This is my favourite song from the Priest family. But the history is a bit more complex. Priest did record it as a demo if I'm not mistaken, which can be found on one of the reissues. What is interesting though, is that the song was actually covered in 1987, before there was any official Priest/Halford version, by Racer X on their album, Second Heat. To this day, nobody knows exactly how Racer X got that song, as both Tipton and Downing deny any involvement or knowledge at the time.
I came across this one night while listening to the album randomly. I never had a high opinion of Racer X and just put it on for completeness' sake without even checking the tracklist... imagine my surprise.
Wow! Are those the lost pop tracks from the Ram It Down era?
Halford reached back to re-record unreleased 80s stuff with Heart of a Lion, but I had no idea Heartless was more of the same.
Well, I hope they do it differently to Rush, by doing a FULL world tour. It was widely acknowledged that it was the final Rush tour, but they did not play the UK, plus lots of other places
Information has been circulating across the internet saying that Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson is to guest on the new Judas Priest album Firepower, on the song "Children Of The Sun"
One source, the Greek online magazine ROCK OVERDOSE posted an article making such claim Is this True? Yet to be confirmed but it would be fantastic after all Rob Halford and Dickinson have been friends for years and were both interested at one time to do a project together along with Geoff Tate called the Three Tremours.
Another unconfirmed source was on the Judas Priest Firepower Wikipedia Page on the song Children of the sun it wrote Bruce Dickinson guest as additional voices, but this mention has been removed from the Wiki site as of right now. Wishful thinking? or PR blunder? We shall see.
You first worked with Judas Priest as an engineer for their classic “Sad Wings of Destiny” – album in 1976. What recollections do you have from those sessions?
It was great fun as I recall. I knew of the band as I used to see them playing around the circuit and there they were in the studio I worked at. There was much tomfoolery at the time and everyone seemed to be having a good time and I think this shines through on the record.
From Sad Wings Of Destiny recording sessions Do you remember anything specific about the recordings of the all-time Priest classic “Victim of Changes?”
K.K.’s solo was the first thing I ever got to record on my own so that remains very special to me. Also doing the vocals, I’ll never forget the last big note that we had to multitrack, it was awesome!
So you knew of the band before you met them at the Sad Wings of Destiny recordings?
I knew of the band as I had seen them play countless times before they came into the studio, but the first time I met them was on those sessions.
How did you feel after the album was finished? Did you find those songs as good and classic as they turned out to be ?
I remember really loving the album, it wasn't till much later that people started to say that they were classics.
From Sad Wings Of Destiny recording sessions You, of course, returned to Priest for 1990’s seminal “Painkiller.” Up to that point they had worked with the same producer for 10 years, and also had a new drummer. Did that put any pressure on you? What kind of approach did you take with the production?
I suppose there is always an amount of pressure on the producer whenever you make a record. But it felt completely natural walking in there with the guys; it was just like we had seen each other the day before and we picked up where we left off. I thought that they had focused the material to be ultra fast and heavy and I dug that for sure. I took the view that the band should perform the songs as if they were playing live and once we captured the drum and bass performance then we would redo the guitars with their final sound. There is only a snare drum sample that I use playing along with the real snare and that is it for any studio trickery. What you hear is what they played so I’m really proud of them for that and it just shows how great they can be, It was recorded on 24 track 2” tape and then transferred to a Sony 48 track digital machine and I think the sound of the tape really made the difference.
“Painkiller” is nowadays regarded as a speed metal classic. From the producer’s standpoint, how do you view the album now?
The album has turned into a metal classic, you would not believe how many fans and musicians have told me that we re-wrote the book on metal recordings. I just recently bumped into Phil Anselmo at this years Download and he was raving on to me how great that album was. So many fans ask me when are you going to make another record with Priest as they can’t get enough of that particular era of their music.
You also co-wrote “A Touch of Evil” for that album. Can you tell us about the origins of that particular song?
Well, the truth is I had made a library record of metal songs for the Bruton library. This is music that people use for films adverts etc and “Touch Of Evil” was one of the songs on it. I was playing it in the control room one morning and Glenn heard it, liked it and wondered if we could adapt it for Priest. So he came up with the chorus and M8, Rob wrote the lyrics and the rest as they say is history.
There was 14 years between “Sad Wings of Destiny” and “Painkiller.” In your opinion, what was the biggest change between those years in terms of how one produces and engineers an album?
By the time we went on to do “Painkiller” recording equipment and guitar amps had gotten far better, we had more tracks at our disposal, higher gain amplifiers, guitars with EMG pickups etc. This makes it a little easier but honestly the techniques I use are all the ones I learnt in my earlier days and what I made up along the way. The only way to make a great record is to have great songs and a great band!
About “Painkiller” and Scott Travis : when you heard that there was a new drummer in the band , how did that affect your approach to the album?
At first when I heard the original demos of guitar and drum machine at Glenn's house I said where the fuck are we going to get a drummer who can play that? I'll never forget Glenn's face when he said that we had one in Scott. And truly he is a one off. It was the correct plan of action as the proof is in the “Painkiller” album.
Were all songs already finished before entering the studio, or were there some adjustments made during the sessions?
No the songs were pretty much written and that’s how it went down! I guess that Rob tweaked his lyrics in the studio a little but that was it...all pretty straight forward.
I've just heard the new song "Lightning Strike", it has some potential but I'm not really drawn to it. That said, I also didn't like the last album "Redeemer of Souls", it sounded generic to me.
I'd also like to ask a question, that maybe seems weird: Do you think Judas Priest should've been... "bigger" today? I don't know how to phrase it exactly, but it seems to me that maybe they should've be in the rang of all other metal acts that are currently headling now (Maiden, Metallica, Sabbath) and somehow they don't look like it.
Mid 2000's it looked to me that they're neck to neck with Maiden, at least considering critics appraisal, tours, fan base, album sales and simmilar. I don't know if they've lost momentum with some of the bad moves or Maiden really hit the jackpot but 10 years later it looks like Maiden is light years in front of them. Same can be said for some other bands that I considered equal in the last decade.
Do you think Judas Priest should've been... "bigger" today? I don't know how to phrase it exactly, but it seems to me that maybe they should've be in the rang of all other metal acts that are currently headling now (Maiden, Metallica, Sabbath) and somehow they don't look like it.
Secondly, and I don't know to what extent the two things are related, Rob Halford's departure left the band at a moment when new bands took their place in terms of popularity (Metallica, GNR, Pantera, RATM). Although Jugulator was an attempt to be musically "relevant" when it was released (1997), it failed to produce a hit AND at the same time make the mainstream audience relate to what they liked from them (nothing remotely close to "You've Got Another Thing Coming" on the album). So basically, they looked as if they belonged to the past, even when Rob came back (the 2005 and 2008 are good albums in their own right but nothing to lure the masses with).
Luckily for them, the nostalgia trend that have been milked for ten to fifteen years by the music industry (JP included e.g the Epitath tour) has let them retain a "big" status - they are festival headliners- but I think they missed the opportunity to become "huge" (as in "my mother-in-law has heard about them and bought the best-of") when they rush released Ram It Down (1988), which was made mostly of Turbo leftovers.
If you compare the boxscore results of recent North American tours, Maiden are light years ahead of them.
On a side note, Redeemer of Souls debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200 chart, with over 32,000 copies sold. Iron Maiden sold over 74,000 albums to debut at #4 on the Billboard 200 chart.
The other bands work harder than Priest. The current Maiden has toured almost non stop since 1999 and every US tour is bigger than the last. They had a singer with throat cancer and even that only managed to knock them out for a year before it was back to the regular touring routine. Each Maiden tour has a new stage show and the setlist is going to focus on a different album or era. From what I can tell, Priet have been putting on the same show for awhile now and don't tour as frequently.
Aditionally, especially with the Internet, it's important for a band to remain on the public consciousness as much as possible. Priest hasn't really figured this out yet. After they finish a tour they disappear for a long time and keep quiet (they just recently reissued a bunch of albums on vinyl to little fanfare, compare that to Maiden releasing their lesser known albums on vinyl last year). If Maiden aren't touring or releasing an album, there's new books, DVDs, beer, or other merchandise to keep attention on them. Since the announcement of TBOS, I can't think of a significant period of time where nothing was going on in the Maiden camp.
@Black Bart
What's the deal with Judas Priest now in the US? I know they made it big in the US in the '80 and the reason why I'm asking I see a lot of similarity between Maiden and Judas (concidering their small decline in the 90's, singer replacement and then reunion in the '00's). I aware of the trial but I don't think it hurt them in a way where they instantly declined. It did probably dented some album and ticket sales but not that much.
You said that they're still headliners and that is the main reason I'm asking. I've noticed on past few tours and (especially the last one!) that they don't headline at festivals and that was the main reason why I'm asking. That part, IMO, is the managemant's fault.
@Mosh
I think what you wrote has a lot to do with it. Not only the public conciousness, but also the touring part. Points well made. Considering album sales, they can measure some sort of success for the album and the band but I think that criteria is slowly losing on its importance, each coming year. Also, considering reissues, I've only noticed that they've release 30th anoversary of "Turbo" and my first thought was "Surely, they have better albums than Turbo!" I don't think that album went well with the fans and critics.
I think they missed the train to huge at the end of last decade. I know some of you here like Nostradamus, but to me it was a fiasco. Some of my friends that adore them said it was boring and unlistenable. I gave it a couple of spins, but except opening track, nothing else was sticking out. Even on a tour that promoted Nostradamus, AFAIK, they only played 2 songs (saw them in '08) which also speaks for itself. Next step was departure of K.K. Downing and although I heard great things about Richie, and the whole Epitaph tour seemed kind of scaled down, don't know how to explain it differently. I would like to see them this summer at some of the festivals, but seeing they didn't get the headliner slot kinda belittles the experience.
What's the deal with Judas Priest now in the US? I know they made it big in the US in the '80 and the reason why I'm asking I see a lot of similarity between Maiden and Judas (concidering their small decline in the 90's, singer replacement and then reunion in the '00's). I aware of the trial but I don't think it hurt them in a way where they instantly declined. It did probably dented some album and ticket sales but not that much.
You said that they're still headliners and that is the main reason I'm asking. I've noticed on past few tours and (especially the last one!) that they don't headline at festivals and that was the main reason why I'm asking. That part, IMO, is the managemant's fault.
As far as I can see it, their success in the 80s was a result of becoming somewhat mainstream in the US. When something like that happens, unless you remain in the mainstream, it does become not sustainable.
Since the return of Rob Halford, Judas Priest has been touring the US mostly with nostalgia packages, which tend to attract an older audience, whilst at the same time failing to enthuse the younger generations, unlike Maiden.
Here in the UK they are playing the same venues, albeit fewer dates, they were playing back in 1981! Let's hope they come to Guildford next time they do a full UK tour so I can see them again. We have a nice venue for them (capacity of 1,700).
I think they missed the train to huge at the end of last decade. I know some of you here like Nostradamus, but to me it was a fiasco. Some of my friends that adore them said it was boring and unlistenable. I gave it a couple of spins, but except opening track, nothing else was sticking out. Even on a tour that promoted Nostradamus, AFAIK, they only played 2 songs (saw them in '08) which also speaks for itself. Next step was departure of K.K. Downing and although I heard great things about Richie, and the whole Epitaph tour seemed kind of scaled down, don't know how to explain it differently. I would like to see them this summer at some of the festivals, but seeing they didn't get the headliner slot kinda belittles the experience.
I would say Nostradamus is the point where Maiden and Priest split, prior to that they seemed to be on a similar trajectory. I remember until the Epitaph tour, Priest generally played the same venues or same sized venues as Maiden here in Denver. When I saw Priest in Vegas, it was at a mid size club off strip. Maiden in Vegas was at the arena in Mandalay Bay. There was just a point where modern Priest stopped growing in popularity.
The success of Somewhere Back In Time really can’t be understated. I don’t think current Priest has had a tour even close to that magnitude or success and Maiden are still growing beyond that.
I would say Nostradamus is the point where Maiden and Priest split, prior to that they seemed to be on a similar trajectory. I remember until the Epitaph tour, Priest generally played the same venues or same sized venues as Maiden here in Denver. When I saw Priest in Vegas, it was at a mid size club off strip. Maiden in Vegas was at the arena in Mandalay Bay. There was just a point where modern Priest stopped growing in popularity.
The success of Somewhere Back In Time really can’t be understated. I don’t think current Priest has had a tour even close to that magnitude or success and Maiden are still growing beyond that.
From Totty668 (Iron Maiden Fan Club member), some stats about recent Maiden North American tours:
Totty668 at the Iron Maiden Fan Club Forum said:
Somewhere Back in Time 2008:
Capacity: 345.684
Total attendance: 270.136
Average attendance: 12.579
Number of shows: 22
Number of sellouts: 8
Total gross: 13.880.877
Average gross: 630.948 The Final Frontier Tour 2010 - 2011:
Capacity: 433.127
Total attendance: 294.140
Average attendance: 11.765
Number of shows: 25
Number of sellouts: 5
Total gross: 15.617.292
Average gross: 624.691 Maiden England 2012 -2013:
Capacity: 621.877
Total attendance: 403.513
Average attendance: 10.797
Number of shows: 37
Number of sellouts: 4
Total gross: 21.786.471
Average gross: 588.823 The Book of Souls Tour 2016 - 2017:
Capacity: 578.326
Total attendance: 506.563
Average attendance: 13.330
Number of shows: 38
Number of sellouts: 21
Total gross: 35.132.345
Average gross: 930.249
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