CD Odyssey Disc 984: Judas Priest

On July 1, 2009 the CD Odyssey officially began with my first review. It was Judas Priest’s “Screaming for Vengeance.” Now, 984 discs later the Odyssey continues to roll, but our journey with Judas Priest is (at least for now) officially at an end.

Disc 984 is…Ram It Down

Artist: Judas Priest

Year of Release: 1988

What’s up with the Cover? This is one of my favourite album covers so far. A vengeful god rams it down on an unfortunate planet. Don’t worry, though, the planet being bashed is not earth – there’s too much orange.

How I Came To Know It: I knew this album briefly as a kid, but in 1988 I was already transitioning from metal to folk, and I didn’t pay it much attention. I only bought it about five years ago when I was fleshing out my Judas Priest collection.

How It Stacks Up:  I have twelve Judas Priest albums. Of those twelve, it is at the top…of the bottom half, so seventh. Since I’ve now reviewed all my Judas Priest albums, here’s the full recap:

1. British Steel: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 272)
2. Defenders of the Faith: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 35)
3. Killing Machine: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 261)
4. Screaming for Vengeance: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1)
5. Rocka Rolla: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 41)
6. Sad Wings of Destiny: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 461)
7. Ram It Down: 3 stars (reviewed right here)
8. Turbo: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 471)
9. Stained Class: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 195)
10. Sin After Sin: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 319)
11. Point of Entry: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 424)
12. Nostradamus: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 594)

Ratings: 3 stars

After the synthesizer-fueled fun of 1986’s “Turbo,” Judas Priest seemed determined to re-establish their heavy metal cred on “Ram It Down.” From the pounding blue fist on the cover through the blistering guitar riffs that seem to suffuse and dominate every song, “Ram It Down” is an album that follows its own advice.

The songs on the album feature everything you’ve come to know and love about 1980s Judas Priest: visceral energy and anthems that encourage you to raise your fist and cheer on the metal revolution. In short, it is good, honest, semi-clean fun.

That this album doesn’t achieve the same level of greatness as classics like “British Steel” or “Defenders of the Faith” is not a slight, so much as a recognition of how great those records are.

The record opens with the title track and quickly signals that Priest is ready to pound out some heavy metal. The song boasts “Thousands of cars and a million guitars/Screaming with power in the air” and sets a clear tone; everything on this album will be big, bold and loud. Rob Halford isn’t called on to do anything spectacular, but he sings with his usual power; one of the few voices that can hold its own against not one - but two - lead guitars.

The album’s style heavily recalls “Defenders of the Faith” with many of the songs having similar pounding beats and the same solid mix of speed riffs and rising anthems. The songs aren’t consistently as good, nor are the melodies as interesting, but they’re solid.

The best anthem on the record is “I’m a Rocker” which is an unabashed celebration of the band’s years on the road. No subterfuge here; they are rockers and they have spent their lives…rocking. It’s a song that proves you don’t have to overthink what makes a good song. Just rock out, and tell the world about it.

At the other end of the spectrum is the almost eight minute epic “Blood Red Skies.” The song has a slow build, starting with a power ballad that grows into a rising crescendo of rock and a chorus that is gloriously triumphant. This song made me think about what it must feel like to be a gladiator, standing victorious in the Roman Colosseum, soaking in the adulation of the fans. No, the song isn’t about that but it evokes that feeling. Also, I just watched a bunch of documentaries on ancient Rome, so give me a break.

“Ram It Down” also features a cover of “Johnny B. Goode”. This song has been done by so many artists over the decades, but my favourite has always been this one. It is powerful and ballsy, infusing eighties metal power chords into a song that is tough enough to take it and then some. It is a worthy tribute to Chuck Berry in the week of his death. Rest in peace, Mr. Berry, and thanks again for rock and roll. We still like it.

This particular edition of the CD has two live bonus tracks tagged onto the end that I could live without. Both “Night Comes Down” (from Defenders of the Faith) and “Bloodstone” (from Screaming for Vengeance) are good songs, but I’ve got them on their original albums already. Tagged on the end here they are awkward and make the record feel a bit too long.

Despite this and the fact that there are better albums in the Judas Priest discography, “Ram It Down” is a solid entry in the band’s career. There are no bad songs and plenty that are genuine head thrashers. It is well worth adding to your collection if you’re looking to expand your Judas Priest collection.

Best tracks: Ram It Down, Blood Red Skies, I’m a Rocker, Johhny B. Goode

CD Odyssey Disc 594: Judas Priest

This next album will be my third consecutive double album review, following on an Anthology of the Supremes and the Beatles white album.  I generally find double albums too bloated, and three in a row has been a slog. I hope my next record is one of those seventies ‘originally on vinyl’ numbers that is a cool 35-40 minutes.

Disc 594 is….Nostradamus

Artist: Judas Priest

Year of Release: 2008

What’s up with the Cover? He is Nostradamus! The planetary alignments themselves reveal their secrets to him.  It’s all very serious.

How I Came To Know It: I haven’t followed Judas Priest past the eighties, so I missed all of their albums between “Ram it Down” in 1988 and “Nostradamus” twenty years later.  I bought this one because I was going to see them in concert on this tour, and wanted to know the songs and so increase my enjoyment of the show. Incidentally, the show was great – Judas Priest can still rock it out, and they played a nice mix of hits, obscure stuff and songs off this album.

How It Stacks Up:  I have twelve Judas Priest albums and after I’m done this entry, will have reviewed all but one of them.  I therefore speak from a position of experience when I say that “Nostradamus” is the least of the twelve.  Ah well, something had to be last.

Rating:  2 stars

“Nostradamus” answers the important question – what do you do after you’ve already had decades of success, sold tens of millions of records and have become one of the all-time most influential artists of your genre? Whatever you feel like doing.

In Judas Priest’s case, they decided to release a concept album about the life of a 16^th century apothecary who has become one of the most famous prophets or seers in western tradition.  Of course, his predictive verses left much to interpretation, but it is just creepy enough to draw you in, and make you believe something was going on that was beyond our mortal ken.  That’s certainly how I reacted when as a young boy I first heard of him., Fanciful documentaries would always have me riveted to the TV throughout my childhood.  In short, Nostradamus was cool and mysterious, and I can fully understand why Judas Priest decided to dedicate an entire concept album to his life and visions.

The music is very symphonic – and feels like it would be more at home as a rock opera than as a metal album. I could see this put on as a stage production (I suppose counting the concert I saw of this tour in 2008, I partly did).

The whole of it feels a lot like overwrought post-power metal, and the song construction reminded me heavily of Finnish band “Nightwish” except that “Nightwish” manages to pull it off a bit better.

The songs are fairly uninteresting in construction, soaring from verse to verse, and the band seems more interested in telling a cohesive story than delivering moments of magic through the music itself.

This is understandable given the topic is so much fun. The band sets up Nostradamus as a seer and then runs through his nightmarish visions of the four horsemen descending on our world.  It is grim stuff, but they manage to make it uplifting at the end with hopeful songs at the end like “New Beginnings.”

The more theatrical numbers owe a lot to Alice Cooper’s later career, particularly songs like “Death” where Halford embodies the character of the song’s titular character. Good, but I again found myself preferring the way Alice delivers a song like that.  Halford’s strength has always been his soaring vocals, and although he fully commits, he’ll never be Cooper while playing a character, just as Cooper will never blow speakers with his vocal power like Halford can.

Of course in 2008 Halford’s voice is not the force of nature it once was, but he holds his own and can still carry a tune better than most.  Downing and Tipton’s guitars are still crisp, although the actual solo work they do isn’t terribly interesting. The band is content to relax into their subject matter and let it speak for itself.

Like many concept albums, there are a lot of little connector songs of one or two minutes setting or re-establishing mood, as well as longer seven or eight minute numbers developing the bigger concepts.  Generally, the record does a good job of mixing in all of its melodic concepts.  “Nostradamus” may not break a lot of new ground but it is professionally put together, and is clearly a labour of love.  That’s worth something to me, but sadly not more than two stars on this occasion.

Best tracks: Prophecy, Pestilence and Plague, Conquest, Nostradamus,

CD Odyssey Disc 471: Judas Priest

The holidays have caused a slowdown in the album review stream, but I’m starting to get back into the swing of things.  I had planned to write this review on Friday afternoon, but I was deathly ill yesterday and am only now starting to feel like myself again.

This album is yet more Judas Priest.  There are only two left after this one though, so the Judas Priest part of the Odyssey is nearing an end.

Disc 471 is…Turbo

Artist: Judas Priest

Year of Release: 1986

What’s up with the Cover?  A hand with long nails on a joystick.  I assume the owner of the hand is shifting whatever machine the joystick controls into ‘turbo’.

How I Came To Know It:  I’ve known this albums since it came out when I was sixteen years old.  My brother worked on a fish boat back then, and when he’d get back from a trip he’d have a ton of cash, and he’d blow a considerable amount of it on records.  He bought “Turbo” and I taped my favourite songs off of it from him. After many years, I recently purchased it on CD because I was feeling nostalgic, and remember liking those four songs.

How It Stacks Up:  I have twelve Judas Priest albums, so after this one I’ll only have two more to review.  I have a soft spot for “Turbo” it probably doesn’t deserve, but you can’t choose who you love.  I’ll rate it 8^th out of 12.

Rating:  3 stars but I am probably being kind.

When I was sixteen years old I had this faded jean jacket I wore everywhere.  It had band pins on the collar depicting albums by Grim Reaper and Iron Maiden, and on the back I drew a big symbol of chaos in black felt pen.  I thought that jacket was pretty cool, and while I don’t wear it anymore, I still own it for sentimental reasons.  “Turbo” is a lot like that.

While I’ve always liked “Turbo,” it is not an album held in high regard by most Judas Priest fans.  It follows on the massively successful (and awesome) “Defenders of the Faith” but is a fairly significant departure in sound.

The Judas Priest quality guitar riffs are still there, but the big departure is in production decisions, where the band has opted for the rightly-maligned eighties fuzzy-synth sound.  This cuts way back on the visceral quality of K.K. Downing and Glen Tipton’s guitar work, and also cuts some power out of Rob Halford’s vocals at a point in his career where that voice is starting to lose power on its own.  I think there are even drum machines in there in places.  Yech.

We shouldn’t judge Judas Priest too harshly, though – Tom Petty’s 1985 “Southern Accents” and Bruce Springsteen’s 1987 “Tunnel of Love” show that many great seventies artists fell victim to the siren’s call of new technology.  Musicians are creative types, so it stands to reason they’d try new techniques as they came along.  Fortunately for “Turbo” the songs are still good, and for the most part they shine through the bad production.

In fact the opening track, “Turbo Lover” even manages to meld Priest’s style with the new sound.  The song is a chimera of metal, industrial and synth-pop that captures all of the sexy aggression that Judas Priest usually delivers, and wraps it up in a new format.  For lack of a better expression let’s call it Cyberdine Systems Rock.

My other two guilty pleasures are “Private Property” and “Parental Guidance” both songs that scream of youthful rebellion.  Realizing that the band members were over thirty-five when they sang these songs, it is surprising how honest they still sound.  I know that when I was a teenager these songs were like anthems to me.

The bridge of “Private Property” in particular, is seriously heavy, as the drums pound away and an ad-libbing Halford shrieks “keep your dirty hands off me!” (a line that always makes me think of Charlton Heston in Planet of the Apes).

“Parental Guidance” has atrociously bad lyrics:

“Every day you scream at me to turn the music low

Well if you keep on screaming you’ll make me deaf you know.”

And later when our parent’s generation is admonished for wearing “three-piece suits” (horrors) it gets even sillier.  Yet for all that, when Halford sings:

“Don’t you remember what it’s like to lose control

Put on my jacket ‘fore you get too old – let’s rock and roll.”

I find myself picking up what he’s putting down.  Instead of having a laugh, this song just reminds me of the glory of youth, when we think we know everything and are determined to prove it.  Putting this record on makes me chuckle a little at how much I used to like it. At the same time, it makes me feel like I’m able to put on that old jean jacket and rock and roll.  Fortunately, I’ve since upgraded the jean jacket with a very cool brown version, that features a big studded cross on the back (professionally done this time).  There’s no need to grow up too fast, people – I’m barely over forty!

Or put another way, we should never lose our youthful exuberance, and if that means I grade “Turbo” out at a star higher than it deserves, then so be it.

Best tracks:  Turbo Lover, Private Property, Parental Guidance

CD Odyssey Disc 461: Judas Priest

Yesterday I spent the day running errands and listening to this album the old fashioned way; in my car at high volume.  Errands included buying vacuum cleaner bags, dropping off some documents for my strata and doing some banking.  It would seem that adulthood has snuck up on me.

Fortunately, I spent today putting some themed playlists together and generally goofing off.  Thank goodness there will always be music to keep me young.

Disc 461 is… Sad Wings of Destiny

Artist: Judas Priest

Year of Release: 1976

What’s up with the Cover?  This is one of my favourite album covers in all of my collection; certainly top five in terms of heavy metal albums.  An angel falls into hell, seemingly weighed down by that Judas Priest necklace it is wearing.  Unlike the INXS album cover I just reviewed, if I were fifteen I would totally put this poster on my wall.  The colours even match my bedroom now.  Now how to convince Sheila this is a good idea…

How I Came To Know It:  I’ve been a Judas Priest fan since I was a teenager, but only in the last few years did my interest rekindle, largely at the urging of my buddy Ross.  This particular album I bought a bit later, maybe in the last three or four years, and it is just me drilling through their earlier records.

How It Stacks Up:  I have twelve Judas Priest albums.  “Sad Wings of Destiny” is pretty awesome but the competition is fierce at the top.  I’ll put this one about 7^th or 8^th best, depending on my mood.

Rating:  3 stars

Listening to early Judas Priest I am always impressed with how early they discovered the sound that later would become synonymous with eighties metal.  “Sad Wings of Destiny” dates back to 1976, and is a pioneer and harbinger of the heavy that would come to dominate the genre in later years.

At the same time, there are prog and even folk elements mixed in with the heavy, not unlike “Rocka Rolla,” (reviewed way back at Disc 41). I like the presence of both of these other influences, and I think they add an interesting range to the music.

The first track, “Victim of Changes” covers it all in one song.  It starts with a heavy metal riff that would’ve been massive ten years later, but in 1976 must have been like a bolt of thunder thrown by an angry god.  Midway through the song it shifts to a slower, folk-inspired song that sounds a little like Jethro Tull on steroids, before returning to the opening riff to close on a high note.

The rest of the record is good, but it never quite measures up to the greatness of “Victim of Changes.”  “The Ripper” is an up-tempo ditty about Jack the Ripper, told from the killer’s perspective, and has some fine guitar work soaring through it.  Rob Halford’s vocals are tempered down a bit into a more traditional staccato rock delivery, which lets the guitars speak.

The album then descends into a bit of a prog feel, with a series of songs (“Dreamer Deceiver”, “Deceiver”, “Prelude”) that seems to want to build a larger story but doesn’t quite take off.  It reminds me a bit of Blue Oyster Cult’s 1974 album “Secret Treaties” in that it is like half the album is held together by a concept, but the other half is populated with singles and one-offs.  “Secret Treaties” inherent greatness buoys this internal conflict much better, however, and on “Sad Wings of Destiny” I feel like the tension pulls the record apart in places, rather than helping drive it forward.

I do like Priest making an effort to sing about the wild and wacky things that populate hard rock in the seventies and eighties; mythical evil overlords, infernal beasts and historical killers.  In particular, I like “Tyrant” which sounds like something Blue Oyster Cult would’ve recorded on their first few albums.  This song also features some fine guitar riffs and solos – the dual leads of Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing has always been a Priest strong suit.

The energy of the album is pulled down by the two interlude pieces, “Prelude” and “Epitaph” where Priest comes off as trying to match Queen’s signature sound and falling short.  However, that isn’t to say there isn’t energy.  Halford’s voice can put chills up the spine of a corpse, and apart from these two tracks the album is visceral and powerful.

This is a good album, and it doesn’t receive the credit it deserves from the mainstream. It is later overshadowed by some truly great albums from Judas Priest, but it holds its own and is as good as anything coming out of the hard rock scene in the mid-seventies, and that is saying something.

Best tracks:  Victim of Changes, The Ripper, Tyrant

CD Odyssey Disc 424: Judas Priest

It’s been a long day at the office, and I’m ready to have a little decompression time watching the Olympics with Sheila.  Before I get there though, the CD Odyssey has to exact its usual musical price, however, with the latest randomly selected album to review.

Disc 424 is…Point of Entry

Artist: Judas Priest

Year of Release: 1981

What’s up with the Cover?  It’s the second cover in a row featuring a road.  This one is a bit more high-tech (at least for the time) with that early computer art we’ve all since learned to loathe.  I know I loathe it.

How I Came To Know It: This was just me drilling through the Judas Priest collection in recent years.  I came to “Point of Entry” fairly late – definitely in the last five years or so.

How It Stacks Up:  I have twelve Judas Priest albums, and for the most part they are excellent.  With apologies to my buddy Ross, I’ll put “Point of Entry” at 11^th or 12^th, depending on how charitable I am feeling toward 2008’s rather bloated double album “Nostradamus” at the time.

Rating: 2 stars

There are very few bands that can pump out ten or more records and not deliver at least one weak link.  Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, - hell, even my idols Blue Oyster Cult have done it.  And so it happened to the great Judas Priest as well, with “Point of Entry.”

What is surprising is that “Point of Entry” is chronologically situated between two Priest classics, 1980’s masterpiece “British Steel” and “Screaming for Vengeance” which in addition to being excellent is the first album ever reviewed for the Odyssey (you'll note I was a lot less verbose in those days).

When I reviewed “British Steel” I said it was the perfect melding of melodic classic rock, and pounding metal.  “Point of Entry” is the same blend, but somehow the formula is all wrong.

The record is still inspired, deep down, by proto-blues fifties guitar riffs.  Double lead players Glen Tipton and K.K. Dowling still show their seemingly bottomless talent for writing these things and making it look easy.  Even Rob Halford is still a resplendent vocalist when in full throat.  Despite this, the songs seem patched together, particularly the pedestrian choruses on a lot of these tracks.  “Hot Rockin’” is a prime example, starting off promising with a Chuck Berry-inspired guitar riff (plus steroids) but then descending into a truly forgettable chorus of “I’m gonna go/I wanna go/I’m gonna go/Hot rockin’.”  And it isn’t the lyrics that wreck it (although they are self-evidently awful) the hook just isn’t much of a hook, and even a good guitar riff can’t save the song.

In places, this album’s production and composition had me wondering if Priest had been unduly influenced by the rise in popularity of the hard rock stadium bands of the late seventies and early eighties, particularly on the very forgettable “Don’t Go.”  Priest is better than that, and by descending to that level they lose their unique sound, and instead sound like they’re trying too hard to be like everybody else.

There are still some bright spots on this record.  For example, in the middle of an otherwise pedestrian song like “Turning Circles” there is a fine rock-blues guitar solo that would make Buck Dharma proud.

Also, when they do recapture the alchemy of their sound, it is electrifying as ever.  The opening track, “Heading Out On the Highway” is vintage early Priest, with unison singing, top line guitar riffs and a general sound that says ‘drive fast and live free’ – the message every metal album must deliver well if it wants to be serious.

“Solar Angels” mixes this early sound with the heavy anthemic qualities I’d first learn to love as a fourteen year old on “Defenders of the Faith” and is good to have probably made the cut on that killer record.

Rob Halford’s lyrics are at their dirty best on “All the Way” and “Troubleshooter” although only the latter really inspired me musically.

Unfortunately, the high spots on this album aren’t frequent enough to pull the whole record up.  Even the bonus tracks (a live version of “Desert Plains” and an early composition called “Thunder Road” – no relation to Springsteen) were weak entries on the extra material front.

This isn’t a bad album, and no doubt I’m holding it to a higher standard because of how much I absolutely love Priest’s other works to this point (for proof just read the reviews I've linked to in this review).  Still, I can’t deny that "Point of Entry" left me wanting more.  As Bad Santa teaches us, “they can’t all be winners, kid.

Best tracks:  Heading out on the Highway, Solar Angels, Troubleshooter.

CD Odyssey Disc 319: Judas Priest

Despite only having 10 Judas Priest albums (a mere ten!) the Odyssey has proven very fond of the British rockers. This is my 7th review of Priest, although sadly not my favourite.

Disc 319 is...Sin After Sin

Artist: Judas Priest

Year of Release: 1977

What’s Up With The Cover?: It appears to be ancient temple dedicated to sin. Although you can't see it in the picture very well, right above the pillars "Sin After Sin" is written in silver block lettering. This is the kind of temple I could get behind.

How I Came To Know It: I've known Priest since I was a teenager, but I only recently discovered this record while drilling through their back catalogue.

How It Stacks Up: Judas Priest is consistently good, so the competition is fierce, and "Sin After Sin" just doesn't measure up to the same calibre of some of the records I've previously reviewed on the Odyssey. I'd say it is one of the weaker ones - I'm going to go with 8th or 9th out the 10 I have.

Rating: 3 stars.

"Sin After Sin" is Judas Priest's third studio album, and the first that I think has that full 'heavy metal' sound that we associate with the band because of more widely known records that came later.

Halford's voice is still youthful and fantastic, particularly on "The Last Rose of Summer" an original song written by Rob Halford and guitarist Glenn Tipton, which sounds like it was updated to metal from some classical folk song. (My confusion is warranted, mind you, since there is a traditional folk song called "The Last Rose of Summer" - but it is a different song).

His voice, usually employed in a melodic assault over top of Priest's memorable guitar licks is instead restrained and almost operatic as Judas Priest shows the range they're capable of when they are suitably motivated. The band also covers a Joan Baez song, "Diamonds and Rust" to good and similar effect.

Despite the band's willingness to branch out with a different sound, I felt that when they 'went heavy' on "Sin After Sin' they left me wanting in places. Don't get me wrong; the killer riffs are still there (particularly on "Sinner" and "Raw Deal"), and Halford is in fine vocal form. It is just that songs generally didn't elevate my energy level like Priest songs usually do. They are good, but not great, and after recent reviews of records like "Killing Machine", "British Steel" and "Defenders of the Faith", I expect greatness from this band. It may sound unduly harsh but hey, they set the bar high, not me.

In places it even sounds like they are trying to do some kind of prog sound - like in the song "Starbreaker" which gave me strong associations with early Rush, or the six minute double song "Let Us Prey/Call For The Priest" which ranges through a number of defined movements - some of it having the furious, relentless guitar playing that would define the classic record, "Defenders of The Faith." However, at this early stage, they don't quite bring it all together. Again, the songs are good, but not great, and left me wanting more.

My version of this record is the remastered one, and as ever Judas Priest is suitably restrained, only adding two bonus tracks. The first is a song called "Race With the Devil", a song about how you...er...can't win a race with the devil. According to the liner notes, it was a song taken from an early jam session and never released. That's a pity, because I think it is an excellent song, and one of my favourites on the record.

The other bonus track is a live version of "Jawbreaker" originally from the "Defenders of the Faith" album. They are a good band live, but it didn't overly inspire me beyond that.

I ultimately enjoyed "Sin After Sin" but I think it could have been so much more, and for that reason I can't go above three stars, even for as great a band as the Priest.

Best tracks: Sinner, Last Rose of Summer, Raw Deal, Race With the Devil

CD Odyssey Disc 272: Judas Priest

The Odyssey decided to serve me up a little more Judas Priest (the sixth in fact) yet somehow still only deigns to give me one Blue Oyster Cult album.

Fortunately I like Judas Priest plenty - although not as much as my buddy Ross. Shout out to Ross for catching my mis-spelling of Ozzy. It has now been repaired. Now, on with one of Ozzy's musical offspring - Rob Halford.

Disc 272 is...British Steel

Artist: Judas Priest

Year of Release: 1980

What’s Up With The Cover?: OK I feel a bit stupid here, but I don't know what that is. Is it a razor blade with the Judas Priest logo on it? I think that's what it is. Because of this album's iconic status, it doesn't matter what it is. You see it, and you know you're looking at the British Steel album cover before your mind ever begins to source out what the picture is.

How I Came To Know It: I only recently purchased all of my Judas Priest - in the last ten years or so. In my youth I did know the hits ("Breaking the Law" and "Living After Midnight") but had no idea of the other songs until I bought the album in later years.

How It Stacks Up: I have ten Judas Priest albums. I'm going out there right now and saying "British Steel" is the best - so #1.

Rating: 5 stars

When I reviewed 1978's "Killing Machine" back at Disc 261 I was tempted to rank it my favourite Priest album, but it just wasn't quite heavy enough to be the best of the best.

When I reviewed 1984's "Defenders of the Faith" way back at Disc 35, I was similarly tempted to put it #1, but I mistrusted myself - thinking that it might just be the importance of that album to my heavy metal youth. Also, looking back, "Defenders" didn't have as strong a melodic quality - something I really liked about "Killing Machine".

Enter 1980's "British Steel" to end the debate with the perfect mixture of melodic rock, and pounding metal. This album, to me, is Judas Priest at their absolute best.

Want pounding metal riffs that blast you out of your chair? The album has those to spare from the very beginning. "Rapid Fire" opens the album with pounding drum and a powerful Tipton riff. The opening lyrics tell you what's in store:

"Pounding the world
Like a battering ram"

The album then proceeds to do just this. Following up on "Rapid Fire" is "Metal Gods" which is metal in mid-eighties form, five years before its time. Thor wishes he could write songs like "Metal Gods". Also, I love early references to 'metal' - a genre that is second only to rap in its penchant for self-reference.

"Metal Gods" is followed by the metal classic, "Breaking the Law" which still gets play on video shows when hard rock or metal are featured. Well into the eighties, you could count on seeing "Breaking the Law" on the Power Hour. The song could be released today and still be a hit.

But the genius of "British Steel" is that it isn't just a driving metal album like "Defenders of the Faith", it incorporates the hard rock infectiousness of "Killing Machine" in equal measure. Songs like "Living After Midnight" are those catchy, but heavy songs you could see leather-clad metal babes singing along to back in the eighties. They'd be leaning against their boyfriend's Camaro in the high school parking lot, big blown-out hair bobbing slightly to the music, a bottle of Molson Canadian in one hand.

These girls were all denim, leather and danger. They invariably seemed a couple years older than you at any given time. When you were thirteen, they were fifteen. When you were fifteen, they were seventeen. Just old and tough enough to scare the hell out of you, but not to the point where you didn't still want them. Good memories.

Even the bonus tracks on this remaster aren't offensive. Yes, they do put a live version of "Grinder" on which isn't demonstrably different than the studio version, as well as another soccer-chant style track with "Red, White & Blue", but they fit in well enough, and don't make the album over long.

As for the original album, it is a metal masterpiece in every sense, and deserves every ounce of its five stars.

Best tracks: All tracks. There are no bad tracks on "British Steel."

CD Odyssey Disc 261: Judas Priest

I am reluctant to even review this next album, because it means taking it out of my car, where it has been very good company.

But the Odyssey must move forward, slouching it's way to the end of my CD rack to be born.

Disc 261 is...Killing Machine

Artist: Judas Priest

Year of Release: 1978

What’s Up With The Cover?: I am not entirely sure. Obviously a close up of some biker type, complete with leather skull cap, but what's that being reflected in his aviator sunglasses? Has he been shot in the eyes, or is that the reflection of someone that he has just taken out (the album is called "Killing Machine" after all).

How I Came To Know It: This is just me drilling through Judas Priest's collection, since my friend Ross rekindled my love for the band a few years back. I've known the song "Hell Bent For Leather" for a while, so this was an early purchase in my Priest collection - probably the fourth album I bought after "Defenders of the Faith", "Screaming for Vengeance" and "British Steel".

How It Stacks Up: I have ten Judas Priest albums, and this one is near the top of the heap. I'm going to say 2nd or 3rd best.

Rating: 4 stars but close to 5.

"Killing Machine" is a fairly early Priest album, coming out in late 1978. Times have changed a lot since then. For example, at the time of release, the North American record execs renamed the album "Hell Bent For Leather" because they were worried about the violent overtones of "Killing Machine". Imagine how "Cannibal Corpse" covers would've gone over in the seventies.

What hasn't changed is this album's impact. It still delivers some of the best riff-driven rock music you'll ever hear.

As often happens when I hear early Priest and Maiden albums, I once again found myself marvelling at just how ahead of its time this music is. "Killing Machine" comes out in 1978, and is as heavy metal as anything you'd hear in 1986 - probably more so.

This album is not well known outside of Judas Priest fans, which is a damned shame, because it is consistently excellent. From the opening track "Delivering the Goods" through anthems like "Hell Bent for Leather" and the soccer-chant evoking "Take on the World", Priest displays a level of self-absorbed bravado that is rarely seen outside of a KISS record.

"Killing Machine" is an album that assumes it is good - it doesn't wait for your approval of this assumption - when this record wants your opinion, it gives it to you. In "Take On The World" we are told:

"Move a little nearer

You know you got to follow your leaders

As we need you

Like you need us for sure

We're gonna drive you.

We're gonna ride you,

We're gonna get right inside you."

None of this is optional, but the song is so infectious - the guitars so insistent and Halford's voice so inspiring, you don't mind being told what to do. Believe me, telling metal fans what to do - successfully - is no easy feat.

Priest even provides a remake of an early Fleetwood Mac song, "The Green Manalishi With the Two Prong Crown", which is incredible. I don't even know the original, but when a remake is this good, I don't feel I need to.

This is a remastered album, and the sound production is excellent. The soulless record execs couldn't resist adding some 'bonus' tracks, but even these are OK. An early studio track, and a live track - neither of which was originally on the album, both of which are passable to the point that I'm willing to overlook them and not demerit the album as a result.

So what to grade this record? I think it is every bit the equal of "Defenders of the Faith" which I graded out at 5, but "Defenders" had the advantage teenage nostalgia. Then again, the sound this album is putting out is easily ten years ahead of its time, which speaks to perfection. I wish I allowed half stars, but since I don't, I'm going to be a hard marker and go 4 stars here, but this album is as close to 5 stars as you can get and not be there.

Best tracks: Delivering the Goods, Hell Bent for Leather, Take On The World, The Green Manalishi With the Two Prong Crown, Killing Machine

CD Odyssey Disc 195: Judas Priest

Well, the internet appears down, so I’m actually writing this review in Word to transfer to the blog later. Of course, for you the transition will be seamless – the powers of technology.

This time around finds us back with the artist that got the whole thing going at Disc #1.

Disc 195 is...Stained Class

Artist: Judas Priest

Year of Release: 1978

What’s Up With The Cover?: I’m not entirely sure. I think it is a metal headed man with a glass rod through his skull. That’s my best guess anyway.

How I Came To Know It: In the last few years I’ve been drilling through most of Judas Priest’s early work, and this is just another one of those. This is their 4th studio album.

How It Stacks Up: I have ten Priest albums. While I liked “Stained Class” it was one of the weaker albums – I’d put it somewhere between 7th and 9th depending on my mood.

Rating: 3 stars.

“Stained Class” is another one of Judas Priest’s albums where you marvel just how heavy they are for such an early album. It is only 1978, but this sound will carry forward through the eighties with ever increasing popularity. Priest is one of the originals.

I found “Stained Class” a little uneven in places, although it definitely has its defining moments. Among these is the high pitched guitar riff on the opening track, “Exciter”. This song also features vintage over-the-top lyrics from Halford:

“Racin’ cross the heavens
Straight into the dawn
Looking like a comet
Slicing through the morn
Scorching the horizon
Blazing to the land
Now he’s here among us
The age of fire’s at hand.”

It seems to be a song about a meteorite crashing into the earth. If you’re not sure how that qualifies as ‘exciting’ you wouldn’t be alone. I’ll just say in the context of the music, it works.

Other standouts are a beefed up remake of Spooky Tooth’s “Better By You, Better Than Me” which I think is actually superior to the original, and “Beyond the Realms of Death” – a song about a man who withdraws his consciousness from the world and lets his body waste away and die. This song has slow stanzas, punctuated by a chorus that rocks out. For a song that is so internal in its content, it takes on an epic quality in the hands of Judas Priest. "Beyond the Realms of Death" reminded me of fellow British metalheads (and eternal foils for Judas Priest) Iron Maiden. This is a good thing.

This is one of the Judas Priest remasters, and so has the obligatory ‘bonus tracks.’ The two on this album are an old song entitled “Fire Burns Below” which is passable but nothing to be in awe of, and a live version of “Better By You, Better Than Me” which is OK, but had me preferring the studio version.

Overall this album is good, and even flashes greatness, but I’m going to stick to being a hard marker, and go with three stars.

Best tracks: Exciter, Better By You Better Than Me, Beyond the Realms of Death.

CD Odyssey Disc 41: Judas Priest

I've bought a bunch of new albums recently, and I'm mixing them in with random rolls. This is a new purchase, and breaks the current tie between Enya, Michelle Shocked and Judas Priest in terms of the artist I've reviewed the most.

I already know who is going to to win the "most albums in the collection" award - but for now let's keep the suspense, and say Judas Priest takes an early lead at 3.

Disc 41 is...Rocka Rolla
Artist: Judas Priest

Year of Release: 1976

How I Came To Know It: My tales of coming to know Priest are in other entries on Judas Priest, but they've been in my life a long time. This album is a new review, and I had never heard it before. That said, my buddies Spence and Ross have told me I'd like this particular album - so I bought it. Thanks, guys!

How It Stacks Up: I now have 10 Judas Priest albums. I like them all quite a bit, so this is getting harder. I'll put Rocka Rolla 5th, but that doesn't mean it isn't good - it just means that it has stiff competition.

Rating: 4 stars.

I believe Rocka Rolla is Priest's first album, and came out way back in 1976. I think coming from North America, we all think Judas Priest started in the eighties, because until "You Got Another Thing Coming" broke in 1982, they were fairly unknown. Actually, they've been around a long time.

This record made me think of so many other great acts. There are songs like "One for the Road" where they sound a little like Zeppelin, tracks like "Never Satisfied" where they sound a little like Sabbath, and even a track"Dying To Meet You" which is some kind of cross between Blue Oyster Cult and 60s British folk.

There is no conspiracy or mystery here, though. Rocka Rolla is classic hard rock at its best. They are drilling the same well as these other bands, but they've got their own claim, certes. That said, Rocka Rolla never sounds derivative; it is distinctively Judas Priest.

My version of this album is the Koch Records re-release, which has the weird half-robot/half demon warmonger cover (see above). I think the original was just a silver bottle cap with "Rocka Rolla" written on it in a Coca Cola like font.

It also has a remake of Joan Baez' "Diamonds and Rust" which not all include on their song lists. I like the remake and I like the production on the album overall, so while I can't speak to the other versions, as far as this one goes, I say "buy it!". It is some of the best classic, hard driving rock and roll you will hear, and it sounds fresh over 30 years after release.

Best tracks: All these tracks are great, but I'd say the first 5 are the best (One For the Road, Rocka Rolla, Cheater, Never Satisfied, Run of The Mill.

CD Odyssey Disc 35: Judas Priest

Disc 35 brings us back to the first Disc reviewed, with the second offering of Judas Priest from the collection (my first review in the Odyssey was Screaming for Vengeance).

Disc 35 is...Defenders of the Faith
Artist: Judas Priest

Year of Release: 1984

How I Came To Know It: This album was my introduction to Judas Priest as a young metal head in Grade 9. All Priest for me flows from my initial love of this album.

How It Stacks Up: Very strongly. I have 8 Priest albums, and this one is probably #2 on that list. It may end up at #1, but I've gotta hold out for more.

Rating: 5 stars.

I really, really enjoyed rocking out to this album for the past two days. Not only did this one stay in the car past the allotted time, I had only recently been listening to it at home.

Defenders of the Faith is a quintessential metal album by one of the two crazy uncles of Heavy Metal - Judas Priest. Defenders didn't invent the metal genre, but I would argue that it perfects it. It stands not alone - but in very select company on the summit of pure heavy metal.

The first track, "Freewheel Burnin'" delivers all of the high octane of metal - and remains one of metal's greatest tracks. The guitars lay down a furious riff - the lyrics follow suit:

Fast and furious
we ride the universe
To carve a road for us that slices
every curve in sight

This is only the beginning of an energy laden journey that never stops. Just when you feel overwhelmed, track 5 slows things down with "Love Bites", an erotic vampire song that plays like a soundtrack for watching "Nosferatu" on speed.

Make no mistake, though - a slower tempo does not take any heaviness away from "Love Bites" which shows you can slow down and not get soppy in the world of metal.

Before you know it, you are back on the rock and roll road, with Eat Me Alive. With lyrics like:

Wrapped tight around me
Like a second flesh hot skin
Cling to my body
As the ecstasy begins

Hmmm...just what could Rob Halford be talking about. I'm sure it isn't sex - he never sings about that...

The album closes with 2 songs that merge into one - Heavy Duty and Defenders of the Faith. Heavy Duty combines all the slow impact of "Love Bites" and all the furious guitar of "Freewheel Burnin'" before it disintigrates into the soccer chant/metal anthem title track that takes you home.

This is the remastered/bonus track album - and the remastering is excellent (by which I mean, they didn't just turn up the recording volume). Even the two bonus tracks - "Turn On Your Light" and a live version of Heavy Duty/Defenders of the Faith from the 83/84 tour are strong additions.

I really didn't want to give this album 5 stars - I like to keep that rare. But I simply had no choice. It is as good a metal album as you would hear. This record has been in my life for 25 years, and yet every time I put it on, it immediately grabs me by the balls and screams "Heavy Metal!". Rob Halford would no doubt be pleased.

Best tracks: Freewheel Burning, The Sentinel, Love Bites, Some Heads Are Gonna Roll, Heavy Duty

CD Odyssey Disc 1: Screaming for Vengeance

The CD Odyssey begins again! Last time, this quest took almost three years, and that was about 5 years ago, so I expect it will take a little while longer this time.

For those of you who would wonder why the hell should I bother I will only say, "Do you want to climb this mountain or just get to the top?"

This year, on the advice of my friend Karen, I am going to roll randomly to determine what order I go in. Full CD Odyssey "rules" are on the sideboard.

Disc 1 is...Screaming For Vengeance


Artist: Judas Priest

Year of Release: 1982

How I Came To Know It: In my youth, I was a heavy metal meat-head, so this album has been in my life a long time. Admittedly this was the second JP album I ever knew - the first was Defenders of the Faith. I'll talk about that when I roll it...

How It Stacks Up: I currently have 8 Priest albums. I'd put this one 3rd or 4th in overall awesomeness.

Rating: 4 stars

Screaming For Vengeance is a seminal album in the history of heavy metal. Many would say Priest and Maiden are the first two true heavy metal bands. My money is on Black Sabbath, but I think there is an acceptable (preferably drunken) argument for Priest/Maiden.

This album is the poster-child for what good Metal is all about. It is full of Rob Halford belting his guts out, screaming guitar solos (the guitars are screaming for vengeance, no doubt), incredible riffs and symphonic sound.

A big shout out to my buddy, Ross the Boss. Ross is the biggest Priest fan I've ever met, and he helped rekindle my love for JP. That was a good deed indeed.

As many of you know I saw Priest in concert last year. To paraphrase Tennyson, though they are not that strength that in old days moved earth and heaven, that which they are, they are. And what they are still rocks.

Best tracks: Electric Eye, Bloodstone, Screaming for Vengeance, You've Got Another Thing Comin'.

Do you have an opinion about this album? Post it! Or lurk - that is good too.