Judas Priest Discography Discussion (part 2 starting page 20)

Knick was so appalled by Jugulator that he takes his time before he continues.

Don't worry Knick. I am sure you like the next more although you could say Jugulator did better in one or two particular aspects.
 
Forostar said:
Knick was so appalled by Jugulator that he takes his time before he continues.

Don't worry Knick. I am sure you like the next more although you could say Jugulator did better in one or two particular aspects.
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I've given Demolition two full listens already and I'm preparing for my third, but work has me incredibly busy until next week. It's definitely far better than Jugulator overall, with a couple of moderately catchy songs, but also blander and too long.

I actually remember listening to this album multiple times back in the earliest days of Napster. I even had a couple songs (Bloodsuckers, Subterfuge, and maybe Metal Messiah) on some "Metal Mix CDs" at the time. :D
 
I was in the mood, so:

Judas Priest - Jugulator
  1. "Jugulator" - Not sure about this. Pointless build up that did nothing; lyrics are the cheesiest shit I've ever heard... terrible. But Ripper is actually a killer vocalist and feels right here, and I like the beat, so it's not all bad, but I really can't give this more than a 5/10 because it's really an average song.
  2. "Blood Stained" - Pretty killer riff, this. Ripper is awesome on the verses, but the chorus is... okay I guess, but not outstanding. I actually think this isn't too bad a song, but it feels wrong under the 'Judas Priest' moniker. If this was a new band then I'd probably like it more. There's a lot of cool stuff here, though, but maybe that's just because I heard this song before on the Bride of Chucky soundtrack. Well... it's better than the previous song, I think. 6/10
  3. "Dead Meat" - The fuck is that breathing / growling / drowning sound? Oh boy. Wow, these are some shitty lyrics and the verses are... I dunno. Not very good. Chorus is absolutely terrible. Y'know, never mind, so is this verse. I feel so sorry for Ripper. At least he's giving his all, unlike whoever wrote these lyrics. Fuck you, Tipton. 2/10
  4. "Death Row" - The fuck is this intro. This is terrible. This is... oh god. Fuck this. I don't... god. Dang, Ripper actually sounds terrible on the verse. Terrible lyrics. Jesus Christ, this is worse than the previous song. Goddamn. God, the chorus fucking sucks too. Stop these fucking spoken word things. I just... no. Fuck this song. Fuck it. I hope it goddamn dies in its own electric chair. Probably the worst song I've ever heard. Nothing redeemable whatsoever. 0/10
  5. "Decapitate" - "Your head... you will lose it!" Just fucking kill me already. Well, this one actually has a nice riff, so I'll give it a point just for that. Also the slicing sound was cool. Other than that... horseshit. 1.5/10
  6. "Burn In Hell" - Oh, this bassy stuff sounds like "Peace Sells". Sorta. Not in a good way. Ripper sounds good, but the words he spews are... goddamn terrible. Okay, this riff is kinda good. God, fuck these lyrics. I just can't. They're so painful. The song would actually be good if Tipton put some fucking effort in them. But nooooooooooooooo. Gotta go for the box o' shit again. God. Well, I'll give it points for a decent riff and a decent Ripper performance. 2/10
  7. "Brain Dead" - Oh, somewhat decent opening for once. Heavy riff. Nice. Eh, the rest seems boring. Bad chorus. No, this chorus is fucking terrible. Boring song. Better than the previous four, but that's not saying much. 2.5/10
  8. "Abductors" - God, Ripper sounds like he's taking a shit. Well, it's groovy, but the lyrics are shit. Chorus is very poor. Overall just boring. Too slow for this already terrible band. Terrible solo. Ahhhhh fucking end already. 1/10
  9. "Bullet Train" - Okay, cool opening. I hope it's finally getting better. Okay verses were pretty cool but the pre-chorus and chorus weren't the best. The train sound effects are cool though. I'm liking this so much better than the previous ones. Alright, y'know what? I actually liked this. It's a pretty cool song, but not the great composition ever. 6/10
  10. "Cathedral Spires" - Okay, the opening is kinda cool. Lyrics seem much better. Okay, riff kicks in and... I'm not sure. The lyrics are great, compared to the rest of the album. But I'm not sure where it's going. Nothing seems outstanding so far. This pointless 'metal' riff is what's killing the song for me. The ending is boring. I wanna like this song so badly, because the lyrics are clearly of a better caliber than the other songs', but here the music falls flat. I'm... disappointed. Very disappointed. I'll be nice and give it a 3.5/10. But... wow, what a waste.
What an album. What a fucking album. I have never been more disgusted by an artist's output than with this release. There is very little to like about this, lyrics-wise and music-wise. A failure on almost every level apart from a handful of songs. This is like watching a cheesy horror film, but there's just nothing fun to it. It's unironically terrible. Fuck this album. Worst waste of disc space I've ever heard.

Song Rating Average: 2.95/10

Yeah, that seems accurate....

Songs Ranked:
1. "Blood Stained" - 6/10
2. "Bullet Train" - 6/10
3. "Jugulator" - 5/10
4. "Cathedral Spires" - 3.5/10
5. "Brain Dead" - 2.5/10
6. "Burn In Hell" - 2/10
7. "Dead Meat" - 2/10
8. "Decapitate" - 1.5/10
9. "Abductors" - 1/10
10. "Death Row" - 0/10
 
Judas Priest - FIREPOWER

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Time to finally give this bad boy a relisten. Let's see if I like it more this time.
  1. "Firepower" - The opening riff just explodes on the ears with a bang. A Halford scream throws us into the song and the metal gods lead us through a goddamn awesome verse, culminating in a goddamn awesome chorus. This song is incredible. The solo is fantastic. So metallic, so fiery, so fantastic, one of the band's finest compositions. Halford sounds great, the drums sound great, the guitarists are slaying things, and the production is phenomenal. Slower stuff between the chorus, before returning to the fantastic verse and chorus keep this song running smoothly. Easily the best track on the album and a no-brainer 10/10.
  2. "Lightning Strike" - A really cool riff here. First song I heard from the album, like most people. The verse is decent, the pre-chorus is awesome, and the actual chorus is decent. It's a hell-raiser, certainly. Lyrics aren't the best, but I can overlook it here. Hasn't always been a highlight for me, but upon listening this one is actually rather nice. Solo is melodiously pleasing. A pile-driving riff-fest, this. I'm liking it. 8/10
  3. "Evil Never Dies" - Brutally heavy riff, this. Interesting "Devil Went Down To Georgia" reference. The verse and pre-chorus aren't the best, but the chorus is pretty nice. Not sold on this lyrically. The music is fairly good though. The heaviness halts itself and grows steadily down in an interesting quiet moment. Lyrics still don't scream great to me. Honestly, the voodoo thing is what's driving me nuts. This solo isn't exactly the best ever. There's a lot to like here, but there's also a lot holding it back. I think I'll go with a 6/10.
  4. "Never The Heroes" - Cool intro, leading to a pretty awesome riff. The lyrics still aren't that great, but it's better than the previous song. I suppose this is about how soldiers are portrayed as heroes in society when in reality they're doing evil things? I guess, but it doesn't work that well. The music is good though, and the chorus is pretty sweet. I mean yeah, on the strength of the chorus alone this should win all the awards. I do like this song a lot, and I think it deserves a good 7.5/10.
  5. "Necromancer" - Lyrics are, again, not the best, but I do think they do a good job of showcasing the necromancer here. Verses are pretty rip-roarin'. Chorus isn't the best but it works well. Heavy stuff. Halford sounds almost like Perseverance-era Chuck Schuldiner in the high notes. Yeah, there's a lot of great stuff here that I can round it all up to a good 8/10.
  6. "Children of the Sun" - Pretty standard kinda song, but it isn't bad. Pretty nice verses and while it's not an outstanding chorus, it's still pretty badass. The quiet bit is an interesting change-up. First time I saw the title I instantly thought of the Billy Thorpe song, but they're completely different so never mind that. Definitely deserving of a 7/10.
  7. "Guardians" - The piano here just sounds so nice as a bit of a change-up from the previous songs. The electricity rolling in is chillingly amazing. For such a short, not even a song really, track, this is amazing. 10/10
  8. "Rising From Ruins" - Continuing directly where "Guardians" leaves off, this is an awesome riff. This is much better than I remember. Heavy as fuck, fiery guitars, great verses, fantastic chorus. I'm really loving it. Solo is great. The reprise of "Guardians" is pretty cool. (Side-note: why aren't they just a part of the same song instead of separate tracks? Oh well, no matter.) One of the best songs on here. All told, it's a great 9/10.
  9. "Flame Thrower" - Very different riff, here. Verse is interesting. Chorus is also interesting, but I'm not sure that this song is quite my thing. Really feels like a bit of a filler song, or more like something you'd expect to see as a bonus track. Not bad, but not the best thing ever. I'd say it's about average overall. 5/10
  10. "Spectre" - Interesting intro for this one. Pretty nice riff, I'd say. Verse is interesting. The chorus doesn't feel like a chorus until the "Trapped inside the miiiiiiind" bit comes in. That's pretty nice, but the song isn't the greatest thing of all time, to say the least. Mostly interesting. The solo sounds like a Mary Poppins song. That's pretty cool. There are enough interesting elements to bring this up to a 7/10.
  11. "Traitors Gate" - Cool building intro before breaking into a heavy as fuck riff. The guitarwork here is fantastic. This is a real banger of a song. Oh, that's the chorus? Thought it was merely the pre-chorus. It's pretty badass though. Kinda reminds me of a Chemical Wedding track. The "oh-oh-oh-oh" bit is really cool. This is really great, one of the album's best songs. Good enough for an 8.5/10.
  12. "No Surrender" - Cool intro gives way to a badass riff. Verse is pretty fucking awesome. Real banger, this. The chorus is fucking fantastic. This song is one of the album's best, second to the title track. Such an awesome composition, great guitar, vocals, everything just works so fucking well. It's awesome. I love it. 10/10
  13. "Lone Wolf" - Interesting intro leads to a pretty heavy riff. The verse is quite interesting. Pre-chorus isn't the best, but the actual chorus is pretty cool. This feels kinda like a Book of Souls or Tyranny of Souls track, but with fantastic production. Pretty good stuff. 7/10
  14. "Sea of Red" - Acoustic intro is very nice for this epic six minute track. Very pleasing to the ears. Rob's vocals here are so emotional it's unbelievable. Ah, it's a song about fallen soldiers. The chorus isn't as good as the verses but it's still pretty nice. There we go - heaviness. The chorus is better this time, and the instrumental section is pretty damn awesome. Really great stuff here. Excellent closer. I think it's quite good enough to get a 9/10.
I'm glad I went back through this album, because there's a lot of stuff that grew on me, and that I found much better than on my first listen-through. I can see why it's been so acclaimed as one of the year's best releases; there are a few things that bug me but as a whole it's very nice. Heaviness is at the top, Halford sounds better than he ever did, maybe even better than Painkiller. The guitars are on fire, as are the drums, and the production is godly. I have never heard better production on an album... ever. Ever. As a whole, this is a pretty great release and proof that Priest still has it, even if a few of the lyrics aren't my kinda thing. Great stuff.

Song Rating Average: 8/10

That's honestly very accurate. The album is a pretty great one and well deserving of an 8/10 rating. I hope it grows in future.

1. "Firepower" - 10/10
2. "No Surrender" - 10/10
3. "Guardians" - 10/10

4. "Sea of Red" - 9/10
5. "Rising From Ruins" - 9/10

6. "Traitors Gate" - 8.5/10
7. "Lightning Strike" - 8/10
8. "Necromancer" - 8/10

9. "Never The Heroes" - 7.5/10
10. "Children of the Sun" - 7/10
11. "Lone Wolf" - 7/10
12. "Spectre" - 7/10

13. "Evil Never Dies" - 6/10

14. "Flame Thrower" - 5/10
 
JUDAS PRIEST - PAINKILLER

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Time to revisit the immortal classic. Let's see how it goes...
  1. "Painkiller" - What an insane song. Insane drum intro, insane lead riff, insane Halford vocals, insane solo, insane screams, insane speed, insane band, insane song. My god. Is it any wonder that this is heralded as a defining song in metal? The band is on fire. They just annihilate everything in sight. Fantastic song, one of the greats, arguably the best thing they've ever made. Coming off of their previous albums, I'm not surprised listeners were completely blown away by the new Priest. The ending long note is amazing. This song is legitimately a masterpiece. 10/10
  2. "Hell Patrol" - Machine gun drumming and a frantic riff kick off the song. Halford comes in with a much less screamy verse but it's still pretty awesome. He finally lets loose in the chorus, which is fucking awesome. Another run-through and it's still great. Not a big fan of that different bit before the solo, and the solo itself isn't all that great, but the rest of the song is pretty damn great. The final bit of verse and chorus is the best part. This is definitely up there, with enough to give it a good 9/10.
  3. "All Guns Blazing" - Halford opens up this song with a crazy high vocal performance before we barrel head-on into a fucking crazy riff and verse, leading to a fantastic chorus. This is as close as the album gets to recreating the fury of the opening track, but it doesn't feel like a knock-off or anything like that - it's genuinely a fucking awesome song. One of my personal Priest faves. Everything is on fire here. Definite 10/10.
  4. "Leather Rebel" - Opening with an evil shreddy riff, this song isn't as frantic as the previous song. The verse isn't the most outstanding but it's good. The pre-chorus isn't the best thing ever, but the chorus itself rises the song up solely with the "lightning in the dark" line - Halford sounds goddamn great. Unfortunately, besides that bit, the chorus isn't the most outstanding, but this song is far from bad. There's a lot to enjoy, and I do enjoy it. I think as a whole it's worthy of a good 7.5/10.
  5. "Metal Metaldown" - Pretty cool noodley opening before the riff starts to kick in. The chorus is frantic as all hell, and the pre-chorus is insane. Then comes the actual chorus and... wow, this is terrible. Such a moodkill; it has no place in what could otherwise be a genuinely great song. It makes it feel disjointed and less enjoyable. Sad. Still, there's enough going on that I'll at least give this a 5/10, but really, there could have been so much more.
  6. "Night Crawler" - Atmospheric opening barrels into a great riff which leads into a fantastic verse. This song is such a step up from the previous one. The pre-chorus isn't the greatest thing ever, but the chorus is a pretty cool if simple one. Hmm, maybe I underrated the pre-chorus. It's actually pretty cool. The slow break thing isn't my favorite but it adds a bit of atmosphere. The build-up for the final pre-chorus and chorus is great. A genuine Priest great, all-told. Heavy as fuck as ripping up the scene. 9/10
  7. "Between The Hammer & The Anvil" - The opening is interesting but doesn't immediately grasp my attention. The actual riff and scream is so Mercyful Fate-esque that I'm much more interesting, but this verse structure isn't my thing. The pre-chorus is also very Mercyful Fate-esque, but the chorus itself isn't... great. The stuff after the second chorus isn't my thing, but the solo is better, again very Fate-esque. There's a lot of nice things going on here, but there's also a bit that drags it down. Ultimately I think it's merely an average song overall. 5/10
  8. "A Touch of Evil" - Continuing right from the previous song with an eery opening, a really fucking badass riff arises from nothing and bring us into the eighth song on the album. I remember the first time I ever heard it and how blown away I was by the slow heaviness, which was in direct contrast with the title track's metal speed. Of course, I'd never heard the actual album then, but it was a song that stuck out quite a lot for me. The chorus is still a badass piece of music, despite not having Halford annihilating with his vocals, but it makes it a bit more crushing of a song, IMO. Younger me would have given it a 10 outright, but I think it's probably only the fourth best song on the album having given it a couple listens, but I mean, it's still up there... I really can't go less than a strong 9/10.
  9. "Battle Hymn" - Eh. It's nice build-up for the final song, but it's pointless as a stand-alone track. 3/10
  10. "One Shot at Glory" - This riff is cool, but the verse is very paint-by-numbers, though Halford does a good job. The pre-chorus is also bland, but the chorus itself is actually really cool. Still, the song as a whole is just a decent affair... average end to an album with a mix of average to awesome songs. Interesting how that is. 5/10
Painkiller is such a shock to the system for Priest fans. I don't think anyone would have expected that the same band that released Turbo would turn right around and destroy listeners with this pulverizing, bone-crunching release. Guitars, drumming, vocals - it's all insane. As such, I think the album tends to get a bit overrated by people who were blown away by its contents upon first hearing it. Nothing is lyrically profound, but it is a strong metallic release but not quite as perfect as some would say. Five of its songs are genuine Priest classics, another is a good affair, three more are pretty average, and finally, the non-song is pointless. So there is a lot to like here, but it isn't perfect by any means. It's just very good at succeeding when it uses its strengths.

Song Rating Average: 7.25/10
Excluding "Battle Hymn": 7.72/10

I'd say the second score is pretty accurate. I think I'd round it up to a 7.8/10 overall. I do think that Firepower is the better album though - more strengths in the complete work's body in my opinion, but when Painkiller nails it, it fucking nails it. Of course, what heralded in a drastically improved sound for the band was also the final release with Halford before he left the band... and we all know the shit that happened next...

1. "Painkiller" - 10/10
2. "All Guns Blazing" - 10/10

3. "Hell Patrol" - 9/10
4. "A Touch of Evil" - 9/10
5. "Night Crawler" - 9/10

6. "Leather Rebel" - 7.5/10

7. "One Shot at Glory" - 5/10
8. "Between The Hammer & The Anvil" - 5/10
9. "Metal Meltdown" - 5/10

10. "Battle Hymn" - 3/10
 
Diesel 11 said:
  1. "Between The Hammer & The Anvil" - The opening is interesting but doesn't immediately grasp my attention. The actual riff and scream is so Mercyful Fate-esque that I'm much more interesting, but this verse structure isn't my thing. The pre-chorus is also very Mercyful Fate-esque, but the chorus itself isn't... great. The stuff after the second chorus isn't my thing, but the solo is better, again very Fate-esque. There's a lot of nice things going on here, but there's also a bit that drags it down. Ultimately I think it's merely an average song overall. 5/10
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Diesel 11 said:
  1. "One Shot at Glory" - This riff is cool, but the verse is very paint-by-numbers, though Halford does a good job. The pre-chorus is also bland, but the chorus itself is actually really cool. Still, the song as a whole is just a decent affair... average end to an album with a mix of average to awesome songs. Interesting how that is. 5/10
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I fail to comprehend this.
 
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I would go as far as saying that Between the Hammer and the Anvil is the second best song on the album, ahead of Painkiller and below Night Crawler.
 
Many people have different tastes. Lots of people not into metal would not like these songs. Many people who do not like Halford or Judas Priest would not like these songs. Many people who do not like (mention any regular thing that happens on these songs) would not like these songs.

But these 5's fall so randomly out of the (blood red) skies.... I mean: people who do like Judas Priest, people who do like the Painkiller album, they do not dislike these two songs (or any other, even).
 
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Opinions are like arseholes, everyone has one but they think each other's stink! (Whenever you need a quote, Clint Eastwood is gonna give it! :lol: )

My stinky arsehole thinks that Painkiller is a great album, full of great songs. It is not my favourite album by Judas Priest, but it is one of their best. :D

On a related note, I re-listened most of Judas Priest's back catalogue recently. I had forgotten how many stylistic shifts they had during the 80s trying to crack the North American market. Some of the material off Point of Entry and Turbo is pretty cringeworthy. :facepalm: They say yes, I say no! :lol:
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
One Shot at Glory has my personal favorite Halford vocal performance I've ever heard. I would give it a 10/10 simply for the line "I can see the banners fly!"
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If you mean in the part before the second chorus, I'd disagree. I always found that line kinda jarring, Halford is barely recognisable to me. If you mean the last line of the song however, I totally agree, that's awesome.
 
Edington said:
If you mean in the part before the second chorus, I'd disagree. I always found that line kinda jarring, Halford is barely recognisable to me. If you mean the last line of the song however, I totally agree, that's awesome.
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I think it sounds great, but I get your point that it sounds barely recognizable, I originally thought they'd got a guest female vocalist to sing that line!
 
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