THE Judas Priest thread - v. new album and tour in 2024

[wolfking]

I'll read it; it will be interesting.   I just hope it's not all "mettle" this and "mettle" that.  I hope he can let the persona down for a minute and share.  THAT would be interesting.

I think I've mentioned on here that I once represented Rob and, as a result, I got to spend a bit of time with him.  As a "regular person," he is NOTHING like the METAL GOD persona he adopts on stage.  He's also pretty thoughtful and very intelligent.  I still have the email he sent at the end of the case, and it always makes me smile.  I'm not big into bios and don't do a ton of reading, but I may check this one out.

Woah!  You mean you were his lawyer or something?

[pg1067]

I'll read it; it will be interesting.   I just hope it's not all "mettle" this and "mettle" that.  I hope he can let the persona down for a minute and share.  THAT would be interesting.

I think I've mentioned on here that I once represented Rob and, as a result, I got to spend a bit of time with him.  As a "regular person," he is NOTHING like the METAL GOD persona he adopts on stage.  He's also pretty thoughtful and very intelligent.  I still have the email he sent at the end of the case, and it always makes me smile.  I'm not big into bios and don't do a ton of reading, but I may check this one out.

Woah!  You mean you were his lawyer. . . ?

Exactly.

[TAC]

Bruce's autobiography was very hit and miss for me. There's only so much you can read about the technical specifics on aviation and plane engines before I start skipping some pages.

I couldn’t finish it. It’s not the planes. Bruce just comes off as so proud of himself, it was quite a bit much.

I had the same reaction to it.  I'd heard things about his alleged massive ego, but the book really put it into perspective.  Dude has a very, very high opinion of himself.  I usually keep books even books I don't necessarily like that much, because I like to collect stuff, but I actually used this book to start fires in our wood stove one winter.  It was great for lighting fires.   

I heard there's a second edition coming out with a missing final chapter where he takes credit for lighting fires.

[wolfking]

I'll read it; it will be interesting.   I just hope it's not all "mettle" this and "mettle" that.  I hope he can let the persona down for a minute and share.  THAT would be interesting.

I think I've mentioned on here that I once represented Rob and, as a result, I got to spend a bit of time with him.  As a "regular person," he is NOTHING like the METAL GOD persona he adopts on stage.  He's also pretty thoughtful and very intelligent.  I still have the email he sent at the end of the case, and it always makes me smile.  I'm not big into bios and don't do a ton of reading, but I may check this one out.

Woah!  You mean you were his lawyer. . . ?

Exactly.

 

[pg1067]

I'll read it; it will be interesting.   I just hope it's not all "mettle" this and "mettle" that.  I hope he can let the persona down for a minute and share.  THAT would be interesting.

I think I've mentioned on here that I once represented Rob and, as a result, I got to spend a bit of time with him.  As a "regular person," he is NOTHING like the METAL GOD persona he adopts on stage.  He's also pretty thoughtful and very intelligent.  I still have the email he sent at the end of the case, and it always makes me smile.  I'm not big into bios and don't do a ton of reading, but I may check this one out.

Woah!  You mean you were his lawyer. . . ?

Exactly.

 

Found it!

[TAC]

Wow, that's awesome!

[wolfking]

Wow, that's awesome!

Absolutely.  That's celebrity status here mate. 

What you said makes sense though.  He does come across as a really nice, gentle guy in interviews.

[EPICVIEW]

awesome PG  Ive met Rob a few times along my path   .. hes a great person

Ive started to see parts of the book discussed in the NY Post yesterday... very candid for sure

ah ,,, found it   NSFW ADULT CONTENT

https://nypost.com/2020/09/28/judas-priests-rob-halford-on-public-sex-arrest-ive-f-ked-up/

[Grappler]

Did anybody else catch this blurb yesterday?  Sebastian Bach gets offended by a gay joke about Rob Halford that an interviewer/comedian made and shuts down the interview.  The interviewer retells the story to Rob Halford and his response to the situation was absolutely perfect and hilarious.

Kudos to Sebastian for taking that kind of a stand when he disliked the question, and even more kudos to Rob to laughing about it all and dropping the mic with that line. 

http://bravewords.com/news/rob-halford-reacts-to-comedian-s-joke-that-offended-sebastian-bach-i-don-t-gargle-i-swallow-video

[ozzy554]

awesome PG  Ive met Rob a few times along my path   .. hes a great person

Ive started to see parts of the book discussed in the NY Post yesterday... very candid for sure

ah ,,, found it   NSFW ADULT CONTENT

https://nypost.com/2020/09/28/judas-priests-rob-halford-on-public-sex-arrest-ive-f-ked-up/

That's a good way to describe a large portion of the book. I loved it and recommend to any fans of the band but man he does not hold back on the details.

[gazinwales]

Got the book yesterday and already 100 pages in, it's a pretty good read so far.
Some things might be considered a little too in depth, but it's a warts and all story of the great man.

Also picked up Ram It Down, haven't heard this in many years, it's one of those albums that I remembered to be a lot better.
Firepower has stepped up another level, been playing it quite a lot recently.

[ProfessorPeart]

Not sure if this was common knowledge or what. It was new to me to read this.

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/don-airey-judas-priest-painkiller/

After 30 years, Don Airey has confirmed that he, and not Ian Hill, contributed the majority of the bass lines on Judas Priest's 1990 album Painkiller via Moog bass synthesizer.

The veteran keyboardist, who's been in Deep Purple since 2002, admitted his role in an interview with Antihero. "[Judas Priest drummer] Scott Travis has spilled the beans about it that all the bass parts are me playing on the mini," he said. "It’s Moog bass on the whole album, that was Ian Hill’s bass mixed in as well on parts. But at the time Ian wasn’t very well. So, he wasn’t at the sessions. So, I got made to do all the bass and they kept it."

"I mean, it was a funny old job," Airey continued. "I only got to play proper keyboards on one track, I can’t remember what the track is. I just read about it yesterday that they’d actually said, I’ve never said a word about it before. I mean, it was an exciting album to do. They’re wonderful people to be around."

Painkiller followed a period where Judas Priest looked to modernize their sound with guitar synthesizers on Turbo and Ram It Down. Both records were polarizing, and the thrash-influenced Painkiller was welcomed as a return to form.

Airey was credited for playing keyboards on the song "A Touch of Evil," but not acknowledged in the liner notes for his bass contributions. "They were so worried about it, they didn’t even give me a credit I don’t think, on the album. They paid me, which is always the point. ... It’s a wonderful album, Painkiller."

[wolfking]

Huh, I did not know that.

[Zydar]

Me neither. I wonder what was up with Ian at the time.

[gazinwales]

Nothing in Halford's book about this.

[wolfking]

Nothing in Halford's book about this.

It does sound a bit strange, doesn't it?

[MirrorMask]

Either it's been so long that he simply forgot (and anyway he's the singer, he does his parts last, he didn't need to be there for every single bass session... not that he was unaware of it, but maybe he wasn't there every day and night like the producer instead), or he didn't want to tell it unless someone would come out about it.

[ozzy554]

Nothing in Halford's book about this.

Well he doesn't really go into the personal lives of others that much in the book. Depending on why Ian couldn't participate he may have cut it out of respect.

[gazinwales]

Maybe not, but he does mention the drum machine used for the Ram It Down album.

[Grappler]

Just finished Rob's book, and it was definitely the most fun and entertaining heavy metal/music biography that I've read.  I loved that he didn't hold back at all, which made it feel so authentic.  The story of him in a restroom and the other guy wearing head to toe Priest merch was hilarious.   

A great side note is that it inspired me to listen to a TON of Priest, Halford and Fight music, which I really hadn't played for a while.  So I'm falling in love with all of those songs and albums again.

[jjrock88]

 

[gazinwales]

Just finished Rob's book, and it was definitely the most fun and entertaining heavy metal/music biography that I've read.  I loved that he didn't hold back at all, which made it feel so authentic.  The story of him in a restroom and the other guy wearing head to toe Priest merch was hilarious.   

A great side note is that it inspired me to listen to a TON of Priest, Halford and Fight music, which I really hadn't played for a while.  So I'm falling in love with all of those songs and albums again.

Agreed 100% I was literally hanging off every word in the book.
Yes made me appreciate Rob, JP and the music a whole lot, more and it's costing me a bit too.

[wolfking]

 

[EPICVIEW]

JUDAS FOREVER

[Dream Team]

I’ve recently had an epiphany that took me 37 years to arrive at. After decades of having either Maiden or Metallica ranked as the greatest metal band, I’ve concluded that after listening to their discography pretty much daily for the past 6 months - Judas Priest is the greatest metal band of all time, ahead of Metallica, Maiden, and Sabbath.

That trio of Halford, Tipton, and Downing is easily the greatest trio in metal history. Maiden checks all the boxes except the heaviness; their riffs are seldom very crunchy. Metallica doesn’t have the quantity or vocals to compete, though their peak is equal to Priest’s. Sabbath is a different animal, a lot of quantity but as with Hetfield, Ozzy’s vocals can’t compete. First 6 Sabbath albums plus the Dio ones make it a competition but I much prefer the more modern sound that Priest perfected in the late 70s and onward.

[jjrock88]

Whoa 

[wolfking]

Compelling argument indeed.

[Mister Gold]

I’ve recently had an epiphany that took me 37 years to arrive at. After decades of having either Maiden or Metallica ranked as the greatest metal band, I’ve concluded that after listening to their discography pretty much daily for the past 6 months - Judas Priest is the greatest metal band of all time, ahead of Metallica, Maiden, and Sabbath.

That trio of Halford, Tipton, and Downing is easily the greatest trio in metal history. Maiden checks all the boxes except the heaviness; their riffs are seldom very crunchy. Metallica doesn’t have the quantity or vocals to compete, though their peak is equal to Priest’s. Sabbath is a different animal, a lot of quantity but as with Hetfield, Ozzy’s vocals can’t compete. First 6 Sabbath albums plus the Dio ones make it a competition but I much prefer the more modern sound that Priest perfected in the late 70s and onward.

I think you could argue that Maiden is the more consistent band of the lot, but yeah, if we're talking specifically in the context of which band is the best metal band of all time, you probably nailed it on the head with that argument for Judas Priest.

Hell, it's not the least bit a stretch to argue that albums like Sad Wings of Destiny, Stained Class, Defenders of the Faith and Painkiller are 'perfect' embodiments of what is "heavy metal." There's a reason for why people keep listing the title track of Painkiller as the definitive metal song of all time.

[Stadler]

I'm just not on board with that.  It IS a compellign argument, but I'm not there.  I know Eddie Trunk likes to give the "who came first?" aspect, but that's Sabbath (and Priest and Sabbath are from the same roots). 

For me:

1. Maiden
2. Sabbath
3. Priest
4. Metallica


Maiden's consistency and evolution are head and shoulders above the rest.   They've all undergone personnel changes and stylisitic changes, but I think Maiden have proven to be the cream of the crop.  Maiden sells out multiple arena nights in the US, and full futbol stadia internationally.   Priest's last tour (maybe the one before) played the same venue as the kings of prog metal, Sons Of Apollo.         I think the Priest catalogue is slightly more... calculated than Maiden.   Maiden seems to follow their (well, Harris's) muse more than any of the other bands.   Look at The Final Frontier; 10 songs, only one under 5:00 and a full SIX over 7:30.    Sabbath has too many ups-and-downs after the first Dio era, so there's a gap there.   Metallica is the only one that really competes live with Maiden, and they are - to my mind - a shade too one-dimensional to claim "greatest metal band". 

[MirrorMask]

Stadler spoke for me.

I love Judas Priest, I love them really a lot so I'm not just a casual listener but a very big fan, but - tastes and historical merits aside - Iron Maiden is as a whole way better than them, especially for the consistency. Even in the "year of the synths", 1986, Iron Maiden did Somewhere in Time and Priest made Turbo. And Maiden follow it up with Seventh Son, while Priest with Ram it Down.

It's only in 1990 that Priest blew Maiden and 95% of the rest away with Painkiller, but in the '80s Priest had been more inconsistent while Maiden's run from 1980-1988 is basically textbook "how to be the perfect heavy metal band".

[Stadler]

Stadler spoke for me.

I love Judas Priest, I love them really a lot so I'm not just a casual listener but a very big fan, but - tastes and historical merits aside - Iron Maiden is as a whole way better than them, especially for the consistency. Even in the "year of the synths", 1986, Iron Maiden did Somewhere in Time and Priest made Turbo. And Maiden follow it up with Seventh Son, while Priest with Ram it Down.

It's only in 1990 that Priest blew Maiden and 95% of the rest away with Painkiller, but in the '80s Priest had been more inconsistent while Maiden's run from 1980-1988 is basically textbook "how to be the perfect heavy metal band".

Not responding to you directly, but just as a reminder, I'm not on the Painkiller train.  If I had to choose I'd take No Prayer, even though that's a deeply flawed album and not a high point in the Maiden catalogue.   Honestly, Tattooed Millionaire is probably better than both of them.    It might be just me, but 1990 was a low point in metal.   Other than Ritual de lo Habitual by Jane's Addiction (which isn't really metal) and Queensryche's Empire (which isn't really metal) that's not the year I'd point to for metal greatness.   

[Dream Team]

I’m a huge Maiden fan, and there’s no doubt they’re more popular. Priest never fully recovered from Halford leaving the way Maiden did with Bruce. But I feel Priest over the years has been much more diverse - they go both heavier AND lighter than Maiden. Their diversity was more apparent in the 70s but they recently tried stuff like Nostradamus. No they don’t stuff their albums with 8 minute songs padded out with noodling, but that’s ok with me.

Bruce’s voice has held up better but he’s also younger. His longevity compensates for Halford’s insane 70s peak. Priest usually has better production on their albums. It’s an extremely close call, like I said I’ve had Maiden #1 for years.

Vocals: Priest/Maiden-Sabbath-Metallica
Riffs: Metallica-Priest-Sabbath-Maiden
Leads: Priest-Maiden-Sabbath-Metallica
Drums: Priest-Maiden-Metallica-Sabbath
Live: Maiden-Metallica-Priest-Sabbath
Bass: Maiden-Sabbath-Priest-Metallica
Quantity: Sabbath-Priest-Maiden-Metallica
Songwriting: Priest-Maiden-Metallica-Sabbath
Popularity: Metallica-Maiden-Sabbath-Priest

As far as the bands compare AT THEIR PEAK, that’s too close to call. I’ll slightly take SWoD-SaS-SC over RtL-MoP-AJfA or any 3-album runs by Maiden or Sabbath.

Just my opinion, I can see arguments against.

[pg1067]

I’ve recently had an epiphany that took me 37 years to arrive at. After decades of having either Maiden or Metallica ranked as the greatest metal band, I’ve concluded that after listening to their discography pretty much daily for the past 6 months - Judas Priest is the greatest metal band of all time, ahead of Metallica, Maiden, and Sabbath.

That trio of Halford, Tipton, and Downing is easily the greatest trio in metal history. Maiden checks all the boxes except the heaviness; their riffs are seldom very crunchy. Metallica doesn’t have the quantity or vocals to compete, though their peak is equal to Priest’s. Sabbath is a different animal, a lot of quantity but as with Hetfield, Ozzy’s vocals can’t compete. First 6 Sabbath albums plus the Dio ones make it a competition but I much prefer the more modern sound that Priest perfected in the late 70s and onward.

I put Maiden at the top because the point that "Maiden's riffs are seldom very crunchy" is far less important to me than it seems to be to you.  Also, while Halford/Tipton/Dowing = Dickinson/Murray/Smith (and MIGHT BE slightly >), when you throw bassists into the mix, it's no contest:  Dickinson/Harris/Murray/Smith >>> Halford/Hill/Tipton/Downing.

For me, it's a razor thin margin between Maiden and Priest, followed by Metallica.  Sabbath is classic, but they don't come close to the other three.

Vocals: Priest/Maiden-Sabbath-Metallica
Riffs: Metallica-Priest-Sabbath-Maiden
Leads: Priest-Maiden-Sabbath-Metallica
Drums: Priest-Maiden-Metallica-Sabbath
Live: Maiden-Metallica-Priest-Sabbath
Bass: Maiden-Sabbath-Priest-Metallica
Quantity: Sabbath-Priest-Maiden-Metallica
Songwriting: Priest-Maiden-Metallica-Sabbath
Popularity: Metallica-Maiden-Sabbath-Priest

These are rankings, right?  Are you seriously placing Ian Hill above any of Metallica's bassists (or the three of them combined)?  I don't have much of an opinion about Trujillo, but as much as I love Ian (just for being Ian), he can't touch Newsted, much less Burton.

Stadler spoke for me.

I love Judas Priest, I love them really a lot so I'm not just a casual listener but a very big fan, but - tastes and historical merits aside - Iron Maiden is as a whole way better than them, especially for the consistency. Even in the "year of the synths", 1986, Iron Maiden did Somewhere in Time and Priest made Turbo. And Maiden follow it up with Seventh Son, while Priest with Ram it Down.

It's only in 1990 that Priest blew Maiden and 95% of the rest away with Painkiller, but in the '80s Priest had been more inconsistent while Maiden's run from 1980-1988 is basically textbook "how to be the perfect heavy metal band".

Not responding to you directly, but just as a reminder, I'm not on the Painkiller train.  If I had to choose I'd take No Prayer, even though that's a deeply flawed album and not a high point in the Maiden catalogue.   Honestly, Tattooed Millionaire is probably better than both of them.    It might be just me, but 1990 was a low point in metal.   Other than Ritual de lo Habitual by Jane's Addiction (which isn't really metal) and Queensryche's Empire (which isn't really metal) that's not the year I'd point to for metal greatness.   

I just looked at the 1990 list and, for me, there's nothing that comes even close to Painkiller.  It was, indeed, a very bleak year.  Anthrax's Persistence of Time was disappointing, Dio's Lock up the Wolves and No Prayer for the Dying were bad.  I imagine some folks would point to Pantera's Cowboys from Hell, but I've never liked anything I've heard from that band.  Half of Empire was really good, and half was blah (and, like you said, they were veering away from "metal").  On the other hand, Warrant put out Cherry Pie and, while I'm being facetious, I Saw Red is an EXCELLENT song.

[Stadler]

Dream Team, I stole your idea:

Vocals: Priest/Maiden-Sabbath-Metallica
Riffs: Sabbath-Metallica-Priest-Maiden  (I put Sabbath first; the first 8 albums were a riff-o-rama!)
Leads: Maiden-Priest/Sabbath-Metallica  (Dave Murray is my fav guitar player of this group and I honestly think there are too many "widdly-widdly" leads in the Priest catalogue)
Drums: Maiden-Sabbath-Priest-Metallica (C'MON.  Nicko.  Best drummer in the group; I'm giving Ward number two simply because he was a beast up until 1976, and Sabbath had Cozy Powell for a good stretch)
Live: Maiden-Metallica-Priest-Sabbath
Bass: Maiden/Sabbath-Priest-Metallica (I'm all in on Harris, but I gave a tie with Butler, because I saw Sabbath exactly a year apart, once with Butler and once without, and it was like night and friggin' day).
Quantity: Sabbath-Priest-Maiden-Metallica
Songwriting: Maiden-Priest-Metallica-Sabbath (I have to give Maiden the songwriting edge; they are more diverse with the multiple writing configurations.   Alone, though Harris is a better songwriter than anyone else in the group).
Popularity: Metallica-Maiden-Sabbath-Priest

[pg1067]

Dream Team, I stole your idea:

Vocals: Priest/Maiden-Sabbath-Metallica
Riffs: Sabbath-Metallica-Priest-Maiden  (I put Sabbath first; the first 8 albums were a riff-o-rama!)
Leads: Maiden-Priest/Sabbath-Metallica  (Dave Murray is my fav guitar player of this group and I honestly think there are too many "widdly-widdly" leads in the Priest catalogue)
Drums: Maiden-Sabbath-Priest-Metallica (C'MON.  Nicko.  Best drummer in the group; I'm giving Ward number two simply because he was a beast up until 1976, and Sabbath had Cozy Powell for a good stretch)
Live: Maiden-Metallica-Priest-Sabbath
Bass: Maiden/Sabbath-Priest-Metallica (I'm all in on Harris, but I gave a tie with Butler, because I saw Sabbath exactly a year apart, once with Butler and once without, and it was like night and friggin' day).
Quantity: Sabbath-Priest-Maiden-Metallica
Songwriting: Maiden-Priest-Metallica-Sabbath (I have to give Maiden the songwriting edge; they are more diverse with the multiple writing configurations.   Alone, though Harris is a better songwriter than anyone else in the group).
Popularity: Metallica-Maiden-Sabbath-Priest

And now you're doing it?!  Ian Hill is by far the worst bass player any of these bands has/had (although I can't really comment intelligently on guys like Jo Burt and Laurence Cottie).