The Top 2 albums are Priest's best classics, so whoever wins will be great. I ranked Painkiller #1 - and because of DOFT's last 2 songs.
Defenders Of The Faith! Eternal classic and an album for the ages. An example of classic heavy metal. Emblem.
I could have ranked it 1st if it wasn't for the last 2 songs. Such a strange idea from the band. 2 intros?? Why? This is Priest at their best. One of the best titles in metal. Also, one of the best Side one in metal.
What to say? The songs, the riffs, the solos and the vocals speak for themseleves. Rob, Glenn and KK are oustanding. And the production is polished and sounds great.
Frewheel Burning - one of the best openers, that verses, solos and harmony!
Jawbreaker - essential metal song; classic metal riff, chorus, screaming vocals and KK's solo is amazing and one of his very best.
Rock Hard Ride Free - awesome melodic and anthemic pure metal. That intro(!), riff, verses, chorus, solos... everything is pure gold.
The Sentinel - Top 10 song for me. Classic Priest again, the riff, the chorus and the solos are some of Priest's best.
Love Bites - has one of the best rhythms and melodic riffs.
Some Heads Are Gonna Roll - another classic Priest rocker, listen to this brutal intro. The chorus and outro are also very fitting for the band. Top solos again.
Night Comes Down - one of the band's best slow songs for me. The vibe is just amazing and captivating. The chorus and solo are very effective.
Note: Eat Me Alive sans the lyrics and chorus is a great fast heavy banger with strong solos.
This could have been a perfect album. It desrved a special and longer title track. Heavy Duty could have been the intro for it, like they did for some albums. Defenders is an epitome of metal! That says enough.
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Painkiller is another epochal classic in metal/speed metal. Pure metaaaaal! This is my #1 Priest album. It perfected what they didn't get to do with Defenders. Again, everything is more or less perfect. 9 amazing songs. Plus a cool Intro.
Rob's brutal vocals, Glenn and KK's influential guitar work and great solos (most of their best are on this album) and Scott's drumming are just out of this world and for the time. High praise. For me, this is the perfect album of the band.
I also love the heavier and crisp 90's production that fits the album so well.
The title track is one of the best songs in metal with its vocals and solo, Hell Patrol is a melodic anthem, All Guns Blazing is a speed anthem with a big chorus and another great guitar work and solos, Leather Rebel contains one of my favorite riffs and verses of the band (plus drumming), Metal Meltdown also impresses with its intro, riffs, high vocals, speed and oturo, Night Crawler is one of my favorite songs of the band, love the verses, the chorus and the harmony, Between The Hammer & The Anvil is a classic Priest rocker with its parts and the solos should be noted again, A Touch Of Evil is a classic ballad-y song with memorable riff, vocals, chorus and classical solo, while the closer One Shot At Glory is one of my top favorite songs and a perfect ending to the album. Listen to this heavy riff, verses, golden chorus and instrumental section with the solos and melodic parts! That's metal.
The whole album is an impressive piece of work. Literally every song has memorable parts and solos. Well, Leather Rebel is without a proper solo (I miss it), Night Crawler too, but it compensate with the middle part. The only ''weaker'' thing IMO in the whole album is the chorus of Metal Meltdown. That's it. There aren't many such albums. Another album for the ages. One of the very best albums in metal. I'm really curious with what album this lineup would have followed it...