JUDAS PRIEST ALBUM RANKING GAME: #6 REVEALED

I liked Angel of Retribution a lot when it was fresh and it stands up well today.

Here's the thing. All Judas Priest albums are calculated; they step into the studio with a definite goal and work to achieve it.
And that's as true for Retribution as well.

But what bothers me a little (even as I get how the reunion is a good reason for why) is that instead of reaching forward and exploring things they haven't done before, this one looks back at everything they have, and ticks off each requisite box.

Fortunately, they tend to be very good at each of these boxes, and I like each of these boxes, so the album is a good listen. The sound is fantastic the pacing works (Judas Rising isn't as highly rated by me as it is by others, but it is a perfect opener) and the songs tend to be good to very good. I find Lochness kinda silly and overwrought, but Angel is one of my all-time favourite true ballads.

It slid in at 11 for me, but there's not much between 11 and 6 on my list, which represents the "very good".
 
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mckindog said:
But what bothers me a little (even as I get how the reunion is a good reason for why) is that instead of reaching forward and exploring things they haven't done before, this one looks back at everything they have, and ticks off each requisite box.
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I think of it as like rebooting an old movie franchise (Star Wars, Jurassic Park etc). The way I see it, you get a pass for doing a throwback thing if you do something interesting with it afterwards. I think Priest really squandered the next few years with a bloated concept album and a ton of nostalgia touring. They’re kind of on a roll now, but it took 15ish years (and losing both guitarists) to get there.
 
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6:
7: Sad Wings of Destiny
8: Angel of Retribution
9: Sin After Sin
10: Killing Machine
11: Turbo
12: Nostradamus
13: Redeemer of Souls
14: Ram It Down
15: Point of Entry
16: Jugulator
17: Demolition
18: Rocka Rolla

Highest Score: 17 (@Sth2112)
Lowest Score: 3 (@The Mercenary)

Sad Wings landed exactly where I placed it in my own rankings (possibly the first time this has happened in the game so far), although listening back on it now I feel that I (and Maidenfans) may have ranked it too low. It's easy to forget how much of a monster this album is. If Black Sabbath invented Metal, you could make a strong argument that Sad Wings of Destiny opened the door to the NWOBHM and Metal as we know it now. The fantasy lyrics, the fast riffing, the guitar harmonies. Halford also drives the material with some of the most impressive vocal performances of the time. I would say he outdoes Gillan (the 70s gold standard) on several moments in this album. Not just the immense shrieks, but also the operatic low range that you hear throughout the album. I can't think of any other hard rock albums from the time with so much control and technical dexterity as Halford on Sad Wings. I guess Queen II is a close contender.

Sad Wings is an odd album in some ways because it is pretty barebones production wise. A common theme for 70s Priest is the band reaching further than the audio technology of their time allowed for. It doesn't feel like a heavy album because of the production, but the riffs are all there. I actually love the production for what it is, but I can see it being a bit of a barrier compared to their later work. On a musical level, Sad Wings has to be one of the biggest steps up from debut to second album for any band (Symphony X and Dream Theater come to mind as having similarly impressive trajectories on their first two albums). It's almost an entirely different band than the one we hear on Rocka Rolla. The songs are more immediate, more focused, and infinitely better performed. It's a near perfect album really. The first side runs the gamut of Priest in the 70s. From the progressive/psychedelic to the relentlessly heavy. The second side, despite having a more conceptual undertone in the Prelude and Epitaph tracks, is much more immediate and feels like a precursor to classic NWOBHM.

Ratings for this one were very all over the place (as the highest and lowest scores suggest). Nobody rated it first and nobody rated it last, but pretty much every other rating in between could be found. There seems to be a pretty strong contingency of folks on the board who rate all the 70s albums fairly low, and among that contingency Sad Wings was frequently toward the bottom. It makes sense- it is the most 70s sounding of those albums (outside Rocka Rolla of course). I would say it is a bit of a Maidenfans hot take though as this album is frequently regarded as an all time Metal classic and one of the greatest Priest albums, if not the greatest. With all of that being said, the upper third of Priest's discography is crowded with heavy hitters. Outside Firepower, which we will get to later, I think it is a pretty brutal fight for the top spots. In retrospect I would personally put Sad Wings a little bit higher, definitely above Firepower and probably British Steel as well. It's a close call between this and Stained Class/Sin After Sin. The latter two albums are certainly more refined and feel more identifiably Priest, but the first side of Sad Wings is also very hard to beat.
 
I'll be honest; I just don't understand the love for this album. It's probably an age / style thing but whilst the album is enjoyable enough it really doesn't click with me. Take Victim of Changes, for example - it's widely touted to be one of the best songs Judas Priest ever wrote but for me it's completely and utterly average.

Tyrant is probably my favourite song here. The Ripper is good too.
 
Count me in the "overrated" camp for this one, too.

Victim of Changes is a perfect continuation from Rocka Rolla that goes so much farther than you would expect. It's a complete surprise while also being incredibly comfortable. Then, The Ripper tears the fucking walls down and is one of the weirdest, wackiest, and darkest Priest songs in history. I can't imagine what it must have been like listening in 1976 to The Ripper come on after hearing Rocka Rolla and Victim of Changes...like, that's the moment you either become a Judas Priest fan for life or say, "IDK what these blokes are doing, but I'm out!"

And then, after these two genius, wonderful songs, the album just keeps going further and further downhill.

Dreamer Deceiver is quite good, but Deceiver has nothing going for it other than it's tempo and vibe. Also, why wasn't this just one long song? ALSO WHY THE HELL WOULDN'T YOU JUST CALL THE FIRST SONG "DREAMER" AND THE SECOND SONG "DECEIVER"?! OR MAKE IT ONE SONG CALLED "DREAMER DECEIVER"?!

Sorry for yelling, but it honestly bugs me to no end.

  • Prelude falls flat on its face in the streaming world, but even back in the days of being a Side B opener it feels like a throwaway.
  • Tyrant is the only other solid song on the record but the chorus is so sadly flaccid. Yes, nothing screams vicious tyrant like a soft, down-shifted gang vocal...
  • Genocide is a complete tonal disconnect. Halford gives one of his most obnoxious performances, his vocal tone is truly grating, and the melodies simply don't feel like they fit. The band is playing a nice little boogie-woogie number that would've fit anywhere on Rocka Rolla and Rob is just shrieking over the top.
  • Epitaph oozes emotions, but it also oozes a C-list Elton John featuring Queen's backup singers.
  • Island of Domination is a complete throwaway with some cool music but, once again, jumbled and over-stuffed vocals. Also, why does Epitaph transition into this track? They're not connected thematically, unless I'm mistaken.
Anyway, this dropped even further for me this time to a 7/10. Just like The Number of the Beast, it's an album hailed for it's couple classics while overlooking some serious dead weight (although TNOTB is a vastly superior album).
 
Sad Wings Of Destiny - one of the first heavy metal albums and a notable album in the band's rich discography, but it's not one of my favorites. 70's Priest as whole albums is not for me. They shaped their sound with it. Very much 70's Priest but with a hint of the future. It's just that they'll get better with the songwriting. But what an improvement over the debut. The album having a few slow songs was not the best idea imo (they feel like intros). It's an atmospheric album, I can't deny that. It combines all of the popular bands from the 70's (without Purple) in its sound.
I don't agree but understand the ranking, the album is iconic.

The production isn't good as expected, but I wouldn't say it holds the album back.
Rob's early vocals aren't my favorite of his, but what a performances, true highlight of the 70's era for sure! The high notes! Impressive.
Glenn and KK created some template (heavy!) metal riffs, solos and harmonies like in Victim, Ripper and Tyrant.

Victim Of Changes is the only standout song for me. A longer song with dynamics and memorable parts, although I think I prefer the live versions. Their first classic. Tyrant is also an obvious highlight with its NWOBHM vibe and parts, but those backing vocals for the chorus are bad. Still, the song has strong vocals. The Ripper is good fun (never a favorite of mine), while Genocide is a cool song with dynamic parts (the intro is so much better live) that foreshadows their future approach. The other songs (maybe without stuff like Deceiver), I just don't like. Filler-ish material even for those times, well without Dreamer, but I've never been a fan of it despite the soulful playing. Typical 70's material.

Priest have released quite a lot better albums than this one, but the album manages to shine among all albums, which is one of the best things I can say about it.
 
Kalata said:
The production isn't good as expected, but I wouldn't say it holds the album back.
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The production is better than expected, considering that it wasn't just a low budget album; it was a sleep-in-the-van-and-record-at-night-at-lower-rates low budget album. It's a clear step up from Rocka Rolla in that regard. That being said, they sure benefited from the additional guitar distortion on Sin after Sin. SWOD needed more gain, but they obviously didn't have the amps and pedals for it at this time. Personally, I think it's the best 70s Priest record.
 
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2:
3:
4:
5:
6: Stained Class
7: Sad Wings of Destiny
8: Angel of Retribution
9: Sin After Sin
10: Killing Machine
11: Turbo
12: Nostradamus
13: Redeemer of Souls
14: Ram It Down
15: Point of Entry
16: Jugulator
17: Demolition
18: Rocka Rolla

Highest Score: 18 (@LooseCannon
Lowest Score: 5 (@KidInTheDark666 @Kalata)

Earlier I mentioned that you can divide these rankings evenly into thirds based on Maidenfans ratings. The lower third consists of Redeemer through Rocka Rolla. All albums generally considered to be weaker points in the Priest catalog with no particular high rankings (and many last placed rankings). Sad Wings through Nostradamus are a mix of controversial albums and albums that largely landed in the middle. No #1 or #18 rankings for any of the albums, with the exception of Nostradamus which had both. Now we've reached the phase of the discography where each album til the end (with one exception to come) had at least one member rank it #1. I would expect a more general ranking of Priest's discography to put Sad Wings and Sin After Sin (or even Killing Machine) in this realm over Stained Class and Firepower, but overall I can't complain that much. In fact, Stained Class only beat out Sad Wings by one point! So it was extremely close.

I think Stained Class is about perfectly rated here. Impressively it is the highest rated 70s album on Maidenfans, but it makes sense. Stained Class is probably the perfect balance of their later Metal sounds while not totally abandoning the more progressive element. To me, the opening track Exciter perfectly illustrates the 70s Priest sound. Majestic twin harmonies, aggressive double bass, Halford totally in his element. The other standout track is Beyond the Realms of Death, which is in many ways Priest's Hallowed Be Thy Name. Just an awesome metal masterpiece with existential lyrics and unforgettable riffs.

Unlike Sad Wings, which opens with two of Priest's most iconic songs, Stained Class is pretty heavy on the deeper cuts. Still, you could pull out any of the lesser known songs: Stained Class, Savage, Saints in Hell (why do they all start with S?), and get really high quality, which I would say is a bit of a contrast from the mid tier Priest albums that are largely carried by the "hits" and tend to be pretty weak in the middle.
 
I'd rank this one just above Sad Wings, even with Killing Machine. Like all 70s Priest it contains an unfortunately thin guitar and drum sound and Halford takes way too many insanely wacky vocal liberties throughout. Something about the production of Halford's vocals really irks me on these albums. It's like they boosted all of his worst frequencies.

Beyond The Realms of Death is an absolute classic. 10/10. Top tier. One of their best songs of all time. But nothing else gets even close to it. Exciter gets the closest, but it's still a bit too wacky for me (I chuckle at the Super Mario Bros. end level theme part every time). Saints in Hell is right there, too. Give these songs a modern recording and performance (like Halford's live album) and they're also probably 10/10. Everything else is pretty average at best.

The main thing that stands about Stained Class is that, for the first time, the entire albums sounds like Judas FUCKING Priest. The next two albums would really hone their sound, but this is where they found it and utilized it on every track. Gone are the lame 70s-style ballads, gone are the pure blues-rock tunes, this is the beginning of Priest embracing heavy metal.

We dropped about half a point to land at a respectable 7.2/10.
 
Stained Class, I only really like a few songs from it. The ranking is not surprising, a classic for the band. This is the first Priest album to completely move away from their early 70's style, and there are hints of their future style in some songs. They will continue to develop it with the next few albums. The album also sounds like an early heavy metal work. That's why I can enjoy it. The harmonies are notable and certainly a highlight. The drumming too.

The production is solid enough for the time, kind of raw and polished at the same time, and I like the sound of the solos and the drums in some parts.
I'm not a big fan of Rob's (high) vocals on this album, while Glenn and KK have some great solos (Exciter, title track and ofc Beyond The Realms Of Death - 2 of their best solos). And lots of great riffs too (Exciter, title track, Saints, Realms).

The obvious big songs are: Beyond The Realms Of Death (what a classic and what an atmosphere, one of their biggest songs, essential Priest; it's like Hallowed for Maiden) and Exciter (early melodic speed metal that perfectly describes their 70's sound).
Other songs I like are the title track with its galloping tempo and anthemic chorus and White Heat, Red Hot with its rocker vibe and tempo (Rob's 70's vocals and the drum fills shine on it).

Now, the other songs are nice (without the filler Savage) and have some cool parts (Invader's intro and verses, Heroes End's chorus and Saints In Hell's heavy riff and middle part), but that's it.

Again, an important album for the band and probably the first true Priest album. It's not my least favorite 70's album, it works very well as a whole piece (for its era it manages to rival some other albums in this regard, which have more uneven material overall), it has big highlights in terms of songs and playing and is noticeable in their 70's output. I just think the band has better albums, not only with individual songs.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
and Halford takes way too many insanely wacky vocal liberties throughout. Something about the production of Halford's vocals really irks me on these albums. It's like they boosted all of his worst frequencies.
The main thing that stands about Stained Class is that, for the first time, the entire albums sounds like Judas FUCKING Priest. The next two albums would really hone their sound, but this is where they found it and utilized it on every track. Gone are the lame 70s-style ballads, gone are the pure blues-rock tunes, this is the beginning of Priest embracing heavy metal.
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I agree.
Mosh said:
Stained Class is pretty heavy on the deeper cuts. Still, you could pull out any of the lesser known songs...and get really high quality, which I would say is a bit of a contrast from the mid tier Priest albums that are largely carried by the "hits" and tend to be pretty weak in the middle.
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I wouldn't say that.
Mosh said:
Impressively it is the highest rated 70s album on Maidenfans, but it makes sense. Stained Class is probably the perfect balance of their later Metal sounds while not totally abandoning the more progressive element.
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The album indeed sounds like a NWOBHM piece and (more or less) could fit Maiden's early sound.
 
Never gelled with me. A lousy production hampers the strong stuff whilst weaklings perish. Possibly my least favorite of the '70's.
Saints in hell was exceptional live recently
 
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