____no5
Free Man
Good to see 2 post 80s albums in Top5, even one being less than 10 years old!
I wonder what would be Maiden's albums rankings in a non-Maiden forum.
JUDAS PRIEST ALBUM RANKING GAME: FINAL ENTRY AND RECAP
- Thread starter Mosh
- Start date
Good to see 2 post 80s albums in Top5, even one being less than 10 years old!
I wonder what would be Maiden's albums rankings in a non-Maiden forum.
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
I didn’t vote in the game because there are significant chunks of the Priest catalog that I just wasn’t familiar enough with to feel like I could make a useful contribution on that front — but of the Priest albums I’m familiar with, Screaming For Vengeance has always been my #1 for its combination of variety and pretty consistent quality, with some very high highs and honestly still pretty high lows. It’s the kind of album that I just want to play again as soon as it’s over.
Painkiller, Defenders Of The Faith, and Firepower are all way up there for me too, though they all have some more obvious weaknesses in their lesser tracks. I want to say that Sin After Sin, Sad Wings Of Destiny, and Invincible Shield would probably make up the next tier, and beyond that it gets tougher for me to comment.
Still, I enjoyed seeing other people’s rankings and reading their commentary.
EDIT: How could I forget? I would probably put Nostradamus in the second or third tier as well, since I’m one of the people who seems to enjoy it a lot more than most.
Painkiller, Defenders Of The Faith, and Firepower are all way up there for me too, though they all have some more obvious weaknesses in their lesser tracks. I want to say that Sin After Sin, Sad Wings Of Destiny, and Invincible Shield would probably make up the next tier, and beyond that it gets tougher for me to comment.
Still, I enjoyed seeing other people’s rankings and reading their commentary.
EDIT: How could I forget? I would probably put Nostradamus in the second or third tier as well, since I’m one of the people who seems to enjoy it a lot more than most.
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Shmoolikipod
Stranger to the Light
Wow, Painkiller being top 3 on every list is crazy. I mean, I've never seen complaints about it with more meat than calling it overrated or cheesy (which I have to agree with regarding Leather Rebel and Metal Meltdown). I'd probably have it at #1 too. Night Crawler, A Touch of Evil and One Shot at Glory are all top songs for me. Defenders... eh... I don't know what it is, but other than Jawbreaker and Rock Hard Ride Free, I don't care for the songs something.
Also @Mosh, is there still time to submit Nightwish lists or have you locked it?
Also @Mosh, is there still time to submit Nightwish lists or have you locked it?
In 1984 I owned a Yamaha RD350LC. Bar the odd session, it’s the most fun I’ve ever had with my clothes on. In livery of white and red, with Rush’s Red Barchetta in my head, I screamed through the country lanes. When you opened the taps and it came on song, the front wheel lifted and it felt like flying without effort. There was a humped back bridge which crested just as the power hit and the front just kept on rising. Magical stuff.
There was a production racing series for the bike at the time and second hand bikes were in demand. So mine got stolen.
The agony and the ecstasy.
Pain and pleasure.
Defenders of the Faith.
Side one is face-melting metal heaven. Sentinel is one of the greatest metal tracks around. Freewheel Burning fits the bill. A proper continuation from the brilliance of SFV.
Then side two hits you below the belt with Love Bites. Oh dear, things have changed. We’re on the way to Turdo land.
At the time I really loved this record, never on a par with SFV, but the first side was awesome, second side mostly enjoyable. I even tried to get our band to do Night Comes Down, which they wisely refused. It’s okay, but #2? No!
The main problem I have with this is the fat, lazy Def Leppardy drums clogging up the mix. Nowadays I choose not to listen to it.
It didn’t eclipse Van Halen’s 1984, and peak Maiden were coming soon.
--------------------------------------------
Painkiller - Riffs of the bleedin’ obvious.
Which can be said for many Priest tracks, but they’ve usually got a character about them.
These don’t.
If you were a kid at the time you’d have thought it was the 2nd coming.
Nowadays I think nostalgia keeps it high for that generation.
As party music it’s fine but it’s shallow and lacks detail and depth.
No shadows or darkness. All sunny side up.
A very apt title. It’s as if you’ve taken a shot and now sitting in a stupor with an inane grin on your face singing along to the pretty tunes.
I’m up for a bit of that too, but compared to their rich history, it doesn’t deserve this rank.
Title track is fun but hasn’t aged well. Wish they’d drop it live.
Glory’s alright s’pose.
I didn’t vote, but thanks for all that did and putting the time in.
There was a production racing series for the bike at the time and second hand bikes were in demand. So mine got stolen.
The agony and the ecstasy.
Pain and pleasure.
Defenders of the Faith.
Side one is face-melting metal heaven. Sentinel is one of the greatest metal tracks around. Freewheel Burning fits the bill. A proper continuation from the brilliance of SFV.
Then side two hits you below the belt with Love Bites. Oh dear, things have changed. We’re on the way to Turdo land.
At the time I really loved this record, never on a par with SFV, but the first side was awesome, second side mostly enjoyable. I even tried to get our band to do Night Comes Down, which they wisely refused. It’s okay, but #2? No!
The main problem I have with this is the fat, lazy Def Leppardy drums clogging up the mix. Nowadays I choose not to listen to it.
It didn’t eclipse Van Halen’s 1984, and peak Maiden were coming soon.
--------------------------------------------
Painkiller - Riffs of the bleedin’ obvious.
Which can be said for many Priest tracks, but they’ve usually got a character about them.
These don’t.
If you were a kid at the time you’d have thought it was the 2nd coming.
Nowadays I think nostalgia keeps it high for that generation.
As party music it’s fine but it’s shallow and lacks detail and depth.
No shadows or darkness. All sunny side up.
A very apt title. It’s as if you’ve taken a shot and now sitting in a stupor with an inane grin on your face singing along to the pretty tunes.
I’m up for a bit of that too, but compared to their rich history, it doesn’t deserve this rank.
Title track is fun but hasn’t aged well. Wish they’d drop it live.
Glory’s alright s’pose.
I didn’t vote, but thanks for all that did and putting the time in.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
There's not much new to add about Defenders of the Faith that hasn't already been said by @Mosh and others. It's one of the best Side A's ever and Side B is exceedingly average at best, until the final two "songs" which are some of the worst in the band's history. True garbage and a real black mark on the quality of this album.
I think just about every song on Side B is right around a 7/10, fine, enjoyable, but nothing special. Nothing bad, just nothing special, and certainly a massive letdown after the exceptional run of tracks on Side A.
Heavy Duty/Defenders of the Faith is the most bone-headed, lame, cheesy, lazy album closers in Priest history. They're trying to ape Queen, but come off sounding like a knock-off Spinal Tap. It's just bad. Anyone who ranks this album has "the best ever" is giving these songs a complete pass and that's a bit ridiculous.
Still probably a top 5 or top 6 Priest record, but certainly at the bottom of that. Side A is just that strong.
This one dropped a little for me this time around, I give it a 7.4/10.
I think just about every song on Side B is right around a 7/10, fine, enjoyable, but nothing special. Nothing bad, just nothing special, and certainly a massive letdown after the exceptional run of tracks on Side A.
Heavy Duty/Defenders of the Faith is the most bone-headed, lame, cheesy, lazy album closers in Priest history. They're trying to ape Queen, but come off sounding like a knock-off Spinal Tap. It's just bad. Anyone who ranks this album has "the best ever" is giving these songs a complete pass and that's a bit ridiculous.
Still probably a top 5 or top 6 Priest record, but certainly at the bottom of that. Side A is just that strong.
This one dropped a little for me this time around, I give it a 7.4/10.
Yes, please send your Nightwish lists! This game is on track to have more participants than Judas Priest.
____no5
Free Man
Painkiller is more of a killer album than about individual songs. It has its fair amount of cheese and a cover that could be better but otherwise a fine moment in metal.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Regarding Painkiller...it is undisputedly the greatest Judas Priest record. It was the peak of their existence, the peak of the lineup, the peak of their development into being a pure heavy metal band.
It kicks ass from start to finish, with only one song (Metal Meltdown) being a dip in quality. In terms of Priest's catalogue, it is their most consistent record (only SFV, Firepower and IS come close). The performances are fantastic (with the exception of the non-existent Ian Hill).
There's nothing bad to say about Painkiller. It's a stone cold classic and deserves to be in the top spot.
Again, as with all of Priest, this one dipped for me almost half a point, landing at a 9.1/10.
I'll return shortly with my thoughts on IS and new rankings for the discography.
It kicks ass from start to finish, with only one song (Metal Meltdown) being a dip in quality. In terms of Priest's catalogue, it is their most consistent record (only SFV, Firepower and IS come close). The performances are fantastic (with the exception of the non-existent Ian Hill).
There's nothing bad to say about Painkiller. It's a stone cold classic and deserves to be in the top spot.
Again, as with all of Priest, this one dipped for me almost half a point, landing at a 9.1/10.
I'll return shortly with my thoughts on IS and new rankings for the discography.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Prepare your pitchforks, folks, cause here comes my hot take...
Invincible Shield is a great album and easily a top five Judas Priest record. There is no bad song, it is incredibly solid all the way, and the worst song (Sons of Thunder) is still completely inoffensive in its mid-ness.
As a newer Judas Priest fan, I swear absolutely zero allegiance to the "legacy" members of the band. In fact, I find a lot of guitar playing on all of the pre-80s records to be incredibly sloppy. Hell, there's still sloppy guitar solos up and down the newer (pre-Faulkner) records, too. In my opinion, Richie Faulkner was the saving grace for a band that was in sharp decline and is the only reason they are still commanding any kind of audience these days. It helps that he's more talented than both previous guitarists combined.
ANYWAY, Invincible Shield gets an 8.4/10 from me, landing it firmly in the top four. I think Firepower is just barely superior, only because the highs are higher, but IS is more consistent.
My main takeaway from Priest is that, until recently, they have never been an album band. Their albums are wildly inconsistent. They have a ton of albums where I would rate the highest track a 10/10 and the lowest track a 1/10. That's an insane lack of consistency across a discography and on multiple individual releases. My top four Judas Priest albums are the only ones in the discography where I don't consider any single track to be objectively terrible (terrible generally meaning something that earns less than a 5/10). Disclaimer: I don't actually rate any songs on Redeemer of Souls lower than a 5/10, but holy shit does that album have a lot of 5/10's.
Here's my revitalized rankings after taking part in this countdown game:
01. Painkiller - 9.1
02. Firepower - 8.5
03. Screaming For Vengeance - 8.4
04. Invincible Shield - 8.4
05. Sin After Sin - 7.5
06. Defenders of the Faith - 7.4
07. Angel of Retribution - 7.3
08. British Steel - 7.3
09. Killing Machine - 7.2
10. Stained Class - 7.2
11. Sad Wings of Destiny - 7.0
12. Redeemer of Souls - 6.9
13. Turbo - 5.3
14. Ram It Down - 5.2
15. Point of Entry - 5.1
16. Rocka Rolla - 5.1
17. Nostradamus - 5.0
18. Demolition - 3.4
19. Jugulator - 3.0
Invincible Shield is a great album and easily a top five Judas Priest record. There is no bad song, it is incredibly solid all the way, and the worst song (Sons of Thunder) is still completely inoffensive in its mid-ness.
As a newer Judas Priest fan, I swear absolutely zero allegiance to the "legacy" members of the band. In fact, I find a lot of guitar playing on all of the pre-80s records to be incredibly sloppy. Hell, there's still sloppy guitar solos up and down the newer (pre-Faulkner) records, too. In my opinion, Richie Faulkner was the saving grace for a band that was in sharp decline and is the only reason they are still commanding any kind of audience these days. It helps that he's more talented than both previous guitarists combined.
ANYWAY, Invincible Shield gets an 8.4/10 from me, landing it firmly in the top four. I think Firepower is just barely superior, only because the highs are higher, but IS is more consistent.
My main takeaway from Priest is that, until recently, they have never been an album band. Their albums are wildly inconsistent. They have a ton of albums where I would rate the highest track a 10/10 and the lowest track a 1/10. That's an insane lack of consistency across a discography and on multiple individual releases. My top four Judas Priest albums are the only ones in the discography where I don't consider any single track to be objectively terrible (terrible generally meaning something that earns less than a 5/10). Disclaimer: I don't actually rate any songs on Redeemer of Souls lower than a 5/10, but holy shit does that album have a lot of 5/10's.
Here's my revitalized rankings after taking part in this countdown game:
01. Painkiller - 9.1
02. Firepower - 8.5
03. Screaming For Vengeance - 8.4
04. Invincible Shield - 8.4
05. Sin After Sin - 7.5
06. Defenders of the Faith - 7.4
07. Angel of Retribution - 7.3
08. British Steel - 7.3
09. Killing Machine - 7.2
10. Stained Class - 7.2
11. Sad Wings of Destiny - 7.0
12. Redeemer of Souls - 6.9
13. Turbo - 5.3
14. Ram It Down - 5.2
15. Point of Entry - 5.1
16. Rocka Rolla - 5.1
17. Nostradamus - 5.0
18. Demolition - 3.4
19. Jugulator - 3.0
KidInTheDark666
What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine too
In what world is Faulkner a better guitarist than Glenn?
I think part of it is just holdover from a more 70s aesthetic. The concept of "all killer no filler" imo didn't really become a thing until the 80s with bands like Maiden trying to get the most out of 2 sides of vinyl. On the other hand, you have bands in the 70s who may or may not be releasing long albums but are also trying a lot of things. Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Rush, Queen etc are all very experimental in this period and any given album will have at least one oddball song. Priest is no exception here and, unlike Sabbath/Dio they never fully went into that 80s aesthetic and always left room for more experimental head scratching tracks. I don't think it makes them "not an album band" as much as their experimental side generally not playing to their strengths. And you see this problem even as late as Nostradamus or Lochness on AOR. Iron Maiden can make an album filled with giant epics or a more conceptual synthy album (Seventh Son) and the fans love it, but for whatever reason Priest have a hard time when they go outside the Rock Hard Ride Free aesthetic.
Which brings me to Invincible Shield. The biggest success of the new albums, besides Richie of course, is the band has a clear sense of what works for them and isn't trying to do anything more than that. For my tastes, some of what they've gained in competence they've lost in personality. I like the quirkiness of the older albums and while KK and Glenn aren't technically superior guitar players, they have a style that I associate with Priest more than the crisp clean style of Richie, even though I enjoy listening to him play in a vacuum. I've listened to Invincible Shield several times and feel like it's quite generic sounding throughout. The most exciting part of a song is often the guitar solo, but to me that's kind of a bad thing for Priest which was never really about the soloing for me.
Every single one, and all expanded universes as well. It's really not even close.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
This world. And any other world where guitars exist.
This is true, but it's not just their experimental tracks that weigh down the albums. Sometimes they just write stinkers. I wouldn't call all of their attempts at Queen-like anthems very experimental, they just suck. Also see: You Say Yes, I'm a Rocker, etc.
Although I feel like I should agree with you, those "rough around the edges" aspects to older Priest is specifically what I dislike about them. It's what holds me back from loving them as a band. I listen to some of their riffs and think, "that wasn't quite all there when they pressed record, was it?"
KidInTheDark666
What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine too
Let's get back to it when Faulkner writes a solo on par with Glenn and KK's classics. He had a valid try with Invincible Shield's title track.
Edington
Last Son of The Miracle
My knee-jerk reaction was "Fuck that, Richie's not a better guitarist than Glenn, no way".
But... I could agree that he is a more skilled player in terms of technique, though Glenn does have a very effortless technique I can see and hear that he's not as clean as Richie - not that I get hung up over that anyway, I like a bit of rawness. But yeah, in terms of writing memorable solos or having a unique voice on the guitar Richie's nowhere near.
I'm deliberately leaving KK out of this discussion, I won't argue that Richie's better there
Boroking
In the mire of an ancient swamp
I think Faulkner being better than Tipton is the worst take I’ve ever heard. And he didn’t ‘save’ Priest. The 3 albums he’s been on are the least interesting and inventive of their career and Priest were performing well to big crowds before his arrival.
He’s a true professional and a great player, but he has yet to make an album with them that I’ve wanted to listen to more than a couple of times.
Nostradamus was their last great album. I suppose that’s my hot take. But it was the last time they pushed themselves to create something great, I think it tops the last 3 on everything, production, solos, vocal melodies , riffs. It’s music to sit down and listen to, whilst the more recent stuff is background filler.
He’s a true professional and a great player, but he has yet to make an album with them that I’ve wanted to listen to more than a couple of times.
Nostradamus was their last great album. I suppose that’s my hot take. But it was the last time they pushed themselves to create something great, I think it tops the last 3 on everything, production, solos, vocal melodies , riffs. It’s music to sit down and listen to, whilst the more recent stuff is background filler.
I agree with this.