JUDAS PRIEST

JUDAS PRIEST

SIN AFTER SIN (1977)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

Although Sad Wings of Destiny wasn't a huge seller, it did land Judas Priest a major-label deal with Columbia, for whom they debuted with the fearlessly experimental Sin After Sin. Retaining the progressive elements of its predecessor, Sin After Sin upped the levels of instrumental technique and melody while incorporating a greater variety of influences. It's possible to hear touches of Jimi Hendrix, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Southern rock, not to mention one of the most effective left-field cover choices in metal history on the Joan Baez tune "Diamonds and Rust" (which became a minor hit in England). As a result, it isn't the most metallic or musically cohesive Priest album, but overall, it's extremely close to the same level of brilliance as most of their '70s output. Every track is worthwhile, although "Sinner" and "Dissident Aggressor" (later covered by Slayer, a real testament to its heaviness) are two particular highlights.

1. Sinner
2. Diamonds and Rust
3. Starbreaker
4. Last Rose of Summer
5. Let Us Prey / Call for the Priest
6. Raw Deal
7. Here Come the Tears
8. Dissident Aggressor
Bonus tracks
9.Race With The Devil (GUN cover)
10.Jawbreaker (Live)

STAINED CLASS (1978)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

An indisputable metal masterpiece, Stained Class is the apex of '70s Judas Priest, a sinister, muscular collection that ties the disparate strands of their style together while jacking the adrenaline rush up to previously undreamed-of levels. Even the lone slow-tempo track, "Beyond the Realms of Death," has an exciting, visceral intensity, and the whole band is at the absolute peak of its powers in terms of technical execution. Lyrically, Stained Class is probably the darkest moment in a career filled with them; the whole second half of the record is positively obsessed with death (although the ridiculous 1989-1990 court case alleging that the album provoked two Nevada teenagers' suicides was instead centered around the Gary Wright/Spooky Tooth cover "Better by You, Better Than Me," in which Rob Halford allegedly embedded the subliminal, backward-recorded message, "Do it"). At any rate, the air of malevolence about Stained Class, and the sheer power of its jackhammer guitar riffs, was unrivaled in heavy metal upon its release (even in Priest's own catalog), stamping the album an instant classic and solidifying Judas Priest's status as arguably the most original and musical metal band of its time. More than any other Priest album, the style of Stained Class also laid the groundwork for the thrash and speed metal that would rise to dominance in the mid- to late '80s, making it a defining moment for the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement and one of the genre's all-time landmarks.

1. Exciter
2. White Heat, Red Hot
3. Better By You, Better Than Me
4. Stained Class
5. Invader
6. Saints in Hell
7. Savage
8. Beyond the Realms of Death
9. Heroes End
Bonus tracks
10. Fire Burns Below
11.Better By You, Better Than Me (live)