Tag: Painkiller

Judas Priest – The Albums Ranked Worst to First (The Complete Albums Collection Series)

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We are finally to the end of the Judas Priest Complete Albums Collection Series. And we are ending it with a ranking of all the Studio albums for the band which is a total of 18 albums to go through. That is a lot. I knew of Judas Priest and I had heard a ton of songs, but I had never dived deep in the band until I did this series. I received The Complete Albums Collection Box Set for Christmas 2020 and bought the 4 studio albums that were missing from the set and decided to review them all and it has been a blast. I will say that I am a huge fan now.

Out of the 18 albums, there are only 2 they have that I felt were below average and the rest are worth hearing at least to me. That isn’t bad to have 16 albums that rank at least a 3 or higher. My choices might be different from some people and that is okay as we like different things. I really enjoyed the bluesiness of the early albums and the more 80’s style and even the real heaviness of the more current records. I will even admit I liked one of the Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens albums. No matter what I heard, I found things I liked and didn’t like. But what I do know is that the original members of Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing and Ian Hill were a powerful group and there was a magic to their music together. I like Richie Faulkner as he brought a new life to the band and I really liked Scott Travis on drums as he was a force to be reckoned with behind that kit.

Judas Priest was not a one trick pony. They weren’t just heavy metal…they had a blues influence, glam influence, straight up hard rock, speed metal and even a little death metal at times. They could do it all. Any time they had dual guitar solos or Halford hit that trademark scream, I was all in. These guys are one of the best bands to come out of the UK and I can’t believe we have had 50 years of Judas Priest. What a ride it has been. Now, let’s see how I rank the albums and away we go…

THE WORST: ‘RAM IT DOWN’ (1988):

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Judas Priest – ‘A Touch of Evil: Live’ (2009) – Album Review (The Complete Albums Collection Series)

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We are now to the final album in the box set, The Complete Albums Collection. Why is it the final album in the set, because it is the last album to feature original guitarist, K.K. Downing. This box set contained ALL albums that featured the 4 main members, Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill and K.K. Downing. We know it wasn’t because of a single drummer as they close to a 1,000 drummers in their career…and yes, that is an exaggeration. This live album is also the band’s fifth live album, but only 3rd in this series. We won’t be doing the other two any time soon, so sorry about that fact.

This live album was the first one since Rob Halford rejoined the band and it is also noted for an old producer friend of the band sees his return. Tom Allom is back as co-producer with the band and I can’t say that was actually a good thing after you hear my complaints about this album. They did a good job about not repeating any tracks on any other Halford led Live album up to this point. There are a lot of repeats on the Tim “Ripper” Owen albums, but those don’t count for this conversation. Why don’t we jump straight in to this release.

The album took songs from the band’s tours in 2005 and 2008 and not from one show which is okay. The problem was they didn’t mix the album to sound like a full live show. Nope! Each song fades out and then the next song comes in totally ruining the live album effect. If you are going to make a live album, at least give it the feel that it is one consistent show even if it is not. It totally takes me out of the game when you fade the songs in and out.

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Judas Priest – ‘Painkiller’ (1990) – Album Review (The Complete Albums Collection Series)

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After ‘Ram It Down’, Priest needed to find themselves as they were going down the wrong path musically. In January 1990, the band got back to the studio to begin work and a comeback album that would show they were still the metal titans they were. This time it would be without their drummer Dave Holland who left in 1989. Drummer Scott Travis, from Racer X, was brought in and his double kick drumming style was going to help bring the heavy back to their sound. Also out was producer Tom Allom and in came Chris Tsangarides who also helped Priest find a new sound. We still have Rob Halford, Ian Hill, Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing.

The album was finished by March 1990, but didn’t see a release until September 1990. The reason for the delay was that Judas Priest was being sued for subliminal messages in their music stemming from a civil suit brought on by the families of two teens that say the band had subliminal messages in the song “Better By You, Better Than Me” telling the teens to kill themselves. One teen was successful in his attempt and the other teen survived. The lawsuit ended up being thrown out on August 24th as the judge ruled in favor of the band that there was no messaging. As a result, the band released the album on September 3, 1990 and the heavy was brought back to Priest. The album went Gold in the US selling over 500,000 copies and charting at #26 on the Billboard Charts.

Following the Painkiller tour, Rob Halford left the band as he was ready to try a solo career plus he was tired of dealing with the ever growing tensions in the band. His final date with the band was May 1992. According to Halford’s book ‘Confess’, Rob sent a letter to the band discussing his intentions to pursue outside music and he wanted to take a break to do that, but the band he says took that as he was quitting the band. Not liking confrontation, It took Rob 10 years to finally talk with the band and discuss this matter with them and finally clear the air. We will get to that for the next review. For now, it is music time.

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Judas Priest – ‘The Complete Albums Collection’ – Box Set Review

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As you read yesterday, for Christmas I received Queen’s ‘Queen 40’ Box Sets. I also received this box set from Judas Priest called ‘The Complete Albums Collection’. Now this is not a very accurate title because it really isn’t the “Complete” albums collection as it is missing quite a bit. But before we get to tell you what it is missing, let me tell you why it is called the “Complete” album collection. That is because it contains all 17 Judas Priest albums featuring the classic line up of Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, K. K. Downing and Ian Hill (2). That was the focus of the collection.

As a result, it is missing the 2 Ripper Owen albums including ‘Jugulator’ (1997) and ‘Demolition’ (2001) as well as 2 Live albums, ’98 Live Meltdown’ and ‘Live in London’ (2003). And since this was released in 2011, it is missing the two newer albums ‘Redeemer of Souls’ (2014) and ‘Firepower’ (2018) both Richie Faulkner on guitar and not K.K. Downing. Oh yeah, and the live album ‘Battle Cry’ from 2016. So technically this isn’t really the “Complete Albums Collection”…but I am okay with that as this is a great beginners set as you get a 17 albums for one low price to get things going.

Let us go through the timeline of what is included. But before we do that, all the CDs come in a cardboard sleeve that is similar to a vinyl album jacket with the original artwork recreated on the album jacket. There are no plastic cases and no CD booklet for each disc. Instead you get a 40 page booklet with photos, liner notes and album credits. And that is it. There is nothing extra special thrown in although a lot of the discs have a couple of the bonus tracks included. This really is just the CDs and no frills.

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My Sunday Song – “Painkiller” by Halestorm

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For My Sunday Song #233, we are discussing the song “Painkiller” by the band Halestorm. The song is off their 2018 album ‘Vicious’ which went to #8 on the Billboard 200 Album chart. The album produced 5 singles, however, this was not one of them. This is a deep cut that is one of my favorite songs on the album. The song was written by Lzzy Hale, Joe Hottinger and Scott Stevens who helped write the song “Mz. Hyde”.

The song doesn’t really have any deep meaning. It focuses on how you get so in to a person that you become addicted to them. They take all the pain away and make you feel so good. You end up craving them, wanting them ever second. You can never get enough of them. The become the drug to feed your addiction. Simple enough.

Musically, the song is so freaking heavy. Josh Smith’s bass is a beast as it lays down this nasty bass line. Arejay Hale’s drum sound is immense and sounds like an explosive cloud of thunder and is only missing the lightning. But I guess the guitar work by Joe would be the lightning as it flashes in with some nasty riffs. Lzzy’s vocals are strong, powerful and one of the best vocalist in the rock scene today. She sings on this with that addict intensity and is what the song needs to take it over the top. It is brilliant.

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Halestorm – Vicious – Album Review

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‘Vicious’ really sums up this album.  Halestorm come at you with full force and don’t let up the entire album.  From the first single “Uncomfortable” I knew this would be great.

In a music scene that is lacking bonafide Rock Stars, Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale fits that bill perfectly.  That voice and the fuck you attitude place her in realm most singers only wish they could achieve.  She isn’t one-dimensional either.  Her style and vocal delivery change up throughout and the album is never boring.

The band’s songs are loud, heavy, rowdy, dark and at times very sexual (“Do Not Disturb” and “Conflicted” in particular). It takes the line of Sex, Drugs & Rock & Roll and takes it up a notch. Musically, the band hits it on all cylinders with great guitar solos, nasty bass lines and explosive drumming especially on songs like “Painkiller”, “Black Vultures”, “White Dress” and “Skulls”.  On “The Silence”, Lzzy’s voice is channeling Ann Wilson (one of the greatest voices in rock).

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Tuesday’s Memes – Judas Priest

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With a new album out, it is time to show some love for Judas Priest.  I am glad to see these guys still rocking it and putting out some great songs.  I guess you are never too old to rock.  Get ready to celebrate all things Judas Priest…enjoy!!

The songs…

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