What are the most overrrated albums in rock history?

I can see where you're coming from, but wouldn't this mean that the same can be said about Defenders of the Faith? Which very intense for a 1984 record.
 
BludBrutha said:
It’s a parody of a Judas Priest album. Everything turned up to eleven to try to stay relevant.
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Painkiller was by far their heaviest and most aggressive album to date. It terms of heaviness and aggressiveness, none of Iron Maiden albums comes close to Painkiller. I'd easily take Painkiller over three acclaimed Priest albums from the 80's anytime, which sound a bit commercial by comparison. For me Painkiller is the definition of a pure, enormous, unfiltered heavy metal energy.
 
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There is a natural evolution from Turbo -> Ram it Down -> Painkiller. Ram it Down has some of the commercial sounds and sillier lyrics of Turbo (makes sense given they were intended to be a double-album) but is much heavier, and Painkiller is just expanding on that evolution.

The intensity is likely more a response to what was going on around them at the time, not so much trying to stay relevant. The changing musical landscape, Ram it Down being poorly received*, the accusations of subliminal messaging (I always thought that's what "Between the Hammer and the Anvil" was written about, though I think the trial itself was after Painkiller was recorded) and Halford's personal issues would all have weighed on the band and made them want to write a darker, heavier album.

*Depending on whether it was poorly received on release or has just been retrospectively rated badly.
 
It wasn't a fan favorite, but IMO it was the sign of what was to come. If you take a look at the title track or Heavy Metal (Glenn's solo), you'll see that Ram it Down was more or less a sneak peek at their future work. The Mercenaries of Metal tour was by far the most aggressive incarnation of Judas Priest in their golden era. Even some older tracks, such as Sinner and Beyond the Realms of Death sounded much different from their studio versions. I think that the New Haven concert is their best live release. It's raw, and it shows how energetic the 1988 gigs were. Considering all these facts, I think that an album like Painkiller just had to be made. It was the natural direction they were following at the time. And yeah, Painkiller was recorded before the trial; the album's premiere even got delayed for a few months.
 
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