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

[TAC]

I'm a big fan of Point Of Entry over British Steel; I'm going to do the same thing, but I have to listen to British Steel first.

I'd have to listen to both of them. I'll report back tonight..

[EPICVIEW]

SIN AFTER SIN

[TAC]

@Kev...this thread needs to have its title updated...

[pg1067]

SFV and DOF...now THAT is in my wheelhouse.

I can't choose between the two sides of SFV.  You've got two heavyweights on each side (Hellion/Electirc Eye, Riding on the Wind, title track and Another Thing).  I remember having some difficulty with the supporting cast at first.  I'd probably rank Fever and P&P as the bottom two songs on the album, but I still really like them.

On DOF, side 1 is the clear winner.  The Sentinel is probably my all-time favorite Priest song, and Freewheel is such an ass kicker.  The first three songs on side 2 are solid but not great (Eat Me Alive is probably my favorite), but the last three tracks really kind of weigh it down.

Ranking all the songs on the two albums together:

The Sentinel
Riding on the Wind
The Hellion/Electric Eye
Frewheel Burning
You've Got Another Thing Comin'
Screaming for Vengeance
Eat Me Alive
(Take These) Chains
Jawbreaker
Some Heads are Gonna Roll
Love Bites
Bloodstone
Rock Hard Ride Free
Fever
Pain and Pleasure
Night Comes Down
Heavy Duty/Defenders of the Faith

Weird, when I rate the songs, this is where I sort of come out, but as a whole, I usually go for Defenders over Screaming. Maybe it's a mood thing, but song by song it looks like I prefer Screaming, but I'm not sure that's true.

Same.  I think for me, it comes down to Defenders being my first new Priest album and the second concert I ever attended.  I had seen Ozzy (with Ratt) the month before, but Priest blew me away.  Rob was/is so far above Ozzy as a frontman.

And I'll take another opportunity to post this:

[EPICVIEW]

SFV and DOF...now THAT is in my wheelhouse.

I can't choose between the two sides of SFV.  You've got two heavyweights on each side (Hellion/Electirc Eye, Riding on the Wind, title track and Another Thing).  I remember having some difficulty with the supporting cast at first.  I'd probably rank Fever and P&P as the bottom two songs on the album, but I still really like them.

On DOF, side 1 is the clear winner.  The Sentinel is probably my all-time favorite Priest song, and Freewheel is such an ass kicker.  The first three songs on side 2 are solid but not great (Eat Me Alive is probably my favorite), but the last three tracks really kind of weigh it down.

Ranking all the songs on the two albums together:

The Sentinel
Riding on the Wind
The Hellion/Electric Eye
Frewheel Burning
You've Got Another Thing Comin'
Screaming for Vengeance
Eat Me Alive
(Take These) Chains
Jawbreaker
Some Heads are Gonna Roll
Love Bites
Bloodstone
Rock Hard Ride Free
Fever
Pain and Pleasure
Night Comes Down
Heavy Duty/Defenders of the Faith

Weird, when I rate the songs, this is where I sort of come out, but as a whole, I usually go for Defenders over Screaming. Maybe it's a mood thing, but song by song it looks like I prefer Screaming, but I'm not sure that's true.

Same.  I think for me, it comes down to Defenders being my first new Priest album and the second concert I ever attended.  I had seen Ozzy (with Ratt) the month before, but Priest blew me away.  Rob was/is so far above Ozzy as a frontman.

And I'll take another opportunity to post this:

Great pic PG!!   The Metal God himself   Mr Rob Halford

[Stadler]

I've seen that before, but I love that picture.   

[TAC]

PG, which one is you?



Here's the best I have..

June 4, 1986
Providence Civic Center

[Mladen]

I'm a big fan of Point Of Entry over British Steel

I'm usually afraid to admit this, but same here. 

[pg1067]

PG, which one is you?



Here's the best I have..

Nice seats!


And he was the nicest guy.  We had dinner with him the night before this picture was taken at a little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant in San Diego (his choice, and the manager knew him).  At one point, the manager came up to our table and said another customer had asked about getting an autograph and was that OK with Rob.  He said absolutely and signed something, took a selfie and shook the guy's hand.  It was nice to see a fan handle himself that way and a guy of Rob's stature acknowledge the courtesy.

[KevShmev]

Point of Entry better than British Steel?  Is this the bizarro world??

[TAC]

OK, here's my ranking..

Heading Out To The Highway
Desert Plains
All of British Steel
The rest of Point Of Entry

[wolfking]

Point of Entry better than British Steel?  Is this the bizarro world??

I don't think that's that controversial.

[Zydar]

I think it's pretty controversial. British Steel is often heralded as a metal classic, filled with staple songs of the genre. Point Of Entry? Not so much...

[wolfking]

I think it's pretty controversial. British Steel is often heralded as a metal classic, filled with staple songs of the genre. Point Of Entry? Not so much...

Like SFV, I never understood its classic status.  That's just my personal opinion though.  So I guess it would be classed as controversial but not for me.

[eric42434224]

So I was thinking about this British Steel / Point of Entry thing.  I was as perplexed as any that one would like the latter over the former.
As I am doing a full catalogue listen from the beginning, due to Firepower reigniting my Priest passion.
I just happened to be at BS & POE yesterday and this morning, so I would like to share my findings so to speak.

First, I like British Steel far better, as I feel it is the better METAL album, and better PRIEST album.  Part of my assessment is likely partially due to the fact that I was introduced to BS as my first Priest experience, so there is some romanticism there.  I also fully respect that someone can absolutely like POE more than BS, but there are a few points I would like to make.

British Steel is far more in line with what Judas Priest was all about.  Heavier riffs and heavier lyrics.  Point of Entry was a response to heavy pressure from the label to write more radio friendly music.  Its still Priest, but exhibits less of the Priest feel than BS.  The band has said so themselves.
Now its 100% cool to like POE better than BS, but what shocks me is someone saying POE is a Better Priest album.  That I have a tough time accepting. POE is a better Cars, Foreigner, or Billy Squire album than a Priest album....what with all the tamer guitars and pop sensibilities.
Again...like it better?  Absolutely cool.  But is it a better Priest Album?  I guess one would look to the bands own words....but also their actions as well.  After Hell Bent and BS, they make POE......then immediately course correct with Screaming and Defenders.

I did enjoy my listen this morning, and found I liked POE better than I did in the 80's.  But it also felt like exactly what it was.....their Falling into Infinity.  A great album that was affected by pressure to have a metal band make more commercially radio friendly tunes, right after a killer game-changing release (Awake)....then a course correction to an even more game-changing release with Scenes.

tldr:
**POE is FII 'cause BS is A, and SFV is SFAM, so BS > POE.   




**all in good fun and JMO. 

[Dream Team]

I think it's pretty controversial. British Steel is often heralded as a metal classic, filled with staple songs of the genre. Point Of Entry? Not so much...

BTL and LAM are lame and far from deserving of their "classic" status. Only songs I like are RF, Steeler, and MG.

[MirrorMask]

I too consider Point of Entry a bland album. Heading Out to the Highway and Desert Plains are great, the rest I can live without. Congrats to those who like it, they have one more Priest album to overall enjoy than me!

Also it doesn't help that PoE is squeezed in the discography between Hell Bent for Leather and British Steel, those two album crush Point of Entry.

[eric42434224]

I too consider Point of Entry a bland album. Heading Out to the Highway and Desert Plains are great, the rest I can live without. Congrats to those who like it, they have one more Priest album to overall enjoy than me!

Also it doesn't help that PoE is squeezed in the discography between Hell Bent for Leather and British Steel, those two album crush Point of Entry.

Between BS and SFV....which may crush it even more if you like the more modern Priest era.  Either way it is a lose/lose for PoE IMO.

[MirrorMask]

Yup, total mistake on my part. Yes, the divide for me is even greater, it's like BRITISH STEEL > Point of Entry - SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE.

[Stadler]

I think it's pretty controversial. British Steel is often heralded as a metal classic, filled with staple songs of the genre. Point Of Entry? Not so much...

Like SFV, I never understood its classic status.  That's just my personal opinion though.  So I guess it would be classed as controversial but not for me.

I mean, I said it, and I can admit it's controversial.  They played all of British Steel in it's entirety not long ago, it was their first platinum album, and their first top ten album (#4 on the British charts) and first to break the top 50 in the US (#34).  I'm pretty sure half of PoE has never even been played live, not even on that tour.

[MirrorMask]

Some random checks here and there on Setlist.FM seem to indicate that they always played a maximum of 4 songs every night off that album. Most likely the same 4 ones.

[Mladen]

Screaming for vengeance > > > Point of entry > > Defenders of the faith > > > Brittish steel

I do like Brittish steel, it is a classic, but the following albums work better for me. Point is more melodic and concise, Screaming is powerful and then Defenders is just as heavy with almost as many great songs.

[Stadler]

So I was thinking about this British Steel / Point of Entry thing.  I was as perplexed as any that one would like the latter over the former.
As I am doing a full catalogue listen from the beginning, due to Firepower reigniting my Priest passion.
I just happened to be at BS & POE yesterday and this morning, so I would like to share my findings so to speak.

First, I like British Steel far better, as I feel it is the better METAL album, and better PRIEST album.  Part of my assessment is likely partially due to the fact that I was introduced to BS as my first Priest experience, so there is some romanticism there.  I also fully respect that someone can absolutely like POE more than BS, but there are a few points I would like to make.

British Steel is far more in line with what Judas Priest was all about.  Heavier riffs and heavier lyrics.  Point of Entry was a response to heavy pressure from the label to write more radio friendly music.  Its still Priest, but exhibits less of the Priest feel than BS.  The band has said so themselves.
Now its 100% cool to like POE better than BS, but what shocks me is someone saying POE is a Better Priest album.  That I have a tough time accepting. POE is a better Cars, Foreigner, or Billy Squire album than a Priest album....what with all the tamer guitars and pop sensibilities.
Again...like it better?  Absolutely cool.  But is it a better Priest Album?  I guess one would look to the bands own words....but also their actions as well.  After Hell Bent and BS, they make POE......then immediately course correct with Screaming and Defenders.

I did enjoy my listen this morning, and found I liked POE better than I did in the 80's.  But it also felt like exactly what it was.....their Falling into Infinity.  A great album that was affected by pressure to have a metal band make more commercially radio friendly tunes, right after a killer game-changing release (Awake)....then a course correction to an even more game-changing release with Scenes.

tldr:
**POE is FII 'cause BS is A, and SFV is SFAM, so BS > POE.   




**all in good fun and JMO. 

All this is fair; I never said it was a better PRIEST album, I just said I liked it better.  I don't say that to argue with you but to tee up this:  I got into Priest and Maiden at the same time.   SFV and TNOTB were the gateways.  Then British Steel and Killers.   Then Hell Bent For Leather and the Maiden debut.   I liked then and like now SFV, but Number was a shade more to my liking.  I thought Killer CRUSHED British Steel, and while it was closer, I preferred the Maiden debut over HBFL.

I've often said, I like Priest better when they're not trying so hard to be "fucking METAL!"  That's why Freewheel Burning is so low on my list.  I get it; we're not going to get deep love songs, and I don't want that, but even when I was 17 and getting into this I was never one that worried about my "metal bona fides", and some of the more quintessential Priest is a little cartoon-y to me.   That's kind of why I like PoE better; there's some neat shit in there that isn't on some of the more "metal" records.   That harmony guitar in the background of "Don't Go" during the outro.  Makes the song for me.    The "ah ah, ah ah" part of Turning Circles, as it goes into the solo.   LOVE that.   I also love Rob Halford as a SINGER, so those soaring lines on "Solar Angels", I'll take that all day long over that sort of stuttering vocal on...  I'm blanking on the song right now, but where he sings the lines so fast you can barely make out what he's saying.   Maybe it's my prog leanings, but I like when there's more than just 2:40 of pure aggression (it's also why I like Metallica from TBA on more than I like Metallica from TBA earlier).                                     

I get that that's not what the general fanbase likes, but I'm good with that.

[eric42434224]

Yeah, if I wasn't crystal clear in my post, regardless of my opinion, I have no problem whatsoever with how much anyone likes Point of Entry.  Music is subjective. 

or.....

FWIW, just my POV on PoE and BS, TBH its all IMO as YMMV.
TTYL.

[Dream Team]

Thinking about Defenders again, I think it's the last album where Rob's voice was still in cheat code mode. He does some good stuff on the next 3 albums (Blood Red Skies obviously) but nothing to the level of Defenders quite again. IMO

[pg1067]

I listened to the first seven songs on my commute home last night and into the office this morning.

It has a weird vibe to it.  That's not good or bad.  There's virtually no complexity to any of the songs.  Not that Priest is known for writing dances of eternity, but it's full of attempted repeats of Living After Midnight and Breaking the Law.  HOTH succeeds in this regard.  Songs like Don't Go and You Say Yes do not.  Hot Rockin' is better than I remember, as is Turning Circles (although I don't really care for the intro to the latter).  I love Desert Plains, but the guitars are muted or muzzled, and the bass sounds a by synthy.

Per KK Downing:  "People don’t understand how pressurized we were by the label, either to do covers or make hits.  With that album, we gave them what they wanted."

[MirrorMask]

I'll take that all day long over that sort of stuttering vocal on...  I'm blanking on the song right now, but where he sings the lines so fast you can barely make out what he's saying.

I don't know, but Freewheel Burning is quite a good contender for this 

Lookbeforeyouleaphasneverbeenthewaywekeepourroadis FREE!!!!
Chargingtothetopandnevergiveinneverstopsthewayto BE!!!!
Holdontotheleadwithallyourwillandconcedeyou'llfindthere'slife

WITH VICTORY, WITH VICTORYYY ON HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH

[pg1067]

I'll take that all day long over that sort of stuttering vocal on...  I'm blanking on the song right now, but where he sings the lines so fast you can barely make out what he's saying.

I don't know, but Freewheel Burning is quite a good contender for this 

Lookbeforeyouleaphasneverbeenthewaywekeepourroadis FREE!!!!
Chargingtothetopandnevergiveinneverstopsthewayto BE!!!!
Holdontotheleadwithallyourwillandconcedeyou'llfindthere'slife

WITH VICTORY, WITH VICTORYYY ON HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH

That song blew the mind of 16-year old me, and my opinion has not changed since then.  Along with the video of the kid playing the video game Turbo Pole Position (re-branded as Freewheel Burning), that song encapsulates my high school metalhead days.

[Stadler]

FWIW, just my POV on PoE and BS, TBH its all IMO as YMMV.
TTYL.

LOL.   

[Stadler]

I'll take that all day long over that sort of stuttering vocal on...  I'm blanking on the song right now, but where he sings the lines so fast you can barely make out what he's saying.

I don't know, but Freewheel Burning is quite a good contender for this 

Lookbeforeyouleaphasneverbeenthewaywekeepourroadis FREE!!!!
Chargingtothetopandnevergiveinneverstopsthewayto BE!!!!
Holdontotheleadwithallyourwillandconcedeyou'llfindthere'slife

WITH VICTORY, WITH VICTORYYY ON HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH

That's the passage I was thinking of.  The "With victory..." part is an AMAZING vocal performance, I just don't like that style.  I just think on PoE he does some neat, subtle vocal things.  Like in Turning Circles, when he sings, "I'm turning circles, so stay away, we've all got somethin' wrong to say!" and he takes the "say" up an octave... I dig that shit.

[KevShmev]

I've often said, I like Priest better when they're not trying so hard to be "fucking METAL!" 

I totally get this.  I liked the vibe on Point of Entry, as it feels like more of a rock album than a metal one, but the consistency from song to song just wasn't there.  Don't get me wrong, Solar Angels is killer, and Desert Plains is a top Priest tune of any era in my book (and one of my top 5 driving songs ever!!), but there is just too much mediocrity littered on the rest of that album. 

[emtee]

Not sure why I passed on Firepower. I really enjoyed Angel of Retribution, Nostradamus and Redeemer of Souls. Guess I better order it.

[wolfking]

Not sure why I passed on Firepower. I really enjoyed Angel of Retribution, Nostradamus and Redeemer of Souls. Guess I better order it.

If you liked ROS, there's no way you'd be disappointed.

[wolfking]

I'd have to listen to both POE and BS back to back, but I can see both sides.  BS always felt overrated and subpar to me personally, and POE was definitely a different side of Priest, which I never really loved, but it has its charm.  Maybe more charm than BS, if that makes sense.  I always leaned towards Turbo and Ram it Down as outlier Priest albums I liked.

[TAC]

Rocka Rolla-


Disclaimer..this is NOT a first time reaction! I have heard it before, but it's just not really in my realm..at all. Been ages since I listened to it.

I think for 1974, it's really cool. The best track IMO is Run Of The Mill...I'd live to hear a modern day powerful version of this. The second half of Dying To Meet You is really cool. Not sure I totally get the first half.