it all the way. It’s really hard to pick a favourite tune as I like it all, but today I will say it’s Night Crawler as it has a nod to old Priest as well as sounding all metallurgy and shiny.

A deserved…

10/10 from the Grooveman.

This was recorded on the Turbo tour where Priest were at the height of their powers, a full on arena band. Turbo wasn’t that well received, in Europe at least, as most reviews gave it the thumbs down and they were accused of selling out and going soft. The band obviously believed in it as there are four songs represented here. If you have seen Priest live you know they put on one hell of a show, and they still do today.

This is a great live album, you get all the hits and more. Not a lot of old Priest, but the song choices are spot on and work together really well as a set. I’m going to pick Turbo Lover as my favourite as it works so well in a live setting, and the crowd always goes nuts for it. Priest are all about the riffs and the groove, and they give the crowd exactly what they want. It’s sad to see Glenn Tipton struggling with his illness today and his performance on this album shows what a great player he is.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

Back in the mists of time, well ’78 to be exact, there wasn’t a whole lot of heavy metal bands around. Remember, this was before the NWOBHM had hit, Motorhead had just put out Overkill, and other than UFO and the Scorps, that was about it. So when Priest put out a new album it was an event. This was before cheesy Priest made an appearance, with Living After Midnight, United and Breaking The Law. For our American friends, this album was released as Hell Bent For Leather because of a controversy with a school shooting at the time. This version is the limited Mobile Fidelity audiophile release, and it sounds superb.

One thing you will notice if you follow Priest’s career, is how the guitar sound has changed to go with the times. This album, for instance, has that very seventies sound. Move on a few albums to Screaming For Vengeance and the difference is very striking, with what would be the ultimate Priest sound.

Within these grooves is what would eventually be Priest classics in their later Live sets. Their version of Fleetwood Mac’s, Green Manaleshi, is a great cover and a standard Live offering in most gigs they play today. The title track is classic Priest, short, sharp, and to the point – a great tune. Delivering The Goods is the opening track and possibly my favourite. Halford’s voice never got better than on this album. The screams were oh so high, and Rob’s knack at writing great melodies and hooks is so evident throughout the album. Killing Machine is the track that sees the band trying something a little different with the groove of the song. They would expand this more when it came to the Turbo album.

A classic Priest album that I still listen to quite often.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

Right from the majestic instrumental opening of The Hellion, this album means business. There is not one bad groove on this whole album, that is unless you listen to nothing but jazz, then I’m afraid you’re beyond saving (if you know, you know).

The Priest were on a roll when it came to the recording of this, their 8th studio album, and it turned out to be the pinnacle of their career. This is my Mobile Fidelity version, and it sounds amazing. I mean, it sounded great anyway, but this version is the cherry on the top. The big single was You Got Another Thing Coming, which (with the help of MTV) cracked the band in the US and they became mega huge.

Every song is killer with the riff-o-meter being off the scale for most of the album. My personal favourites are: Bloodstone with its monster riff and groove, Screaming For Vengeance is Priest at their very best, and the close out track Devils Child, which I’ve always had a soft spot for. There is nothing complicated here, it’s all quite simple – and that’s the beauty of it. Catchy riffs, big hooks, and sing-a-long chorus – I’ve said that enough times it should be my mantra. Sometimes the simple things are the best, and this album is testimony to that.

Defenders was an attempt to replicate this album but it fell short, and then it was a steady decline until now, where they have recaptured some of their past glories.

10/10 from The Grooveman.