Judas Priest Discography Discussion (part 2 starting page 20)

Screaming for Vengeance (1982)

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The Hellion/Electric Eye – First of all, I’m considering these one song. The Hellion is a superb album and song intro with killer harmonized guitars and an overall menacing, yet melodic vibe. Electric Eye kicks ass from start to finish. Production-wise, I feel like the vocals sit weirdly in the mix. The second half of the verses and the choruses (with their odd reverb) feel almost too thin and weak, considering the heaviness and drive of the song. The guitar solos also feel a little too manic and Janick-y, but it’s not off-putting. Minor mixing quibbles can’t stop this from being a classic track. The ending is great. 10/10

Riding on the Wind – Another nice, driving tune. The vocal production problem continues here. Halford’s highs just sound incredibly thin in the mix. Still, it’s a good song with a powerful rhythm section and good guitar work. The lyrics are pointless and the guitar solos again, though more interesting than the previous track, don’t do much other than say, “Hey, we’re soloing!” The energy is there, though. 8/10

Bloodstone – I love the way this song starts with just one guitar, then two guitars harmonizing before everyone kicks in. The melodies and groove are super tight. Again, I feel like Halford’s performance is somewhat lacking – like he’s pushing his voice just a little too much. But the chorus is simple and catchy and the simplistic riffs keep everything groovy. I really love the guitar leads and the solo, they manage to capture a lot of manic wanking in a pretty tight structure. This track just has a lot of nice movement to it. 10/10

(Take These) Chains – This track begins really nicely with a lot of somber mood music and vocal melodies, but the entire verse feels disjointed. Each couplet has a different melody and the whole thing doesn’t connect. The chorus is big and hooky, though. I feel like this song is the entire Point of Entry album distilled into one song, but it’s more interesting than all of those songs. The first half of the solo is quite great. 7/10

Pain and Pleasure – Sigh. Well, I guess there had to be at least one of Rob’s S&M tracks. The only thing I really love about this track is Rob’s performance on the line “Your days are numbered” and the thick bass tone on the pre-chorus. Otherwise, it’s pure filler. 5/10

Screaming for Vengeance – There’s that Halford wail! The first bluesy, yet chromatic riff is incredible. Halford sounds stressed on these constant falsettos, people, I don’t care what you say. It’s a killer tune, though. The chorus is sublime in an ultra silly way (especially that “WAAAOH!” scream in the middle). Great bridge, great post-bridge guitar harmony. I wish they did more of these! The riffs really just keep moving in this song. This might be one of the only songs where the instruments far surpass Rob’s performance. 10/10

You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ – A classic fucking song. I don’t care if it’s overplayed. It’s a brilliant track. It’s like the best song that was never released on British Steel. This is what every song on Point of Entry tried to be. There’s nothing I don’t love about it. 10/10

Fever – Nice moody, melodic intro (even if the phaser effect is a little disorienting) with some incredibly nice vocals by Rob (probably the most soulful on the whole album). The groove on this reminds me of later stage Dio. I love the panned guitar work right before the bridge. The key change into the guitar solo is a bit strange, but nice. It all works out during the wonderful dual guitar lead. Halford’s third verse works surprisingly well, even in the (now) major key. I’d actually give this a 10/10 if they never went back to the chorus after the last verse. Overall, it’s a really cool, twisty, moody tune that I’m sure is an overlooked gem from this album. 9/10

Devil’s Child – A fun song, the band sounds like they’re enjoying themselves, but it’s a bit of a weak closer. As with the last album, it’s stuck so much in that AC/DC groove that it doesn’t feel like true Priest. The riffs, the backing vocals, the scratching falsettos from Halford…it’s all too Back in Black for me. Not bad, but nothing special. 7/10

Screaming for Vengeance is easily Priest’s most consistent, most fully-realized album yet. The songs all make sense together (even the weaker ones) and bring together all of the previous aspects of the band’s sound. A classic metal album, I’m sure.

Album rating – 8.4/10
 
Well well. Can this be topped? I have some trouble seeing a 10 for the most repetitive song from the catalogue (the utterly simple Bloooooodstohone!) and a 7 for such a melodic tune as Chains (not written by the band). That intro alone is so haunting. This same haunting quality and lovely guitars (in the intro!) as well in Fever, which is probably my favourite SFV song. Don't underestimate Devil's Child. That bridge is one of the best passages in the catalogue imo. Great powerful vocal and crashing/doomy guitar as well on there!

Interesting that you give 10s when you clearly criticize elements in the track. But I'm happy to see we are getting a bigger and bigger Priest (and Halford) fan in our midst.
 
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Screaming is definitely one of the best Priest albums in my opinion, solid from start to finish and not suffering from all the filler that was on the last two albums. I love Devil's Child, it definitely does have that AC/DC style riffage though, and is a bit different from Priest. Think the Dio track, Caught in the Middle, and the Darkness tune, I Believe in a Thing Called Love, have quite similar intro riffs.

I used to really enjoy playing Bloodstone and Riding on the Wind when I was in a Priest tribute band.
 
I saw Halford on the Resurrection tour open for Queensryche & Maiden (on the BNW tour). When he played The Hellion/Electric Eye straight into Riding On the Wind, I was on cloud 9!

Remember when MTV used to play a concert from the SFV tour. I recorded it and rewatched MANY times! I could not get enough of watching Glenn play that Electric Eye solo or the intro to Bloodstone. Also loved the way they played the blistering title track straight into Another Thing Comin'
 
Also forget to mention that POE & SFV were (to my knowledge) the first two Priest vinyls to print the lyrics on the inner sleeve. Never heard why they waited so long into their career to start doing that. Sure the lyrics aren't that great, but it was nice to finally know what Rob was singing! Songs like Raw Deal & Saints In Hell were (at some points) indecipherable to me (thank God for the internet!)
 
Forostar said:
Well well. Can this be topped? I have some trouble seeing a 10 for the most repetitive song from the catalogue (the utterly simple Bloooooodstohone!) and a 7 for such a melodic tune as Chains (not written by the band). That intro alone is so haunting. This same haunting quality and lovely guitars (in the intro!) as well in Fever, which is probably my favourite SFV song. Don't underestimate Devil's Child. That bridge is one of the best passages in the catalogue imo. Great powerful vocal and crashing/doomy guitar as well on there!

Interesting that you give 10s when you clearly criticize elements in the track. But I'm happy to see we are getting a bigger and bigger Priest (and Halford) fan in our midst.
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The intro to Chains is haunting, but I think it goes downhill from there. As I said, the evolving verse melodies (every 2 lines) just don't work for me. They sound mismatched, like elements from a different song. I definitely agree about the haunting stuff in the intro to Fever.

I think a song can still be perfect even if there are minor issues with it. Hell, I give Number of the Beast, Run to the Hills, Wrathchild, etc. 10/10's because something about those songs transcends minor criticisms. Sometimes overall power is more important than microscopic perfection.

Vantage Point said:
Screaming is definitely one of the best Priest albums in my opinion, solid from start to finish and not suffering from all the filler that was on the last two albums. I love Devil's Child, it definitely does have that AC/DC style riffage though, and is a bit different from Priest. Think the Dio track, Caught in the Middle, and the Darkness tune, I Believe in a Thing Called Love, have quite similar intro riffs.
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Maybe that's where I've heard those riffs! There's a few more classic rock riff moments on this album that remind me of Dio's solo material, which is not something I was expecting.

Edington said:
There's only one solo in Electric Eye, all Glenn. One of his best no less, which makes this...
...very hard to understand :eek:
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Maybe it's simply the tone? As I said with the vocal production some of the recordings on the album are very dry and thin, and thus, grating to the ears. A touch of reverb or a bit more mids in the mix might have helped things, but who knows.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
Maybe it's simply the tone? As I said with the vocal production some of the recordings on the album are very dry and thin, and thus, grating to the ears.
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I know what you mean. It is very unusual, considering Glenns tone is usually much fuller and soaked in delay.
 
The last page of the SFV tour program had the list of all lead breaks from SAS to SFV! The name of the page was "Screaming for Lead Breaks". Don't know if anyone ever posted it online
 
Glenn Tiptons website used to have a page where it not only listed all of his solos from each album, but you could actually listen to them too. Sadly it's not active anymore.

@terrell39 I think they did that for the "Priest... Live!" album too. I'm sure there would be a picture of it online somewhere.
 
The DOTF, Turbo, RID, & Painkiller vinyls & cds all printed lead break credits with the album production credits (separate from the lyrics)
 
I could probably do the Painkiller album solos from memory, not 100% on the others.

Painkiller - Glenn/KK
Hell Patrol - Glenn
All Guns Blazing - Both Glenn
Leather Rebel - KK
Metal Meltdown - Intro KK then Glenn. Trade off KK/Glenn/KK/Glenn
Night Crawler - Harmony
Between The Hammer and the Anvil - KK/Glenn
A Touch of Evil - Glenn
Battle Hymn - None
One Shot at Glory - Intro is Glenn, bridge is KK and the main KK then Glenn

Some phenomenal playing on this album!
 
Vengeance was their best for me and they never reached these heights again. Defenders had a clumsy Def Leppard/US drum sound clogging up the mix, Turbo and Ram were cheese overload and Painkiller was infantile(in comparison).

SFV hit a perfect balance between pop sensibility and rock credibility, Another Thing being the epitome of this.
Hellion is the best metal instrumental intro I've ever heard.
The title track is incredible! The verse riff sounds frenetic and frantic, but has a laid back swing to it, and this typifies Priest to me. They sound like they're going bananas, but when observed they're quite methodical and relaxed. During the mid section the Hellion takes flight, finally swooping down to rip out the preys throat at track climax. Delicious!

This tour was my only Priest gig. Hammersmith December '83. I bought and Defenders/Metallian Tee(and SFV baseball shirt and programme*) and they played Freewheel Burning. Great gig, one of the best, but never got to see them again.

*The lead breaks are listed, not at the very back as lyrics are printed for a few pages.
 
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The second album in my "holy Priest trinity" (the first being Sin After Sin). Where Point Of Entry was plodding, boring and uninspired, Screaming For Vengeance is energetic, exciting, and the band sounds ten years younger. They sound hungry again. It's like touring with Maiden made them realize the competition they were up against. Priest were big on blending in with what was big in Metal at the time. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not so much. SFV is very much an answer to the NWOBHM and they managed to show that they were just as capable as any of the hot young bands. There is so much energy on the album. But, importantly, they didn't forget about the songwriting chops they built up over the past few albums. They can still write hits, as can be seen in their biggest hit of all: You've Got Another Thing Coming. Like a lot of the overplayed Maiden songs, it's hard to get excited about yet another live rendition, but that doesn't take away from the magic of the studio version. Just a great song that perfectly combines their pop sensibilities with their Metal aggression. Great solo too.

This may have the best opening to a Metal album. Killers came out a year earlier, but The Hellion/Electric Eye really lays the foundation for the instrumental intro template that countless Metal albums would try to replicate afterward. There's power, grandeur, a fantastic buildup, and the segue from one song into the next is totally seamless. To this day, the first downbeat of Electric Eye still catches me by surprise. Electric Eye is another that is somewhat overplayed, but this one still actually has a lot of power live. The original studio version is one of my favorite Priest tracks. It's a great use of the studio, like much of British Steel. Nice use of vocal effects and overdubbing and everything sounds really crisp. There's a futuristic, almost mechanical, vibe to the recording.

What follows is one classic after another. Riding On the Wind is the perfect second track. The energy level continues with Rob's rapid-fire vocals and a great instrumental break. Nice guitar tradeoffs. Bloodstone takes things down a bit with something groovier and more reminiscent of 70s Priest. It's awesome though. Love the bass and snare groove as well as the call and response between guitar and vocals during the chorus. Nice pre-chorus buildup too. Lots of tension and release in the track. Simple on the surface but has a lot to offer the more attentive listeners. One of my favorites. Take These Chains gives a similar impression and contains one of their most infectious choruses. Closing out side one is one of the album's weaker tracks, although for an album like this that really isn't saying much. Plain and Pleasure is still more exciting than almost anything on Point of Entry. I also like the atmosphere set by the guitar tone. Rob gives a solid performance too that, like much of Point of Entry, really saves an otherwise forgettable track.

After a gradual decline in energy levels during side 1, Side 2 brings it all the way back up to 11 with the blistering title track. It's fast and manic but, like @eddie666 said, there's a lot of nuances there. It really grooves for such a fast track. Amazing instrumental section. I love the segue into You've Got Another Thing Coming. Fever is the Pain and Pleasure of Side 2 but contains an infectious groove. Nice chorus too. Something about this song really pulls the listener in.

Priest has never been great with closers. They are often among the weaker tracks on an album or they're decent but don't really do a good job wrapping things up. They just feel like another song. That is not the case with Devil's Child. It's groovy and very catchy, and a nice way to close out the album. It functions differently than what we might be used to as Maiden fans. It isn't epic or bombastic, it's just a solid rock track that ensures that the album will leave an impression. It's yet another chorus that will manage to stay stuck in your head for days. I love the call and response vocals and Rob's delivery of the pre-chorus. This song just rocks hard.

I have to give Rob the MVP for this album. His voice is in great shape and he delivers amazing performances throughout. So much power in his voice. While he very much carried the lackluster Point of Entry, Screaming For Vengeance feels like they finally managed to write music that did justice to his vocals. It's like the difference between Bruce singing in Saxon and Bruce singing on Number of the Beast.

It's also worth mentioning that there's a wealth of live footage from this period. There's the Live Vengeance DVD which gives us a good look at Priest headlining performance. Awesome setlist and awesome overall show. There's also the US festival and Dortmund 1983 (a date that will be familiar to everyone here). The latter is interesting because it was actually a performance that took place in between studio sessions for the next album. So there's a new song in there. They also open with Riding On the Wind, which is a cool choice.
 
Mosh said:
Priest has never been great with closers. They are often among the weaker tracks on an album or they're decent but don't really do a good job wrapping things up. They just feel like another song.
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Hmm. 1976, 1977, 1980, 1986 and 1990 were not bad, and the ones in bold are flat-out awesome imo. I even like the 1988 one :blush:, even if the cheese factor is huge. But perhaps we should not discuss the future too much yet (post-1982). ;)

Back to Fever and Take These Chains. These songs really deserve the credit for giving the album the needed variety. Not easy to play (I bet it must have been a factor to hardly do Fever live), some parts require some difficult timing and subtlety, which is not that present in Priest if I'm honest. Priest is heavy, aggressive, but not that subtle, live. But these dreamy calm guitars really gave Priest something new. It brings a warm sound. Very eighties though. But I like it.
Fever has at least 3 different parts apart from the intro, verses, pre-chorus and chorus. The solo part itself (superb!), the calm part after it and the bridge. Great how it comes back to that intro again.

@MrKnickerbocker about Chains, you said "the evolving verse melodies (every 2 lines) just don't work for me. They sound mismatched, like elements from a different song."

I hope you are not too conclusive. Perhaps you'll get used to it. It's not as if this does not happen in other music but in any case, I hope you don't let the format rule too much. ("Dude, did I just hear this song change already after two lines? Erm, fine parts, but stop that, I don't want that! Take these changes off!)
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;)
When vocal melodies are great and chords catchy, that matters too. I'd say, give it room to grow. It's not like every couplet has a different melody. The couplets themselves just have two different parts.* The music changes quickly and the song is pretty short too (one of its strengths perhaps) but there are no bad parts imo.

*You could also hear it like this: a verse is two lines, then comes pre-chorus 1 (instead of second half verse) and then pre-chorus 2.
 
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Defenders of the Faith (1984)

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Freewheel Burning – Storming out of the gates with this upbeat barnburner is a great choice. The riffs are driving and Halford’s screeching at the top of his screech. It’s a real cruiser of a song, but it lacks some of the melody I love about this band. Glenn’s solo is nice and the post-solo melody is delicious. Just when I think the leads are over, there’s a harmonized run! Thank Dio they’re putting their two guitarists to the best use! I really don’t like Halford’s breakneck speed lyrics during the bridge, sounds like a Steve Harris composition, but at least the energy stays up. 9/10

Jawbreaker – I admit to having prior knowledge of this song because of the Sabaton cover, but still: I fucking love it. Honestly, it might be my favorite Judas Priest track so far. It’s easily the best fast-paced/metal Priest tune. It’s easily the best “-er” Priest song. I love the pattern of the lyrics throughout, but particularly in the verses. The intro and pre-title riffs are incredible, as is the post-chorus riff. It’s just a killer damn tune. I don’t know how this isn’t listed as one of the top Priest songs on every list ever. KK’s solo fits perfectly and that melodic lead towards the end is gorgeous. Halford’s finest screech yet exists during those final “Jawbreaker” refrains. Fucking ace of a song. 10/10

Rock Hard Ride Free – What a gorgeous little intro in this song, too. I absolutely adore the music. Glenn’s intro solo and the subsequent harmony clearly inspired the hell out of Armored Saint. In fact, a lot of this song sounds like a template for some Armored Saint tunes. I think John Bush specifically used Halford’s tone during “never put us down” as the basis for his own high end. KK’s lead break is quite nice and Glenn’s takes it to another level with a very Adrian Smith-style lead before a repetition of that stellar harmonized (almost neoclassical) guitar run and a recall of the intro. Honestly, the only thing that brings this song down is the lame, “let’s rock” lyrics. The chorus feels a little AC/DC, but the influence is used sparingly and it works well. The music highly elevates this song. 10/10

The Sentinel – A nice moody guitar intro followed by a classic spider riff that feels like we’re moving into mid-tempo territory…is quickly spun on its head for another upbeat rocker. Love it. The verses and sneaky chorus are incredible, Halford is pulling out his absolute A-game here. God, this song is amazing. The pre-solo section is nice, the guitar battle is tons of fun, and the post-solo unison is gold. Then we’ve got an atmospheric doom vocal section? OKAY! The way the bridge builds back up to the chorus is subtle and masterful and entirely carried by Rob’s stellar performance. This is another classic, top tier, maybe top five Judas Priest song to me. It’s proggy, it’s got tons of musical scope, and it just kicks ass. 10/10

Love Bites – Well shit. I thought we had left this Queen-worship behind? Blarg. After a near flawless Side One, Side Two kicks off with this garbage? The sound effects are lame, the stadium kick drum verses are lame, and when the full band kicks in it doesn’t get much better. The dark tone makes this better than those truly horrific songs from a few albums back and the lead guitars during the bridge are cool. Not even Halford’s intense screeches can save this song from lameness (there’s laughing at the end!). This song is easily a minute too long. We get it. Love bites. What a slab of meh. 5/10

Eat Me Alive – And let’s follow up that lameness with one of Rob’s sex songs. Musically, this is better, but lyrically it’s so stupid. At least we’ve got a guitar dual? At least the tonality is super dark and twisted? Nah, it’s still a bad song. I just can’t sing along to fellatio lyrics. I don’t need to hear a combination of demon Halford and orgasming Rob on a track. This one’s also a minute too long. Another black mark on what started out as an incredible album. 4/10

Some Heads Are Gonna Roll – Clearly the attempt at a more traditional radio track and it’s alright. The guitars are solid throughout, the mid-tempo bass and drum groove is back, and the lyrics are fine (even if the vocal melodies could be much better). I really don’t like the droning, tuneless pre-chorus lines. Glenn uses some cool techniques during his solo and so does KK. I do like the combination of the guitar wails matching Halford’s wails at the end. The song manages to be moderately dark, moderately catchy, and moderately fun at the time, but never succeeds beyond. 7/10

Night Comes Down – I love the interplay between the bass and guitars in this song, especially since that doesn’t happen much in Priest. The moodiness is incredibly welcome after the last three songs. By the time the chorus builds up into a stadium hook it feels earned. I can feel Rob’s pain in his performance; it’s quite beautiful. A million kudos to Glenn and KK for not going full guitar solo and instead creating a wonderful, harmonized unison lead. The lyrics are a bit trite, but I think the performance makes up for it. A great palate cleanser and a great song. 10/10

Heavy Duty/Defenders of the Faith – Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkk stop writing these kick/snare fucking boring ass songs, guys! Is this a Spinal Tap song? It sounds like a joke. A really dumb joke. Actually, there’s no way this could be a Spinal Tap song because no one would laugh at this intentionally. It’s hilariously lame and pointless. These two tracks are a complete buzzkill. They wreak of “we need 10 tracks” mentality. Priest continues their trend of having no idea how to end an album. 1/10

Album rating – 7.3/10

Overall, this album is a massive letdown. The good songs are phenomenal, possibly my favorite Priest yet and easily the best version of the band learning how to incorporate all of their flavors into one musical meal. The bad songs, however, are bland at best and atrocious at worst. It’s really unfortunate because side one + Night Comes Down would have made a perfect 5 song EP.
 
DOTF - Side 1 is one of my desert island album sides. Perfection.

Love Bites is better live mainly due to Rob's inhuman wails at the end of the song (which are not on the studio version).

Eat Me Alive was the only song NOT played on the original tour. Finally played it for the first time on the Nostrodomus tour. Sure the lyrics suck, but I like the music.
 
Defenders of the Faith is tied with Painkiller as my favourite Priest album, with some of my favourite guitar solos. I find it odd that some people consider it similar to Screaming for Vengeance, the two couldn't be further from each other. Defenders brought back a lot of the progressive and technical elements and is much less commercial sounding to me.
 
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