JUDAS PRIEST, THE METAL GODS!!!
Judas Priest was 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, Rocka Rolla, Judas Priest added guitarist Glenn Tipton. They released the record 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 began the 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 diehard 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 amongst 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 mic. Around the same time, a movie was readying production that was 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 titled simply...Halford. The group issued their 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 issuing 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. Their new album is called Angel Of Retribution.
CURRENT LINE UP:
Rob Halford - Vocals (Two, Fight, Lord Lucifer, Hiroshima, Thark, Athens Wood, Black Sabbath) (1973-1991, 2003-)
Glenn Tipton - Guitar (The Flying Hat Band) (1974-)
Kenneth 'K.K.' Downing - Guitar (1969-)
Ian Hill - Bass (1969-)
Scott Travis - Drums (Racer X, Fight (US), Hawk) (1989-)
FORMER MEMBERS:
Vocals:
Al Atkins (Bittersweet, Blue Condition, Halfbreed, Lion) (1967-1973)
Tim "Ripper" Owens (Iced Earth, Winters Bane, Beyond Fear, Brainicide) (1997-2003)
Drums:
John Ellis (1969-1971)
Alan "Skip" Moore (Glad Stallion, Tendency Jones, Pendulum, Sundance) (1971-1973, 1975-1977)
Chris "Congo" Campbell (1972-1973)
John Hinch (Bakerloo, Hiroshima) (1973-1975)
Simon Phillips (guest) (Ian Gillan Band, M.S.G.) (1977)
Les Binks (Tytan) (1977-1979)
Dave Holland (Trapeze, Al Atkins, Iommi) (1979-1989)
The first Judas Priest line-up (1967-1970):
Al Atkins - Vocals
Ernie Chataway - Guitars
John Perry - Guitars (R.I.P.)
Bruno Stapenhill - Bass (ex-Blue Condition, Halfbreed, Ram, The Ryegee Explosion, Bullion, Suicide)
John Partridge - Drums
Interesting note: Al joined K.K. and Ian's band and brought the name with him, but the two were completely different bands. The two guitarists did not join at the same time.
DISCOGRAPHY
The bottle-cap cover is the original cover
Rocka Rolla (1974)
1.)One For The Road
2.)Rocka Rolla
3.)Winter/Deep Freeze/Winter Retreat/Cheater
4.)Never Satisfied
5.)Run Of The Mill
6.)Dying To Meet You
7.)Caviar And Meths
8.)Diamonds And Rust (Bonus on more recent versions of the album)
Notes: More recent reissues use the cover art with the creature laying out the bombs. Different versions of each track can be found on the "Hero, Hero" release. A rare version of "Caviar and Meths" exists, which is about 10 minutes long and has Al Atkins (first Judas Priest vocalist, never got to record an album with them) on vocals. Many re-issues of this album have the tracks
"Winter", "Deep Freeze" and "Winter Retreat" starting and stopping at different places. Many versions also have these broken into individual tracks
Sad Wings Of Destiny (1976)
1.)Victim Of Changes
2.)The Ripper
3.)Dreamer Deceiver
4.)Deceiver
5.)Prelude
6.)Tyrant
7.)Genocide
8.)Epitaph
9.)Island Of Domination
Notes: The first press of the CD on RCA is one of the only CD versions that has the same track list as the original vinyl. Most recent releases swap the A side and B side of the vinyl and begin with "Victim Of Changes" as opposed to prelude. The newer CD tracklisting is used above.
Sin After Sin (1977)
1.)Sinner
2.)Diamonds And Rust (Joan Baez cover)
3.)Starbreaker
4.)Last Rose Of Summer
5.)Raw Deal
6.)Let Us Prey/Call For The Priest
7.)Here Come The Tears
8.)Dissident Aggressor
9.)Race With The Devil (GUN cover) (Bonus on 2001 remaster. Was recorded in 1978 in Birmingham's Savage Studios)
10.)Jawbreaker (Live) (Bonus on 2001 remaster. Recorded live on May 5th, 1984 in Long Beach, CA. Taken from the live ABC broadcast from the Long Beach Sports arena)
Notes: The tracklisting differs from previous releases, but the Re-Master track list has it the way the band originally intended (shown above). The biggest change is the correction of the famous "Let Us Prey" mistake. "Let Us Prey" is the short intro to "Call for the Priest", but on many compilations (and the original listing) "Let Us Prey" is listed as the longer track.
Stained Class (1978)
1.)Exciter
2.)White Heat, Red Hot
3.)Better By You, Better Than Me (Spooky Tooth cover)
4.)Stained Class
5.)Invader
6.)Saints In Hell
7.)Savage
8.)Beyond The Realms Of Death
9.)Heroe's End
10.)Fire Burns Below (Bonus on 2001 re-master. Taken from the 1987 RAM IT DOWN sessions. Previously unreleased)
11.) Better By You, Better Than Me (Bonus on 2001 re-master. Recorded live on September 13th, 1990 at the Foundations Forum in Los Angeles, CA.)
Notes: "Better By You, Better Than Me" is the track that contained the subliminal "Do it" that was rumored to cause 2 teen fans to commit suicide.
Hellbent For Leather (1979)
1.)Delievering The Goods
2.)Rock Forever
3.)Evening Star
4.)Hell Bent For Leather
5.)Take On The World
6.)Burnin' Up
7.)The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)
8.)Killing Machine
9.)Running Wild
10.)Before The Dawn
11.)Evil Fantasies
12.)Fight For Your Life (Bonus on 2001 re-master. Is actually an early demo version of "Rock Hard, Ride Free" which would be recorded for "Defenders Of The Faith". The track was recorded during those sessions)
13.)Riding On The Wind (Live) (Bonus on 2001 Re-master. Recorded live on May 29, 1983 at Glen Helen Park, Devore CA.)
Notes: The album was released in Europe and Britan as "Killing Machine" in 1978. This release omits "The Green Manalishi". The track was added and the album was released as "Hell Bent For Leather" in the USA in March of 1979. The band always refers to the album as "Killing Machine".
Unleashed In The East (1979)
1.)Exciter
2.Running Wild
3.)Sinner
4.)The Ripper
5.)The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)
6.)Diamonds And Rust
7.)Victim Of Changes
8.)Genocide
9.)Tyrant
British Steel (1980)
1.)Rapid Fire
2.)Metal Gods
3.)Breaking The Law
4.)Grinder
5.)United
6.)You Don't Have To Be Old To Be Wise
7.)Living After Midnight
8.)The Rage
9.)Steeler
Point Of Entry (1981)
1.)Heading Out To The Highway
2.)Don't Go
3.)Hot Rockin'
4.)Turning Circles
5.)Desert Plains
6.)Solar Angels
7.)You Say Yes
8.)All The Way
9.)Troubleshooter
10.)On The Run
Screaming For Vengeance (1982)
1.)The Hellion
2.)Electric Eye
3.)Riding On The Wind
4.)Bloodstone
5.) (Take These) Chains
6.)Pain And Pleasure
7.)Screaming For Vengeance
8.)You've Got Another Comin'
9.)Fever
10.)Devil's Child
Defenders Of The Faith (1984)
1.)Freewheel Burning
2.)Jawbreaker
3.)Rock Hard Ride Freee
4.)The Sentinel
5.)Love Bites
6.)Eat Me Alive
7.)Some Heads Are Gonna Roll
8.)Night Comes Down
9.)Heavy Duty
10.)Defenders Of The Faith
Turbo (1986)
1.)Turbo Lover
2.)Locked In
3.)Private Property
4.)Parental Guidance
5.)Rock You All Around The World
6.)Out In The Cold
7.)Wild Night, Hot & Crazy Days
8.)Hot For Love
9.)Reckless
Review: Well, it's not the classic Priest sound, but it's not full on chick with a dick Winger styled glam either. What you get here really is what was promised, Priest taking a spin with some glam tendencies. Despite the synths, which actually add to some songs in quite a good way, you still get Rob's excellent voice along with some classic riffs and solo's from KK & Glen. "Out In The Cold" I would rank among their best ballads, and for single wise "Turbo Lover" and "Locked In" rock along quite well. I'd also add "Hot For Love", "Reckless" (quite possibly the best song on it), and "All Fired Up" (yes even though it's a bonus track) to the classic Priest cannon.While not their best, it's not their worst either, half the album is good, easy enough to skip over the fluff. With all the good said though, they really shouldve thought it through better on some songs, alot of the lyrics are atrocious.
Priest...Live! (1987)
1.)Out In The Cold
2.)Heading Out Ot The Highway
3.)Metal Gods
4.)Breaking The Law
5.)Love Bites
6.)Some Heads Are Gonna Roll
7.)The Sentinel
8.)Private Property
9.)Rock You All Around The World
10.)Electric Eye
11.)Turbo Lover
12.)Freewheel Burning
13.)Parental Guidance
14.)Living After Midnight
15.)You've Got Another Thing Comin'
Ram It Down (1988)
1.)Ram It Down
2.)Heavy Metal
3.)Love Zone
4.)Come And Get It
5.)Hard As Iron
6.)Blood Red Skies
7.)I'm A Rocker
8.)Johnny B. Goode
9.)Love You To Death
10.)Monsters Of Rock
Painkiller (1990)
1.)Painkiller
2.)Hell Patrol
3.)All Guns Blazing
4.)Leather Rebel
5.)Metal Meltdown
6.)Night Crawler
7.)Between The Hammer & The Anvil
8.)A Touch Of Evil
9.) Battle Hymn
10.)One Shot At Glory
Jugulator (1997)
1.)Jugulator
2.)Blood Stained
3.)Dead Meat
4.)Death Row
5.)Decapitate
6.)Burn In Hell
7.)Brain Deaed
8.)Abductors
9.)Bullet Train
10.)Cathedral Spires
'98 Live Meltdown (1998)
CD 1:
1.)The Hellion
2.)Electric Eye
3.)Metal Gods
4.)Grinder
5.)Rapid Fire
6.)Blood Stained
7.)The Sentinel
8.)Touch Of Evil
9.)Burn In Hell
10.)The Ripper
11.)Bullet Train
12.)Beyond The Realms f Death
13.)Death Row
CD 2:
1.)Metal Meltdown
2.)Night Crawler
3.)Abductors
4.)Victim Of Changes
5.)Diamons And Rust
6.)Breaking The Law
7.)The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)
8.)Painkiller
9.)You've Got Another Thing Coming
10.)Hellbent For Leather
11.) Living After Midnight
Demolition (2001)
1.)Machine Man
2.)One On One
3.)Hell Is Home
4.)Jekyll And Hyde
5.)Close To You
6.)Devil Digger
7.)Bloodsuckers
8.)In Between
9.)Feed On Me
10.)Subtrefuge
11.)Lost And Found
12.)Cyberface
13.)Metal Messiah
Review: Well, it pains me to say it, but if Judas Priest ever made an album that sucked out loud, this is it. If you were dissapointed by either "Turbo" or "Point Of Entry" wait until you snag this little slice of shit. Now, Tim Owens sounds quite good on this release, maybe straining a little too hard to sound like Rob, but other than that, excellent. This album suffers from mediocre song writing, which is not only surprising, but not at all typical of the Metal Gods. Ian Hill and Scott Travis still slam their way through the rhythm sections and sound on top of their game here, but unfortunately KK and Glen are either playing half assed or unispired rhythms or extremely wanking solos here. Alot of samples and industrial noises are also used here again as with "Jugulator" (except "Jugulator" was actually good haha) which takes the songs down even a further notch. There's a few decent tracks in: "Close To You", "Jekyll And Hyde", "Bloodsuckers", "One on One", and "Machine Man". The rest of the tracks either run together into boring noise or are just outright putrid (Lost And Found). None of its spectacular though, an album only for the diehards in my eyes.
Metalogy (2004)
CD 1
1. Never Satisfied (4:52)
2. Deceiver (2:44)
3. Tyrant (4:39)
4. Victim Of Changes (Live) (7:11)
5. Diamonds & Rust (Live)** (3:28)
6. Starbreaker (Live)** (7:19)
7. Sinner (6:40)
8. Let Us Prey (6:12)
9. Dissident Aggressor (3:02)
10. Exciter (5:33)
11. Beyond The Realms Of Death (6:51)
12. Better By You Better Than Me (5:19)
13. Invader (4:10)
14. Stained Class (5:12)
15. The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown) (Live)* (4:42)
CD 2
1. Killing Machine (3:02)
2. Evening Star (4:06)
3. Take On The World (3:03)
4. Delivering The Goods (4:16)
5. Evil Fantasies (4:13)
6. Hell Bent For Leather (2:40)
7. Breaking The Law (Live)** (2:45)
8. Living After Midnight (3:30)
9. Rapid Fire (4:00)
10. Metal Gods (4:04)
11. Grinder (Live)* (4:21)
12. The Rage (4:44)
13. Heading Out To The Highway (3:45)
14. Hot Rockin' (Live)** (3:28)
15. Trouble Shooter (3:47)
16. Solar Angels
17. Desert Plains (4:36)
18. Hellion (Live)** / Electric Eye (Live)** 4:17 19. Screaming For Vengeance (4:43)
CD 3
1. Riding On The Wind (3:07)
2. Bloodstone (3:52)
3. You've Got Another Thing Comin' (5:09)
4. Devil's Child (4:48)
5. Freewheel Burning (4:42)
6. Jawbreaker (3:25)
7. The Sentinel (5:24)
8. Love Bites (Live)* (5:37)
9. Eat Me Alive (3:31)
10. Some Heads Are Gonna Roll (4:05)
11. Rock Hard Ride Free (5:00)
12. Night Comes Down (4:00)
13. Turbo Lover
14. Private Property (4:29)
15. Parental Guidance (3:35)
16. Out In The Cold (6:27)
17. Heart Of A Lion (demo)* (3:53)
CD 4
1. Ram It Down (4:48)
2. Heavy Metal (5:58)
3. Come & Get It (4:05)
4. Blood Red Skies (7:05)
5. Painkiller (6:06)
6. Between The Hammer & The Anvil (4:48)
7. Touch Of Evil (5:54)
8. Metal Meltdown (4:47)
9. Nightcrawler (5:44)
10. All Guns Blazing (3:57)
11. Jugulator (5:50)
12. Bloodstains (5:26)
13. Machine Man (5:15)
14. Feed On Me (5:28)
Disc 5
Priest Live 1983 (DVD)
Angel Of Retribution (2005)
1.)Judas Rising
2.)Deal With The Devil
3.)Revolution
4.)Worth Fighting For
5.)Demonizer
6.)Wheels Of Fire
7.)Angel
8.)Hellrider
9.)Eulogy
10.)Lochness
Nostradamus (2008)
Disc 1:
1.)Dawn Of Creation
2.)Prophecy
3.)Awakening
4.)Revelations
5.)The Four Horsemen
6.)War
7.)Sands Of Time
8.)Pestilence And Plague
9.)Death
10.)Peace
11.)Conquest
12.)Lost Love
13.)Persecution
Disc 2:
1.)Solitude
2.)Exiled
3.)Alone
4.)Shadows In Flame
5.)Visions
6.)Hope
7.)New Beginnings
8.)Calm Before The Storm
9.)Nostradamus
10.)Future Of Mankind
Notes: The album came in 3 editions, the standard 2-CD jewel case version, the limited 2-CD hardcover book edition, and a 3LP vinyl boxset which also included the two discs. Original pressings contained an offer in which one could obtain a free ticket to The Metal Masters tour in that area.