Judas Priest Discography Discussion (part 2 starting page 20)

When I said really negative, I used really along the lines of actually. Four and below is where true negativity starts. Five is just average, I understand how to rate fucking songs based on my fucking opinion, thanks.

10 - Perfect
9 - Great
8 - Good
7 - A lesser form of good
6 - Above average
5 - Average
4 - Below average
3 - Very meh
2 - Bad
1 - Terrible
0 - Nothing redeemable whatsoever

And what do you mean, “That’s what I’m here for?” I’m here because I thought it would be cool to go through a band which I used to enjoy during my younger metal days but seemed to have left behind when Maiden took center stage. Despite what you may think, I’ve been enjoying Priest’s discography as a whole, outside of Jugulator. Maybe I didn’t explain myself right when talking about those two songs that everyone seems to adore and yet I think are just average metal numbers that aren’t terrible but aren’t my thing at the same time, but I’ve been trying to give my accurate thoughts as best as I could. That’s why I’m here. (EDIT: I just realized you were talking about how you rate songs. My bad.)

This constant yammering about BTH&TA and OSAG is just gonna make me like the songs less than I already do. I don’t want to change your opinion - why should you change mine? I’d much rather convert people to Apparition fans if I really wanted to use the time...
 
Mountains are being made from molehills here. There's no right or wrong answer in music. To me numerical ratings are just silly fun, some songs you like more than others, what does it matter if they're a "point" above or below another?
 
So after all, I'm bumping up a Painkiller song, but it's neither of the ones people really love...
Diesel 11 said:
"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.
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This is so fucking awesome I've gotta give it a 10/10. I think it's probably a Top 10 song at the moment.
 
JUDAS PRIEST - DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH

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  1. "Freewheel Burning" - Goddamn fast as fuck song with a take no mercy approach to its musicality. Every band member is on fire, the solo is outstanding, and Halford is really hammering everything down and then blowing out the nails with his vocals. This seems like Priest's approach to "Aces High". I'm fucking loving it. Fantastic opener. 10/10
  2. "Jawbreaker" - Huge opening, much less explosive nature (despite the subject matter). Halford and the boys are smashing through a great banger, but I don't quite think it's as good as the opener while still being a really strong song. This feels like the band's approach to a "2 Minutes To Midnight" kinda song, or at least the first two songs from DOTF and PS can be seen with many coincidental details. Makes sense since they're from the same year. First song is a barnstormer, second is slower but still asskicking. I love Halford's vocals at the end. Really good. 9.5/10
  3. "Rock Hard Ride Free" - Very melodious riff and I like it. Verses are good and chorus may be a bit cheesy but I'll be damned if Halford doesn't annihilate with this performance. Can't say this is as good as the first two, but the melody is very nice and comes to the forefront especially in the instrumental section which is pretty damn awesome and could lift the song up on its own merits. This is a song that I could probably give a lesser grade if they didn't succeed so well with it. As it is, this is a good 9/10.
  4. "The Sentinel" - This five minute epic closer to Side 1 begins with a cool bit of guitar before heading into a faster riff which signals drumsticks to hit the drums and plunge headway into a goddamn glorious verse with a goddamn glorious pre-chorus and a fucking fantastic chorus. Another round and we hit a cool (bridge, I think) which sets up the events after the solo. The solo itself helps paint the canvas with what's happening, and then everything slows down as Halford narrates the most epic fight scene in anime metal. The build-up is enormously well done and we crash through four run-throughs of the chorus, which gets better and better with each listen. I first heard this song on a SiriusXM show years ago, back-to-back with "Eat Me Alive". It stuck out to me then, and really stuck out when I heard that most people consider this the band's finest song. It's grown from something I thought was pretty damn cool to something I think is fucking incredible. I'd rank it just behind "Painkiller" song-wise, and I doubt I'll hear anything that can top those two. This song is just plain awesome. Halford gives off one of his greatest performances ever and the entire band really somehow honed into what made them great and built the mountain even further. It's a song that needs to be experienced to be understood. I had to switch off the album just to let it sink in. It's really fucking good. Priest perfection. 10/10
  5. "Love Bites" - The opening is really atmospheric and when Halford and the riffing kicks in it only gets better. I suppose this is about a vampire? This is a bit better than I actually expected. I was thinking it would be more like the Def Leppard song (which wouldn't have necessarily been a bad thing since I like that song), but it's more metallic and with a lot of cool stuff going on. I'm pretty impressed. Honestly, the drumming is the only meh aspect of the song, kinda weak IMO, but it's really good all-told. I'm likin' it. 9/10
  6. "Eat Me Alive" - Haven't heard this one in years. The opening riff is cool, Halford's vocals are mixed well, and the chorus is simplistic but works well. Solo is a screaming affair with a lot of nice stuff to be found within. Yeah, it's of a very raunchy subject matter (it's one of the Filthy 15 for a reason [I guess]), but it's a lot of fun, too. 9/10
  7. "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" - This is a song I heard a lot on SiriusXM radio. It's a very steady piece of metal, not explosive but still pretty great. It's not a mind-blower like "The Sentinel" but it's still a killer tune. I enjoy it quite a lot. 9/10
  8. "Night Comes Down" - Ooh, this opening is very atmospheric. It keeps that atmosphere throughout quite well. I think this is the slowest track on the album (at least so far). The chorus is where it gets really good. I definitely like this, but it's not quite up to the standard set by the previous songs. Still a good 8/10.
  9. "Heavy Duty" - Queen-like beat here, and it's about as boring as that band (don't @ me). This is pretty meh after such a great album, though Halford is good. 3/10
  10. "Defenders of the Faith" - I mean... this is the exact same song. It's just as boring. 3/10
It's incredible how after knocking the ball out of the motherfucking park with Screaming for Vengeance, Priest manage to do the exact same thing again with Defenders of the Faith. Besides the bland last two tracks, every song is strong, every song rocks, every song is really, really good. I'm quite impressed. They take their formula but expand upon it, a little more bits of prog here and there spice up the pot very well. If this didn't kick to meh with the very last two tracks, it might have even beaten its predecessor. Still, it's a very smart piece of work.

Song Rating Average: 7.95/10
Combining the last two: 8.5/10
Eliminating the last two: 9.19/10

I think I'll give this one an 8.9/10, with the 0.1 taken away from a 9 because of the last two tracks. Besides those, it really is a strong album, and I liked it quite a lot. Great stuff, all-told.

1. "The Sentinel" - 10/10
2. "Freewheel Burning" - 10/10

3. "Jawbreaker" - 9.5/10
4. "Love Bites" - 9/10
5. "Eat Me Alive" - 9/10
6. "Rock Hard Ride Free" - 9/10
7. "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" - 9/10

8. "Night Comes Down" - 8/10

9-10. "Heavy Duty / Defenders of the Faith" - 3/10
 
Diesel 11 said:
So after all, I'm bumping up a Painkiller song, but it's neither of the ones people really love...
Diesel 11 said:
"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.
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This is so fucking awesome I've gotta give it a 10/10. I think it's probably a Top 10 song at the moment.
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Y’know what?

Forget “Painkiller”.
Forget “The Sentinel”.

“Hell Patrol” is Priest’s best song.

Everything here is perfect. Precision engineering in sonic form. The machine gun opening to the purposefully simplistic yet so detailing verses to the simple but fantastic chorus, to the mesmerizing solos, to the shockingly emotionally beautiful final verse and chorus. It’s all so perfect. I’ve listened to this song seven times in the last hour, and I can’t remember the last time I did that with a single song. I just want to hear it again and again and again. I love it. Congratulations, Priest. I’m astounded. Long live the Hell Patrol.
 
Diesel 11 said:
"Hell Patrol" - 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.
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Diesel 11 said:
So after all, I'm bumping up a Painkiller song, but it's neither of the ones people really love...
Hell Patrol is so fucking awesome I've gotta give it a 10/10. I think it's probably a Top 10 song at the moment.
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Diesel 11 said:
Y’know what?

Forget “Painkiller”.
Forget “The Sentinel”.

“Hell Patrol” is Priest’s best song.

Everything here is perfect. Precision engineering in sonic form. The machine gun opening to the purposefully simplistic yet so detailing verses to the simple but fantastic chorus, to the mesmerizing solos, to the shockingly emotionally beautiful final verse and chorus. It’s all so perfect. I’ve listened to this song seven times in the last hour, and I can’t remember the last time I did that with a single song. I just want to hear it again and again and again. I love it. Congratulations, Priest. I’m astounded. Long live the Hell Patrol.
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Life comes at you fast
 
JUDAS PRIEST - SAD WINGS OF DESTINY

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  1. "Victim of Changes" - Good god, I'm worried that I'll start stirring up even more controversy than before. Well uh, this is a Priest classic, but I wouldn't say it's one of my favorites from them. The riff is nice but too Led Zeppelin for my taste (and you can draw a lot of parallels between the bands throughout this song). Halford utilizes good vocals here, but he still had further to go before he got them nailed down because there are a few parts where it doesn't sound very good ("another woman's got her man"). The song gets better when it changes tempo and slows down, though. When Halford lets it all rip in falsetto extravaganza it's pretty awesome. The final scream is fantastic, but as a whole the song doesn't have as much draw for me as others and is proof that they had further to go before they would really nail their formulas. Still a good 7/10. Let the pitchforks be thrown.
  2. "The Ripper" - The opening riff is a goddamn classic, and this song is immediately much better than the previous, in my opinion at least. While I personally prefer Mercyful Fate's and Iced Earth's covers, there's a lot to be said for the original. It's got a lot of stuff you can see would impact the future of metal and inspire bands like Iron Maiden - the solo is very similar to some of their stuff. I like it enough for an 8/10.
  3. "Dreamer Deceiver" - The quiet, slow opening is interesting, but not really my thing. The song does get better as it goes along, feeling like something in a trance. The solo brings the whole thing to life nicely. Halford's highs here are unbelievable. Yeah, I'm liking this quite a bit more than I expected. 8.5/10
  4. "Deceiver" - Moving on directly from the previous song is "Deceiver", which I've always thought was an interesting choice given the previous song is "Dreamer Deceiver". This feels more like a song from Sabbath's debut than a Priest number, though of course Halford can hit higher notes than Ozzy can. The highs here are really nice. The acoustic bit here recalling the previous track works fairly well. Can't say I like it better than the previous two, but it's still decently good. 7/10
  5. "Prelude" - Well, it's exactly what the title says it is, but I'm really liking this. It's such a nice piece of music coming at the right time in the album. Best part of the thing so far. I'm really loving it. 9/10
  6. "Tyrant" - Moving right on from "Prelude" we reach the best riff of the album so far. This feels like the British Invasion deciding to be metal, and surprisingly, I'm really liking it. The way the chorus is arranged is awesome. This is a very boppy song. Yeah, I love this. 9/10
  7. "Genocide" - Nice bit of riffing to begin the song, but the actual thing isn't the best. Zeppelin and Sabbath seem to meld here and I can't say I like it too much. Feels rather average to me. Boppy and has a nice groove but I doubt I'll want to check this out again and again. Weakest song so far. Just does nothing for me. 4/10
  8. "Epitaph" - Oh god, the piano sounds like "Sister Christian". Halford sounds like he's the singer in a bar, and not the best at that. The overdubbed vocals sound like Electric Light Orchestra. The lyrics aren't terribly bad and tell an interesting narrative, but the rest of the song just doesn't work for me at all. I'll give it a 3/10 because it's better than some of the Jugulator songs and I feel there may be room for it to grow, but right now I don't like this.
  9. "Island of Domination" - A better riff here and Halford is back with better vocals, but it just falls from there. The beat feels again like a Sabbath song. The chorus vocals aren't that great. The slow bit here isn't that great. Halford sounds better but the music is a mess. Meh. "Genocide" and "Epitaph" were better, and this is a weak end to a decent album. 3/10
So.... this is a very interesting album to listen to. You can hear a bunch of stuff here that would become the blueprint for metal; you can see where Maiden got some of the rhythm bits and Mercyful Fate got some of the song structures, feels, and vocal inspirations. That said, I'm glad they took it and went further with it, but Maiden and Fate sound, as a whole, better than this album. While there are some genuinely great songs here, there are also some weak ones, and nothing's a 10/10 for me right now. It's important, certainly, but proof in my opinion that Priest would still need to move forward to better find their sound. I will say the lyrics are some of their better ones; the songs themselves just need some polishing here and there. Overall, I think it's proof that Sabbath and Zeppelin are better at writing Sabbath and Zeppelin than Priest are.

Song Rating Average: 6.5/10

Yeah, I think a 6.5/10 is accurate. The album starts off okay, gets better, and then drops off with the last three, so it's a definite mixed bag. Now I wait for the pitchforks to come flying; it ain't gonna be a pretty sight... :S

1. "Prelude" - 9/10
2. "Tyrant" - 9/10

3. "Dreamer Deceiver" - 8.5/10
4. "The Ripper" - 8/10

5. "Victim of Changes" - 7/10
6. "Deceiver" - 7/10

7. "Genocide" - 4/10

8. "Epitaph" - 3/10
9. "Island of Domination" - 3/10
 
JUDAS PRIEST - SIN AFTER SIN
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  1. "Sinner" - Already showing some maturing on from the previous album, "Sinner" is a rougher, heavier affair, featuring more aggressive guitar and drum work, and some in-your-face Halford vocals. The verses and chorus are both good but the instrumental section is where it gets really fantastic. Feeling like a whirlwind of metal, a whirlwind of blistering music, it helps propel this song up right to a strong 9/10.
  2. "Diamonds and Rust" - Opening with a bit of guitar that leads into a very disco-esque song (closest Priest have come to ABBA definitely), this is a cover that seems completely insane, but good lord does it work. Priest take the classic Joan Baez song and change it completely to work better with their sound. I prefer the original myself, but there's no way this isn't one of the greatest covers in metal. It's very, very awesome. 10/10
  3. "Starbreaker" - Nice heavy drum intro before the riff kicks in. And this is a very nice riff, too. These verses are very good, and the chorus is cool (kinda sounds like Bruce got some inspiration for "Starchildren" from this). Feels very much like a British Invasion song in parts (that clapping!). The solo is fantastic. Yeah, this song is awesome. 10/10
  4. "Last Rose of Summer" - Wasn't quite expecting this soft beginning. Wasn't expecting Priest to do this love song thingy. They succeed decently with it, though I will say that the lyrics are like a bunch of melted cheese pouring down on me. The mellowness is almost too much, lol. Still, I don't dislike it, but it really gets to be too much by the end. I think it's along the lines of a 5/10.
  5. "Let Us Prey / Call For The Priest" - Interesting opening... very bright. Feels like a wedding song. Halford's vocals sound good, but this feels like another Zep attempt (the previous song did too). Once it gets into the riff, it's better. Quite a banger, actually. Well, it feels like Zep trying to be metal, and it's a mixed bag, I think. Still too cheery and bright for my taste. I.... really don't know about this song. I'd like to say I like it, but the further and further I get into it, the blander it gets. This really isn't my thing. Yeah, god, this is an abortion of a song. I hate it. Yikes. It's making me sick to my stomach. 1/10
  6. "Raw Deal" - Okay, this is a more standard riff, thank god. Much better. There's still too much Zep here for its own good, but at least I don't wanna throw up anymore. It does get better as it goes along. I think it's pretty average, but thank god it actually feels like Priest, unlike the previous disaster. 5/10
  7. "Here Come The Tears" - Uh-oh, quiet Priest return. Feels like "Strange World" from Maiden, but not as good. The acoustic guitar makes it better. Then electric slams in and it's even better. Lyrics are still cheesy, but at least this one has musicality. Feels like a bit of a rehash of "Dreamer Deceiver" but it still works, and definitely is a better song than Maiden's "Remember Tomorrow". After the three previous numbers I'm glad to hear something like this again. Sounds so much better. I think it's a good 8/10 overall.
  8. "Dissident Aggressor" - Moving on from the previous song into the album's closing number, this one has a fairly nice riff build-up culminating in a great Halford. This is more like it. The aggressiveness is back. Verse is nice. This is a real banger. You can feel some bits that would influence thrash later on. Certainly the solo feels like something Slayer would have done (and technically they did since they covered it). The final vocals are awesome. Can't say this is quite a 10, but it's a strong fucking 9/10. Thank god the closer didn't suck.
This is a very weird album. It starts off with three awesome tracks back to back to back, each one feeling like Priest have found their way at last. Then the next three don't work as well. It feels like the definition of "one step forward, two steps back". "Let Us Prey / Call For The Priest" is the worst Priest song outside of "Death Row" and the only reason it isn't lower is because it's actually doing something. Thankfully after those three pass by the album ends strongly with the final two tracks. I suspect that having Roger Glover as producer is what brings this album both its strengths, but also its weaknesses. There's too much Purple-y stuff going on for a Priest album, making it feel like Zep but shitting over their style of music. Still, what's strong here is strong, but if they had made this a short 5-song EP or something it would have worked better. Weird mix of an album, that's for sure.

Song Rating Average: 7.13/10

I think in this case I'd round down to a 6.7/10. It's too weird of a mix to justify it getting into the 7s territory. A bit of an improvement on Sad Wings of Destiny, but still proof that the band needed to find their sound. I'm worried to know what the comments are gonna be for this one...

1. "Diamonds and Rust" - 10/10
2. "Starbreaker" - 10/10

3. "Sinner" - 9/10
4. "Dissident Aggressor" - 9/10

5. "Here Come The Tears" - 8/10

6. "Raw Deal" - 5/10
7. "Last Rose of Summer" - 5/10

8. "Let Us Prey / Call For The Priest" - 1/10
 
IMO Number of the Beast and Fear of the Dark.

Some people might scoff at comparing Painkiller to FOTD, but I also rate FOTD very high.
 
So what's "Electric Eye" then? And what are the Priest equivalents to "Rime", "The Apparition", and "Phantom of the Opera"?
 
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