JUDAS PRIEST ALBUM RANKING GAME: #6 REVEALED

I'm kinda used to being on the "Sad Wings is kinda overrated" side of the discussion, but this thread might have flipped me. :)

It's got some really interesting, groundbreaking songs, a clear identity and a lot of variety, but it's just not deep enough to rank among the true classics.

Changes, Ripper and Tyrant are fantastic and the Deceivers are very cool, but is that enough to make it great?

Good album that ranked #7 for me, but could have been lower. IMO Sin After Sin offers everything this one does, but better.
 
One of the things I like best about Stained Class is the range of songs and the way they are sequenced. It's a template that carries over to their very best albums and it's probably the imprint that I personally carry a bias toward when judging how any album is constructed.

One of the things I like least is the sound. It's clean and relatively dynamic, and it's not actively annoying like Ram it Down, but it is so freaking dry. It robs the songs of their power.

The songs themselves are a mixed bag. The album is relatively deep, in that there aren't any songs I dislike. And there is some interesting parts and a nice mix of compositions. But where it gains points at the bottom, it loses them at the top. That's because Priest has a very deep catalogue and this album has several tracks that rank in the bottom half of my list, and very few tracks that crack the upper end.

Exciter is an excellent thrash song, but they have better from the same template. Beyond the Realms is fantastic, but it's the solo that truly elevates it. The title track is the only other one that I'd consider an essential.

I think the reason I lean toward Sin After Sin out of that '70s trio is because it has both the high-end songs and the depth.

It sits 10th on my list, but as I said earlier, 11-6 are pretty much pick-'em.
 
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