Judas Priest Discography Discussion (part 2 starting page 20)
- Thread starter Mosh
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Sara
Not even Wensleydale?
"Epitaph" is a wonderful song, and the lyrics are very poignant and a bit dark as well, but still beautiful.
I've always seen "Prelude" as an intro to "Tyrant", and as such, it does a great job of building a grand sense of atmosphere leading into that monster of a song. And yep, "Island Of Domination" is a great way to close the album, and is a very underrated song.
@mckindog: Oh, it must have been. "Tyrant" must have seemed like speed metal to listeners in 1976. It's a pulverising track, and that harmony lead near the end is definitely a blueprint which countless metal bands (particularly in the power metal genre) used later on in the 80's.
Sara
Not even Wensleydale?
I don't think a more refined blueprint for speed/power metal arrived until 2 albums after this one, but there are aspects of "Tyrant" that are without a doubt, power metall-ish. The twin harmony solo in particular in this song I see as being highly influential on early bands in the speed/power metal genres.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
I don't find Tyrant such a fast song (definitely not fast enough that I ever associated it with speed metal). The next album (released only one year later, so early enough to be influental on the bands you mention) contains a much faster song, with ingredients that suit speed/power metal much better, and therefore I prefer to see that track as a blueprint from the Priest catalogue. Compared to the track I am talking about, Tyrant is slow. You're tempting me to continue now but I'll try to keep it for next week if you don't mind. To be continued.
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But we're not comparing Tyrant to future Priest tracks, rather comparing it to what was the norm at the time. Compared to everything else being released at the time, that song is fast. Yes the next album has faster songs, but we haven't gotten there yet.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Not really. Highway Star was way faster. Not twin guitars (still harmonic though?). But the best* combination (or at least a better than Tyrant) of speed and twin guitars, thus a much better blueprint for speed-power metal bands to come, came in 1977 on the Sin After Sin album.
* best meaning here: sounding most like speed/power metal that came to form in the eighties.
Random opinions on Destiny
- It has four classic tracks:
- Prelude/Tyrant is a better way to open the album than Victim of Changes. The Mourn for our souls... vocal harmony is pure audio ecstasy
- Victim is well-deserving of its status as an all-time metal classic, but the Unleashed version is better than this one.
- I'm not reading enough love for The Ripper, although, again, I prefer the live version. It's just menacing.
- Dreamer Deceiver/Deceiver is the template for all Gothic-tinged metal. Not sure how anyone can prefer Run of the Mill. Does anyone know if Rob can still sing it?
- And three lesser songs
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Sin after sin, I have endured... and the opening riff, but I can't be the only one who thinks the rest of Genocide kinda runs out of steam - Domination and Epitaph would get more love from me if they didn't sound quite so Spinal Tap.
The Ripper is awesome. Short but powerful.
In that case, then yes I think Tyrant is a blue print song as well.
Unknown One
I see the ghost of navigators.
Random opinions on Destiny
- Domination and Epitaph would get more love from me if they didn't sound quite so Spinal Tap.
Have to agree with the comment about Genocide, it really is weaker than alot of the entire album. The Spinal Tap comment however, I can't agree with, because Sad Wings came out before Spinal Tap was created. So it's possible that Spinal Tap copied some elements of these tracks and incorporated them into their "music".
Sin After Sin (1977)
Rob Halford - Vocals
K.K. Downing - Guitar
Glenn Tipton - Guitar
Ian Hill - Bass
Simon Phillips - Drums
Sin after sin I have endured/Yet the wounds I bear are the wounds of love
1977 was a promising year for Judas Priest. The band had ended their contract with Gull and was now part of a bigger label: CBS. Things could only go up from here. They quickly began work on a followup to Sad Wings of Destiny, one that would show an even more refined and heavier sound.
Despite this, the band had to face yet another lineup change with drummer Alan Moore's sudden departure. Due to the short notice, the band hired a session musician: a jazz drummer named Simon Phillips. The new lineup quickly started rehearsals at Pinewood studios. The album was mostly recorded at The Who's recording studio: Ramport Studio.
For this album, Judas Priest had help with the production from Deep Purple's Roger Glover. The result is a more professional sounding album, as opposed to the raw qualities of Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings of Destiny.
Sin After Sin makes it clear that Judas Priest is a force to be reckoned with. From the highly energetic Sinner to the pounding Dissident Aggressor, this album is a very heavy offering. Though this album also has two ballads: Last Rose of Summer and Here Come the Tears. While the latter shares a name with a popular Irish poem, the song is unrelated. While neither song is quite as memorable as other ballads from this period, such as Dreamer Deceiver and Beyond the Realms of Death, they are still enjoyable songs and somewhat underrated. This album also shows the band experimenting with a more commercialized sound; Starbreaker wouldn't be out of place on Screaming For Vengeance or British Steel with its catchy chorus and standard form.
Single artwork for Dissident Aggressor
Also notable is the inclusion of a newly recorded cover of Joan Baez's Diamonds and Rust. Even though this song had been recorded during the sessions for the previous album, Roger Glover suggested that they redo it. The result is perhaps Judas Priest's most memorable cover and a version that rivals the original. Even Baez liked it!
Joan Baez said:
Unfortunately this lineup wouldn't last and due to Simon Phillips not being able to join the tour because of prior commitments. He was replaced with Les Binks, who would become the first Judas Priest drummer to play on more than one album. Despite his short tenure with the band, Phillips was one of the best Judas Priest drummers and has since performed on a large variety of albums by artists such as Derek Sherinian, Jon Anderson, Mike Oldfield, Tears for Fears, Michael Schenker Group, and Jeff Beck. He's also toured with The Who, Toto, and David Gilmour. On top of that, he's released a few instructional videos and several solo albums; including one released last year titled Protocol II.
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The tour for Sin After Sin was Judas Priest's largest so far and included their first visit to the USA. They supported such monster acts as Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, and Led Zeppelin. These showed the band playing their to their largest audiences yet and helped their popularity grow in the USA. This also helped the success of Sin After Sin, which was the first Judas Priest album to be certified Gold.
The Flash
Dennis Wilcock did 9/11
Yet another great album by Priest in the middle of one of my favorite album runs of any band ever. Great energy and feel from start to finish, despite taking breaks from the fast paced energetic songs in the middle with two ballads. The album sounds very "cool" as a whole. Very strong opening and closing tracks, a fantastic and moving cover of Diamonds & Rust and some other gems as well. This one is my least favorite of the three album run of 76-78, but still definitely a 5/5 and one of the best works of the band.
As an aside, I'm already having tons of fun with this thread. Rush was fun too but I had already revisited most of the discography with the recent survivor. I haven't had a Judas Priest phase in a really long time, Sin After Sin is already in my regular rotation again.
More later
More later