Lot of people love this thing, but it's really kind of eh compared to the Judas Priest of 10 years earlier. Great playing by Glenn, KK, and Scott Travis, but Rob kind of drags it down with his bleh singing and horribly cheesy (even by JP standards) lyrics.
Nice generic contrarian talking points. Fact is that is the best metal album ever made and there is nothing you can do about it.
>>65984880
Dude, this so much. My friends are faggots for this kinda crap.
>>65984880
Crosby, Stills, and Nash [Atlantic, 1969]
Rated by request, I've written elsewhere that this record is perfect, although that is not necessarily a compliment. Only Crosby's vocals on "Long Time Gone" save it from a special castrati award. Pray for Neil Young. B+
CSN [Atlantic, 1977]
Wait a second, wasn't this a quartet? D+
American Dream [Atlantic, 1988]
Take this record for what it pretends to be and to some extent is--four diehard hippies expressing themselves. Poor old guys can't leave politics alone--there's more ecology and militarism on here than when they were princes of pop rebellion. Not that that's any reason to pay Graham's ditties any mind or that Stephen's steady state egotism isn't reinforced by stray references to judges and the media. On the other hand, David Crosby's cocaine confessional makes "Almost Cut My Hair" seem self-abnegating and Neil Young adds musical muscle and gains commercial muscle back. So not as bad as you'd think, nor worth giving a second thought. B-
Looking Forward [Reprise, 1999]
Right, like you didn't already know. Although I pray Y will render the title tune hopeful instead of smug, I know in the back of my head that I'll hear N harmonizing insipidly behind him. And when S explains how when he was young, old people were wrong and now that he's old, young people are wrong and dissing overfed talking heads while ignoring overfed exhead C next to him, part of me hopes some computer nerd with more brains than sense joins the arms race just to get even. C+
I guess Painkiller is more popular with metal fans born after 1980 since it doesn't sound as old fashioned as, like, British Steel.
>>65984815
it's an alright album with some solid tracks but what takes it for the hump of mediocracy, for most, is the fact that this was their comeback album and so people give it more weight, especially since it came out in the 90's… very few bands were making commercial heavy metal profitable.
I only like the title track from that album
but i reeeeeeeally like it
>>65985651
1990 was at the very start of the decade though when everything was basically 80s leftovers. If anything, Painkiller and RIP closed out the 80s rather than began the 90s.
>>65985793
true. i said that with hindsight.
I agree the lyrics on PK were really freaking bad considering this was the same band that once wrote Beyond The Realms of Death.
Glenn Tipton liked to say that "Sad Wings was our Sgt. Pepper and BTROD was our Stairway To Heaven".
BORING
>>65986286
nah
>>65986113
Priest were still experimenting a big and "finding" themselves on the first three albums. By Stained Class, they pretty much realized that you wanted to hear headbanging riffs, not Last Rose of Summer or Epitaph. The punk movement was probably also a motivator for them to play harder music.
Stained Class is also their only or just about their only album with no filler and with the possible exception of tracks 1 and 5, they were also capable of some quite good lyrics at that time.
Aside from track 1, SC is mostly _not_ a fast album either, the main excess on here is Rob's kind of over the top vocals which he thankfully eased up on the next album.
>>65986460
These were both on the same fucking album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqDU-j9Q4nM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gjsn7aLPgCM
>>65986286
anything but
Is this a troll thread or are you all just plebs?
>>65986460
This is kind of important because metal did get a lot cheesier after 1985 compared to the first generation bands like Sabbath, Priest, and Maiden who could write some intelligent lyrics (also the thrash bands for that matter). Admittedly, JP themselves did play a big part in cheesifying metal.
>>65986113
As for SWOD, well, this is the album the band considers their "official" start and almost all the 80s metal guys listed it as one of their main influences--Dave Mustaine said the reason he decided to play metal is because his brother-in-law punched him in the face for listening to SWOD.
The overall sound is pretty dated, though I think Sin After Sin is worse, and a lot of 70s cliches are evident on here such as prog-style "epic" song structures. Dreamer Deceiver is also another post-hippie song along the lines of Won't Get Fooled Again, but does also feature one of Glenn's best and prettiest solos. Victim of Changes is definitely the crown jewel of this album with nonstop headbanging guitars throughout (also perhaps Rob's best vocals ever). One can hear various elements of Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Queen all over the album.
>>65984815
Thank you. I got torn apart for saying I dont like Painkiller in a metal general. 70s Priest is the only GREAT Priest. 80s was mostly okay, but 90s was garbage.
>>65986460
i love robs vocals, when i was 16 i was absolutely obsessed with him and spent hours a day learning to scream like that
>>65987034
>80s was mostly okay
I like Vengeance and Point of Entry, not nuts on British Steel. Turbo is cheesy af but has some Mt. Everest-sized melodies/hooks on it and it does capture the essence of the 1980s like nothing else. Ram It Down is just meh.
The Ripper Owens albums can just be safely ignored except for the guitar goodies on Bullet Train and Cathedral Spires.
>>65987107
Pretty much this, except I would still say British Steel was their best 80s effort.
>>65987136
I really don't like Breaking The Law. I dunno why, it just annoys me somehow.
Sin After Sin
Again, we still see Priest finding themselves and there's a lot of dated 70s exercises on here. Sinner opens the album with a monster--fast, driving speed metal throughout, although the studio version pales in comparison to the many fantastic live renditions of the song.
And then we have Diamonds & Rust, a Joan Baez cover with a disco beat apparently included for radio play. To me, this song falls short and I find it uninteresting.
Starbreaker...oh god, this is so dated and cheesy it's unbelievable, but I love it. If you ever needed a song that captures the late 70s and is not made by the Bee Gees, this is it.
Then comes one of the two power ballads, Last Rose of Summer which is kind of a letdown. It builds momentum and then fails to go anywhere with it, ending with a whimper.
Then we have Side 2 opening with a pair of gay rights anthems by Rob, the speed metal Call For The Priest and the slow, dirgy blues rocker Raw Deal.
The second power ballad, Here Comes The Tears, does what Last Rose could not, which was build up to a thundering climax.
And finally the closer, Dissident Aggressor which sacrifices speed for a simple, but bludgeoning Tipton riff and some demonically-possessed KK Downing solos.
If anything, the faster numbers on here are what killed Sabbath and Zeppelin as far as the heavy rock audience was concerned not in the least because both bands were about tapped out by 1977.
>>65987107
>>65987136
Their best 80s stuff is easily the first half of Defenders of the Faith.
Killing Machine aka Hell Bent For Leather since apparently the original title was judged too violent and US retailers wouldn't stock the album.
On this album, Priest start to go more commercial, more hard rock, and dispense with the fantasy lyrics of albums 2-4. Also for the first time they get a well-produced, loud, crisp album that doesn't sound like it was recorded on a portable cassette player.
Delivering The Goods is a fantastic mid-tempo biker rock tune and really shows off the improved production on this album.
HBFL is also good and more of a fast speed metal number.
Green Manalishi blows away the original Fleetwood Mac song for speed and especially tightness. This track was only on the US release of the album.
Killing Machine is a cheesy, but fun chugga chugga number.
On side 2 opens with Burnin' Up, a gay bondage number that still makes a great, campy sex song even if you're straight.
Then two more rockers, Running Wild and Rock Forever (note that Iron Maiden borrowed the RW intro in Wicker Man).
Before The Dawn is another ballad, but a kind of meh one. Yes, Rob, gay relationships aren't known for commitment and love. You learned that just now?
Evening Star, not bad pop rock number, not amazing either.
Evil Fantasies is another S&M song but a meh one that feels like it was just there to pad the album out with and Rob's Johnny Winter impersonation is almost comical. This song was played live once, during their 1979 Europe tour, and thankfully clean voiced.
Take On The World seems like it was engineered to play on the PA system at a Leeds match and doesn't interest me much. Also nice Queen imitation here.
>>65984815
"Heroes" by David Bowie... I'm sorry I am so sorry. But compared to Low it doesn't feel as impressive.
>>65984889
That's not even a popular opinion you're spouting, so you calling him a contrarian is incorrect. Most people would point to Reign of Blood, Master of Puppets, or Rust in Peace as the best metal album ever made.
On Painkiller you can really notice the deterioration in Rob's voice by 1990. He'd completely lost that clean, bell-like tone he had in the 70s.
>>65988080
>Green Manalishi blows away the original Fleetwood Mac song for speed
It seems to be the same tempo (maybe the original is about two beats slower).
>>65987107
And I haven't listened to enough of DOTF to comment.
>>65988080
This is my favorite Priest album next to SWoD
>>65989165
Seems to have suffered the same wear on the larynx as Bruce Bruce (see FotD).
Folks laud the insane heaviness and speed of Painkiller all day, but fact is Crimson Glory had them beat a few years prior by making the album they should have made after DotF.
>>65988080
Evening Star is such a good fucking song. Catchiest metal song I've ever heard.
>>65989679
Also Liam Gallagher to an extent.
>>65984815
I couldn't disagree more. Halford really gets to show off on this album as well as the Ram It Down. This album and Ram It Down also have the best production of any JP album
>>65989679
Rob still sounds great on Turbo, so the point where he lost it was evidently some point between the two albums (RID doesn't count because its songs were all recorded at the same time as Turbo's).
Gee, IDK because this is from 2015 and Rob still absolutely kills it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiXS-_XJMwE
If anyone's starting to slow down a bit, it's Glenn. You can tell here he's having some difficulty with the solo in Painkiller which is pretty damn fast and difficult to pull off for an almost 70 year old guy.
>>65991146
Some of Glenn's solos are really tough to play. Decades of that and your hands start to suffer for it.
It's kind of sad because when you see their performances in more recent years, you can tell Glenn is in pain when he plays. Must take some superhuman endurance to make it through a set.
>>65991469
No kidding. This solo is damn near impossible. I'd applaud anyone who can play it.
https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/j/judas_priest/painkiller_tab.htm
>>65991640
The guy is almost 70 and he's probably been playing guitar since he was like 14-15.
Gee too bad considering Iommi is about the same age as Tipton and he's playing like a boss on the Sabbath final tour.
>>65992469
Iommi did have hand surgery a few years ago but Priest's songs are generally a lot faster and more technical than Sabbath's I thought?
>>65992851
Yeah I was going to say. I don't think Iommi's ever had to play anything faster than Neon Knights which is about 130 bpm. Most of the classic Sabbath songs (which are the only ones they play live now away) are like 60-70 bpm. Painkiller is up around 170 bpm and the solo is absolutely brutal. Kindly forgive poor Glenn Tipton's hands for not being able to do what they could in 1990.
Damn.
>>65986978
Fuck you, that's one of my favorite metal albums of all time. I personally prefer their older material to the classic stuff, but then again, I'm more into prog than metal.
>>65986460
Come to think of it, did you just copy and paste this from another music reviewer's opinion of the band?
>>65991946
Is the Painkiller solo harder than Eruption? Not a guitarfag so just wondering.
tes t
