Revisiting "Unleashed in the East" by Judas Priest

Mind-blowing!! - At least in my case it was. No other live album has ever had the effect on me that this one had when it first hit the shelves. And I do listen to lots of live albums.
I already had Stained Class & Killing Machine (aka Hell Bent For Leather) beforehand, and had heard a friend's band play Victim of Changes & Starbreaker before I had heard the originals.
I happened to stumble across Unleashed at a local record store on the day it was released. I wasn't aware that it was coming out and was intrigued by the cover. It looked exciting. I bought it right away.
Straight away on first listen, I was so hooked that I played it continually, flipping the vinyl over every time it got to the end of whatever side it was on for many hours on end. Yeah, my parents noticed and said blah blah blah many times to my selective-hearing ears.
I played it practically every day for over a year. It stands as my most played live album ever. And it still blows me away every time I hear it, which isn't very often these days.



What do you think of it?

 

I'm with you great record. The live Sinner leaves me speechless.

 

Excellent live recording, definitely one of my favorites. I was dissapointed it didn't get the 35th Anniversary treatment or whatever that their studio albums have gotten, adding the two B-sides "Beyond the Realms of Death" and "Evil Fantasies" on top of the four tracks on the Japanese bonus EP, preferably resequenced so "Tyrant" closes out the whole thing like in the original 9-track release as well as all their live shows.

Man do I wish "White Heat, Red Hot" was recorded. It was played at those shows but for whatever reason it wasn't recorded. Ran out of tape maybe?

I still like to play the 9-track vinyl I have of it, even though my go-to is the 15 track full version I spliced together from the EP and B-sides. The sound on the vinyl is so raw and in your face, even though the vocals of course were re-done in the studio since the original tapes got damaged or something.

 

This album does need an expanded edition. I have the Priest In The East CD edition which has the same track listing as the remaster but with better mastering.

 

Yeah, you'd think that a fully expanded version may be in the works to be released eventually. I certainly hope so.

 

I have the Japanese original mastering with the EP tracks added as well. As I sold off a tom of my CDs years ago, this was not one I got rid of.

I saw Priest in concert on the Killing Machine tour! It was incredible and sounded just this album but more powerful being real live. I don't think they ever topped this live album or the Hell Bent studio album either.

 

Halford's vocals are totally killer throughout this album - live or not. That and the feedback-driven guitar solo in Sinner, Victim of Changes and at the end of Running Wild.....sensational! You can't possibly go wrong. I'm about to dig it out for some Friday night air-guitaring & beer end-of-working-week relaxation.

 

Where are you reading about vocals redone, and damaged tapes or something?

 

I've seen a couple of interviews with Rob Halford over the years.

 

I thought that was one of the worst-kept secrets ever.

 

In England it was always referred to as Unleashed In The Studio haha. Superb album though. I must have seen Priest live a dozen times in the 70s and 80s. Always a great live band.

 

Was "Beyond the Realms of Death" ever released on CD?

 

Not as far as I know. I have it sourced from the vinyl.

 

The only version of BTROD live on cd is the Cleveland one from the Stained Class tour

 

I read the vocals were re-done because Halford had a cold or something...

Honestly, none of it sounds live to me, but who cares? Every version on this album smokes. I've always loved "Genocide", "Sinner", and "Victim of Changes" the best.

 

Agreed! This album is one of my long time favorites. It was my first Priest album. Still love it to this day. Ironically enough...it was me hearing their cover of Diamonds and Rust on the radio that first got my attention...

 

There is a black legend after this album, saying that it was completely overdubbed (not only the voices but some guitar solos). However it has remained just as a black legend. Nothing confirmed...Perhaps with Halford's voice is most noticeable thing about this. For some critics of the time this album is not a real live recording.

The live version of Victim Of Changes is a gem. A great album.

 

IMO this album has the definitive versions of a lot of their classics. "Exciter", "Green Manalishi", "Diamonds and Rust", "Victim of Changes", "Tyrant" etc. all sound the best on here.

 

Agree with you ! In fact I'm listening now. I would really like Victim Of Changes, Exciter, The Ripper, and Tyrant Genocide. These are in my opinion the final (and my favorite) versions of these songs.

 

I thought that the Cleveland Agora recording was the same Hell Bent tour, I have this live track on clear vinyl UK 12".

 

I saw the midnight show on the 1979 tour in Orlando, and they sounded this great, like a live album would not need much in the way of overdubs, they were killer!

Interesting thing about the show I saw, it's not listed in the list of cities played on the tour. It fell between the cracks so far as internet sources go.

I took two rolls of super 8 film, and two rolls of 35mm stills from the front row. I got it documented well.

 

I'd love to see that footage and pics

 

Ok, I'll dig some out and post them. It might take a week or so. They have not been taken down and looked at in 30+ years, but the boxes are on the top shelf in my living room closet. I know they are there. And some of them look amazing!

 

The pics and footage have never been shared? Man that's a treasure...

 

No, they haven't ever been shared, or not since 1980.

But some of my other photographs have been seen around a little bit, here is a couple of links where I showed off some (Sabbath, AC/DC, and VH, etc.), but no Priest (yet).

https://www.flickr.com/photos/97540556@N05/

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/my-rock-concert-photography.135033/