I was inspired by this thread to throw together a new comp (culled from Hero Hero) Judas Priest 'Never Satisfied' Prelude/Tyrant Never Satisfied Dreamer Deceiver/Deceiver One For The Road Victim of Changes Winter/Deep Freeze Cheater Diamonds & Rust Run of the Mill
Stained Class Stained Class - Wikipedia Exciter A tough sounding drum intro and then a riff that borders on boogie a little only to be followed by a down fisted proto speed metal riff in G. The guys move away from their previous sticking to the guitar friendly keys of E and A once again. The chorus shifts up a step to A for the chorus….another move away from the blues-based changes into more modal territory that will serve as a template for a lot of Heavy Metal to come. Th guitar break goes up another step to B and Tipton cranks out a beauty of a solo with nary a hint of the blues. At 2:00 a great transition section that rises out. The verse and chorus return and then at 3:37 a killer theme enters in harmony guitars. A bridge follows and the transition heard earlier brings the song back to the verse. At 4:50 the chorus is reset into the verse riff and brings the song to a close in wild fashion. Great song writing and stunning musicianship. A favorite of mine. White Heat, Red Hot A great riff with a little blues swagger opens the song based around the key of B…..another departure for the band to experiment with different keys. Broadened the bands sound. The chorus at 1:16 is a fine one with great exclamatory vocals from Rob. Tough sounding transition follows that leads to another great solo. The verse returns and the chorus follows. At 3:12 the song shifts to a nasty theme in A and codas the song to its end. Better by You, Better than Me A great cover of the boogiefied Spooky Tooth song that got the band into court with a lot of finger pointing at the genre. Stained Class Opens with a heavy open E string laden riff that gallops along and takes no prisoners. The verse goes to F sharp for more experimenting with modal metal madness. In the chorus at 1:15 you can hear the genesis of a trait of their music……the minor 6th chord in this case the C chord. Another venture into modality…a defining trait of Heavy Metal. At 2:34 lots of fake out key changes leads back to the verse. At 3:33 I think it is KK on the solo and it is another face burner. The verse and chorus return with the long transition section following that brings the song to a wild effects laden ending…like a machine Invader Kicks off with a heavily effected guitar…..maybe an envelope filter? The main riff enters, and it is OK..not outstanding. A legato laden riff in A…..the chorus is OK as well. A bridge enters that gives the song a by the numbers sound. Still, some kicking playing and the guitar solo by KK reminds me of Schenker. The verse returns. The chorus gets repeated bringing the song to an end. Meh. Saints in Hell A pulsing E riff blows the doors off this one. The turnaround goes to A so yeah a little smear of the blues but still heavy as hell. At 2:04 a little drum intro leads to an effects laden interlude that sounds like a march to heavy metal heaven….no hell. A bridge follows and Halford really cuts loose on the held notes. The verse returns and gets changed up into chorus fashion with some long-held notes by Rob that tail off with a wicked descension closing the song. Some amazing vocal control by the Metal God. Savage A Halford “one for the books” vocalization opens this one with a decent riff in tow. The chorus is OK as well. Pretty standard though. A relative of Maiden’s Run to The Hills subject wise. I think it is KK on the solo and then Glenn. Both nail the solos of course. Other than that, another meh for me. Beyond the Realms of Death Everyone is ready for accolades regarding this sing but not from me. Starts with a cliché’ minor chord riff with a descending bass voice a la many songs that preceded it. The chorus gets loud with a riff that sounds like it was lifted from Bad Company. I will not keep beating up on it, but I will say that Glenn’s solo is an absolute stunner and so is KK’s. The break section is a heavy treatment of the intro a la Babe from Zeppelin. I know everyone loves this song but to me it sounds too derivative. Played well and Rob and the guitars lift it from being a dud for me. Rob’s lyrics are great as well. Most of the music is totally unoriginal though IMO. I would never list the song as one of their best. Heroes End A Deep Purple like opening and Deep Purple like riff follows. Still Rob sounds great. The chorus goes to E and is fairly good but once again we have the old A-E or E-A sequence in the riffage. Glenn gets off a fine little solo. The bridge is pretty heavy though with a twisty riff that has some fine picking . The song ends with a fine guitar solo from KK…I think. A fine album. Plenty of stuff to keep your interest up. Another album from them that helps to define the genre of heavy metal. I do not think it is a 10/10 though.
Stained Class I just played my Dutch LP through. In short, I think it's the perfect heavy metal album, and if 1980's metal is a genre, this is where it starts. The variety covers every style from hard boogie to almost speed metal. I prefer not to split this one into individual songs but think of it as one brilliant roller coaster ride. Les Binks was the best ever drummer for the band with his lively and tasty style. The album sounds upbeat and uplifting rather than dark and gloomy, with a sound that's plenty hard enough but devoid of any wall-of-sound heaviness. The mix is a little funny at parts, at least on my vinyl pressing either the lead guitar or the vocals are occasionally WAY up front, like during the Exciter solo.
I think Stained Class is a grower...it's not immediately accessible and that is fine as the more you listen the more is revealed, both in songs and craft. Certainly Exciter, Better By You Better Than Me and the title track are keepers. But I am stunned by @Rose River Bear's assessment of Beyond The Realms of Death...which along with Victim of Changes are JP's epics. I'm curious what you think came before this that uses the formula?
Count me amongst the lovers of Beyond etc. I think its awesome. Something else to note to my ears is the guitar tones on this album. Metal without being heavy/doomy. Very clear/cutting sound, both leads and the chords. I dig it..
Rocka Rolla is definitely one of my favourite Priest albums. Even though it's not the kind of stuff you think about when you think Judas Priest, most of it is robust material. One For The Road is a highlight, of course, but Run Of The Mill, Cheater and Never Satisfied all rank highly as well. What always gets me about this record is the sound. You can hear everything so clearly, it always sucks me in and makes me pay attention, and the intertwining riffs of Tipton and Downing work beautifully. Another feeling I get when I listen to it is that the band seems to be playing in an over-calculated way, there is never a time when I feel that they're letting it all out, it's as if they're walking on eggshells. However, I find that's part of this album's charm. It was really cool that the band resurrected Never Satisfied for their Epitaph tour, a real treat for the hardcore.
It's definitely a grower. There aren't many instant earworms. I think it works best when listened to as an entirety rather than a collection of songs.
STAINED CLASS: This album was the game changer in terms of Priest finding their sound. Image-wise they were one step closer as they began slowly adding some leather here and there (Halford was still in his David Bowie phase), but sound-wise, they took it several steps forward into something much heavier, faster, and louder...and they never looked back. I rank it in their top 3.
This album was my introduction to Judas Priest, and when I first heard Ripper, Dreamer Deceiver, Victim Of Changes, Tyrant, etc., I was hooked. Rocka Rolla followed soon after and I fell in love with it too. Sad Wings Of Destiny sounds a lot like the first one, but only production wise, as the quality of the songwriting has really stepped up a few notches. These tracks are more unashamedly "heavy" than those on Rocka Rolla and the band seems to be more focused, the songs having a more defined identity to them. Almost every track is a winner, making for a consistently very good album. The Ripper is a killer, packing so much into its short 3 minutes, and it's a strong personal favourite of mine with all the drama that those twin guitars and Halford's schizophrenic delivery bring. Other favourites are Tyrant and Dreamer Deceiver, the latter a joy to listen to - I especially love the song's end section, the more up-tempo and hard-rocking Deceiver, with young Halford reminding me of Ian Gillan. Victim Of Changes takes the cake, though - a serious tour de force with plenty of punch, and one which basically displays everything that was great about this era of Judas Priest. The aforementioned songs are the stand-outs, but Island Of Domination, the Queen-ish Epitaph and especially Genocide are nothing to sneeze at either. A really good album, worthy of the 'classic' tag, and a must in the collection of any serious fan of all things hard and heavy.
I have to admit this has never been a huge favorite for me. I like Exciter, Better By You, and Beyond the Realms of Death, but not much else. I guess it deserves a re-listen for me. I listen to Rocka Rolla more than I listed to Stained Class.
Stained Class - the 1st album with the new wave, now iconic, JP logo, and 1st cover by Roslaw Szaybo who also did the next 3 covers. "Exciter" - Fast drum opening from Les Binks into a furious tempo that never lets up. The hardest and fastest song on the album, this song has the same structure as "Call For The Priest" from their previous album. It lays the foundation for "Screaming For Vengeance". "Who is this man? Where is he from?" A great song. "White Heat, Red Hot" - Nice guitar opening riff. Another fast tempo song. Nice fast guitar solo. Solid bass work from Ian. Rob sounds great! "Better By You, Better Than Me" - Cover of Spooky Tooth song played the way I'm sure they wished they had played it. Rob sounds great. Great cover version. "Stained Class" - Great lyrics. Rob is angry and it comes through clear. "Invader" - The weakest song on the album, but still classic. "Saints In Hell" - Boy I love this song. No sugarcoating from Rob. Rob has something to say and you are going to hear it! "Wake the dead. The saints are in hell. Wake the dead. they come for the bell!" The emotion from Rob is palpable. Glen and KK are in total sync. One of the greatest JP songs ever! "Savage" - Another song condemning society's Janus faced ways. The song opens with Rob screaming at the top of his lungs. And he has reason to be screaming! "Who gives you the right to come here and tell me I have to leave this place my home?" "Beyond The Realms Of Death" - A song by Les Binks and Rob. A nice haunting guitar intro leads to some of Rob's finest singing to be heard on vinyl. The song builds up steam and strength. A song of despair and loneliness that Rob pours his heart out singing. A song about inner turmoil and the inability to solve the problem due to society's rigidness. "Yeah, I've left the world behind. I'm safe here in my mind. I'm free to speak with my own kind. This is my life, this is my life. I'll decide not you!" One of the best JP songs. "Heroes End" - I love this song. Some great singing from Rob, from guttural lows to high-pitched wails. A song about Janis, Jimi, and James. Great guitar solos. A great chugging Sabbath-like song. One of my Favorites. Overall, A GREAT, CLASSIC album! Yes, it is dark and depressing, but it continues in the vein of the previous 3 albums. The album production and sound is so much better and cleaner than the previous albums. As mentioned, the band started out the tour in satin, but by the end of '78. it was leather and spikes.
Please be critical. I guess if it sounds too close to something the influencing band did, I mean it in a bad way. In this case, it was taking a good sound a making it their own. HBFL up tomorrow.
Stained Class was always a top 3 favorite, but in the past 10 years it has become my favorite JP album. Fully conceived metal that is hard and heavy but thoughtful and well played. An exciting album that holds up well, sounds at least 5 years ahead of it's time. Hard rockers and ballads without the pandering to teens on later tracks like 'you don't have to be old to be wise' and 'parental guidance'. Rob's vocals at their peak. Exciter blew me away 35 years ago and still does, every time I hear it. Better by You is their best 'cover' song, works on every level. Beyond the Realm of Death probably their most thought provoking song, really rewards repeat listening to the music and lyrics. An album that works from beginning to end, no groaners or songs you wish you could skip past. The only JP album that comes close to me is Screaming for Vengeance.
Stained Class is one of the most influential and game changing albums of all time - pretty much the entire thrash/speed metal scene of the 80s can be traced back to it. Beyond The Realms Of Death IS Priest's greatest song with one of the best guitar solos of all time in it. I will link to a review I wrote of the album to mark its 40th anniversary a couple of years ago as this says it all in more detail: Stained Class - Review by Cosmic_Equilibrium - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives
Regarding Sin After Sin, it's a good album albeit slightly uneven, but Dissident Aggressor is so far ahead of the game it's unreal. For 1977 that song sounds like it's from another planet - the structure and guitar approach seem to be coming from decades ahead.
Killing Machine/Hell Bent for Leather Delivering the Goods Opens with a cool stuttering blues bend and guitar toggle switch stutter that sounds industrial. A fine E string riff with bluesy chord fragments follows. Ooops……the verse goes to A and then to B…….blues but that is OK since it is a kick **** HM rhythm. The chorus at 1:41 has that Black Sabbath “stab” and it is now a Priest trademark. A key change for the guitar solo and it is a great one from GT. KK hammers the rhythm home underneath. A transition gets us to some killer power chording and then a bridge returns full force with a nasty triplet laden riff. The verse returns and then shifts back and forth quicker between E and A…cool resetting of the verse. The chorus makes it way back and the song ends with a light em’ up drum solo. Oh yeah. Is it rock or is it metal? Rock Forever A chewy boogie riff in A starts it off and the verse shifts to D. A quick chorus and then back to the verse after a transition. I like Rob’s vocal attitude on this. The bridge at 1:45 takes on some chorus qualities as well. Goes up up up in key. The guys solo in tandem…I think. Anyway, the verse returns and ramps down a little for some space. The chorus follows and then a repeating riff brings the song to a close. And you thought priest could not boogie. Boogie yes but more the kind where your fist pounds down instead of up. Reminds me of Boston though but that is not a bad thing IMO. Evening Star A somber D minor riff opens it up ballad style. At :54 a heavy version of the intro enters and lo and behold we learn the intro chords are used for the chorus. Tricky stuff. The verse follows and then the chorus comes in tow. The guitar solos are another set of face melters. An interlude follows with yelping guitars. Rob enters at a bridge and the chiming guitars carry the song until the chorus returns wham bam. A key change in the chorus but not the corny kind. This one is cool. Great song. Well….. not great but I like it. Hell Bent for Leather A series of rising power chords says get out of the way but takes its time. The verse riff goes to A and is a scorcher. The rise pre chorus is quick and not pretty with the chorus following that is not pretty as well but, that suits me. Those quick triplets in the chorus turnaround take a picking hand like a trip hammer. A bridge at 1:25 leads to a Tipton finger tapped affair with KK following with his trademark fast pull-offs. A transition leads to the chorus and Rob sounds well…..like a Metal God. Some crashing cymbals end the song with Rob scorching the earth. A JP classic. Take on the World A fine rousing song that gets the crowd stoked with a chorus meant to be sung by everyone. Simple enough that anyone can sing it. That is what it is supposed to do, and it works. Even has a gong to end it. Can it get any better? States the band’s intentions. Burnin’ Up A droney E wave of sound starts it off and the verse reminds me of Hendrix a little. Rob is laid back. The chorus is laid back as well and does not attract attention to itself. The verse follows and the chorus leads to a Halford vocal workout. An interlude follows with feeding back guitars. Rob re enters the fray with the bridge and he stays tamed down. A break follows with some great riffage and guitar from KK. The verse returns and Rob gets more emphatic. The chorus follows and the outro is a quick ending one with a killer power chord to stop it. The Green Manalsihi Fleetwood Mac song done with sinister guitars. The guys make it their own IMO with metal attitude and force and a quicker pace. The guitar solos are off the charts. When the verse returns after the solos, man I get goosebumps. The guitar theme is done just right without too much fanfare but loud as all get out with a tail of feedback that sounds amazing. Ian plays in unison. The drumming in the outro is great. The song ends with an amazing twisty minor mode line that is a variation of the verse transition line that stops on a dime with perfectly placed cymbals. One of my band favorites and that ending is one of my favorite metal/hard rock endings of all time. A metal masterpiece of a cover. Killing Machine An F# boogie blues like riff opens this tune and a blues like set of chords follows. Sounds like a twelve bar but I need to count it out. A softened turnaround though so not a true-blue blues. Regardless the blues is there in the structure but not in the sound. The chorus is heavy and quick. The bridge is a fine one with a break for a KK solo that is weepy sounding at first. The verse returns and the chorus brings the song to an end. Lyrics about a hit man maybe uses the guitar instead of some other weapon. Running Wild A decent rocker with cool turnarounds. An instrumental chorus. The bridge builds up to a frenzied pace and leaves with grace. The verse returns and the chorus follows with Rob adding some vocals. A nasty scream fades it out. Before the Dawn A minor blues ballad that has a Rob story and a fine melody. Does not sound sappy for me. I know some fans do not like it. Rob stays away from some vocal cliches’ that your ear expects. Mine do at least. A fine solo from one of the guys. Evil Fantasies Sounds like a mix of Zeppelin and Ted Nugent. Not bad considering Rob’s growl. Some cool trademark meter changes that the guys use on just about every album at this point. Another example of their proggy days. The break sounds kind of cliché’ to me but the vocals save it somewhat. Not a bad closer but not a great one for sure. Another step in the band’s development. You can hear the rumblings of making the songs tighter and more accessible sounding…..and for me that is not a bad thing. For some of us, it may be. The prog leanings with long interludes and multiple sections are starting to fade. Same with the lyrics. The lyrics are more direct and harder and fast in their imagery and the music matches it. The cover of Green Manalishi is evidence of what they think sounds great….faster and harder. The songs stay with being built around riffs in the guitar friendly keys of E and A with only a couple of variations. Blues based but the songs start to take on an economical use of modal excursions outside of I-IV-V. The sound of the chugging open strings which will define the Heavy Metal sound come into clearer focus and are delivered without a lot of filigree. Some awesome song writing ideas arise here as well. One being resetting of the music of sections. They will use these ideas later as well. A prog trait that the band was able to incorporate without it being too obvious. The guitar tones start to take on an artistic quality as well.
