About the Artist:  Judas Priest became the definitive heavy metal act.  But unlike most metal bands, Judas Priest expresses more positive themes in their music.  The vast majority of their songs are about being free or having good times.  They've NEVER put out messages saying you should kill people or do heavy drugs, anything like that.  A few songs have darker themes, like "The Ripper" (about the legendary serial killer Jack the Ripper), "Genocide", "Saints in Hell", and "Beyond the Realms of Death" (to name a few), but none of these celebrate death or killing.  A common link between all Judas Priest songs is that they're empowering.

    Also, unlike a lot of the heavy metal bands that followed, Judas Priest has a remarkably elaborate stage show.  They all wear leather and studs, they play on huge stages with pyrotechnics, and at some point Rob Halford rolls out on stage on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.  They're truly performers with a circus-like atmosphere about them.

Polar Blair's Thoughts on the Artist:  I love the name, the music, and the image.  They really deserve a powerful name like "Judas Priest".  When the music hits you, that's exactly what you're gonna think: JUDAS PRIEST!  Judas Priest is usually marked by powerhouse drumming, blistering guitar, and the triumphant screaming vocals of Rob Halford that made him an icon in heavy metal history.

    I'm not a fan of most heavy metal, but I love Judas Priest.  Then again, they're different than most metal.  They're not "speed" metal or "death" metal; just hard metal.  Judas Priest plays empowering songs, and they have quite an elaborate onstage presence.  You can't help but love the beat.

Personnel:

Discography: Album:

Rocka Rolla (1974)-  I love this album!  It's hard to find on vinyl.  Even harder to find on CD.  I'm lucky enough to own one of the original pressings of this classic.  It's a very different Judas Priest than what we know today.  The all-leather look was not here yet.  They dressed just like normal long-hair rock musicians.  Heavy metal?  Not quite.  It's hard rock with bluesy overtones.  Not at all similar to their much more popular "Sad Wings of Destiny" album from just two years later.  But the music on this album is outstanding!  And I love the cover with the Rocka Rolla bottlecap, lightly mocking Coca-Cola.  So why didn't this early effort take better?  And how come none of these songs are used in their subsequent live albums?  Has the band ever played them at all since this LP came out?  That's what I'd like to know.  This record should not be as obscure as it is.  A fun fact:  Rob Halford is credited on this album as "Bob Halford".  Another fun fact:  Glenn Tipton's name is spelled "Glen Tipton".  Yet another fun fact:  Drums on this album were handled by John Hinch.  And just for your knowledge, K.K. Downing (lead guitar) and Ian Hill (bass) are on this album, too.

    Original drummer John Hinch was fired after this album, in 1975, for being "musically inadequate" as Glenn Tipton puts it.  It doesn't seem to be a pleasant memory even to this day.  This album and the next ("Sad Wings of Destiny") were recorded on the Gull Records label.  In 1998, Gull Records repackaged several songs from Priest's first two albums and called it "The Best of Judas Priest"; simply to cash in on the JP name.  A little later, they added a John Hinch interview divided up into several tracks which makes up about 50% of the CD.  Judas Priest cannot control it or stop it, but they strongly urge their fans NOT to buy it as it gives you nothing new and also for the fact that they don't like the John Hinch interview, referring to it as "rubbish" and "false information".

    I guess I don't think John Hinch was an absolutely terrible drummer.  At least I can't tell that from this music.  He's not a really powerful standout, like Dave Holland or others would be.  From what I've read of interviews and official statements, Glenn Tipton really trashes on him.  Most of the times I can't tell John's there.  But his drumming is not at all a distraction.  I love this album.

    A lot of the stuff on this album was written before Rob Halford joined Judas Priest.  Al Atkins was the original singer of the band, and one of the songwriters, who left under pleasant terms; he wanted to be around to raise his daughter.  In fact, Atkins is still close with his old bandmates and maintains a solo career.  His "Caviar and Meths" was originally to be a 14-minute song, but due to time constraints only the two-and-a-half minute intro was used.  The band itself was upset over how much control producer Rodger Bain had on the album, especially with song selection.  A lot of their concert standards of the time were not included on this album, such as "Victim of Changes" and "Whiskey Woman".  And some songs were cut down too much.  As most people know, when you're recording a debut album, you want to use some of your popular hits with concert-goers so you can at least build an audience amongst your smaller fan-base, and it can build from there.  And this is probably why the Priest was slower to take off into mainstream popularity.  The band also didn't like HOW this album was recorded, and said how there's a hisssing sound that you can hear all the way through it.  But this is all I know about the "behind-the-scenes" stuff, piece-mealed from various sources.  If you know anything more, CONTACT ME.

Songs:

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"

Sad Wings of Destiny (1976)-  This record became kind of a cult favorite, re-released in 1983 after the wild success of the band's key album British Steel of 1982.  Musically, it's the Judas Priest we know;  straight-out heavy metal.  The leather look was not in their repertoire...yet.  It's a lot different than Rocka Rolla, but I still love it.  I only wish Priest would've mixed up the two styles a bit.  On this and all following albums, they do TOO much of the heavy metal, and the occasional slow ballad doesn't make up for it, it just frustrates listeners who want to get their grooves on.  But on the whole, I love all that is Judas Priest.  This page is meant to be a tribute to anyone who has ever been involved in Judas Priest, past and present.  Fun fact:  Rob Halford is credited on this album as "Robert Halford".  All the personnel is the same except for the drummer, who is now Alan Moore.

Songs:

1. "Victim of Changes"
2. "Ripper"
3. "Dreamer Deceiver"
4. "Deceiver"
5. "Prelude"
6. "Tyrant"
7. "Genocide"
8. "Epitaph"
9. "Island of Domination"

Stained Class (1978):  I like this album a lot.  It's pretty standard Judas Priest.  Not a whole lot of surprises.  It's almost TOO heavy, but all the songs stand up by themselves.  There's nothing sucky.  Between this album and Hell Bent For Leather (also from 1978), I like Hell Bent For Leather better.  The beat will change from song to song on that album, where here it pretty much stays the same.

Songs:

1. "Exciter"
2. "White Heat, Red Hot"
3. "Better by You Better Than Me"
4. "Stained Class"
5. "Invader"
6. "Saints in Hell"
7. "Savage"
8. "Beyond the Realms of Death"
9. "Heroes End"

Hell Bent for Leather (1979):  This is one of my favorite Judas Priest studio albums.  I'd say it's right up there with Rocka Rolla (1974) and British Steel (1980).  The best part for me is the title song.  It's really giddy-up-and-go, but it's so brief!  I'd love to hear an extended studio version of this song.  If anybody knows of this or if Priest ever does in the future, please let me know.

Unleashed in the East:  Live in Japan (1979):  This is an excellent live album.  And they have a good sampling of songs from their earlier studio albums.  I do, however, wish they did some live songs from the Rocka Rolla album and maybe a few instrumentals or a song or two that was exclusive to this record.  But since it was a single LP and not a double LP, they were extremely wise in choosing live songs based on some of their most requested hits at the time.  Les Binks is on drums.

Studio versions of the songs below were on these albums:
Sad Wings of Destiny (1976)- Ripper, Victim of Changes, Genocide, Tyrant
Sin After Sin (1977)- Sinner, Diamonds and Rust
Stained Class (1978)- Exciter
Hell Bent for Leather (1979)- Running Wild, The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)

Songs:

1. "Exciter"
2. "Running Wild"
3. "Sinner"
4. "Ripper"
5. "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)"
6. "Diamonds and Rust"
7. "Victim of Changes"
8. "Genocide"
9. "Tyrant"

Screaming for Vengeance (1982):  The title gets your attention.  And if nothing else it establishes the mood for the entire album.  I enjoy this one a lot.  It deserved to be the hit that it was.  Especially for my favorite Priest song "You've Got Another Thing Comin'".  That song still gets a lot of radio play in 2007, and even though it's their most common song, it's still my top favorite Priest tune.  I like this album for the fact that it's not too hard (like Stained Class) or too light (like Turbo).  It's all fast and hard and loud, but it's more positive.  Whereas a number of songs on Stained Class are not happy subject matter.  Dave Holland is on drums.

Songs:

1. "The Hellion/Electric Eye" -- Cool song.
   
2. "Riding on the Wind" -- This one really rocks!  It's one of my favorite Priest tunes.
   
3. "Bloodstone" -- Another great one.
   
4. "(Take These) Chains"
   
5. "Pain and Pleasure" -- It's good, but it sounds like something Kiss would do.
   
6. "Screaming for Vengeance" -- It matches the look of the cover:  fast and vicious.
   
7. "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" -- An anthem that should appeal to EVERYONE.
   
8. "Fever"
9. "Devil's Child" -- This is a great one that sounds like AC/DC.

Defenders of the Faith (1984):  I guess I'm not too wowed by this album.  It's not bad.  None of the songs truly suck.  But most of them sound like they're holding back.  There are three songs that I really feel we get the full force of Judas Priest:  "Freewheel Burning", "Eat me Alive", and "Heavy Duty/Defenders of the Faith".  The others are passable, but not ones that I'd really request at a concert.

Songs:

1. "Freewheel Burning"
2. "Jawbreaker"
3. "Rock Hard Ride Free"
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):  This is about as light as I'd like to hear Judas Priest.  I don't know if they were trying to soften their image or what, but a lot of this is very typical 1980s metal.  A lot of love songs on this album, and songs about coming-of-age.  Musically, for the most part, it is really true to the Judas Priest sound.  This is a good album, but I'm glad they didn't do a whole lot of stuff like this in later albums.

Songs:

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 Nights, Hot & Crazy Days"
8. "Hot for Love"
9. "Reckless"

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