The cold up here is unbearable, 50 Shades Of Grey isn’t as enjoyable bad as some people wanted, and John Stewart announced that he’ll be leaving The Daily Show later this year. To quote Bill Murray: “Dogs & cats!! Living together!! Mass hysteria!!”. That said, there’s something that can protect us against this tidal wave of insanity. A band that’s weathered decades of music, and has released classic albums that have stood the test of time. That band, ladies & gentlemen, is the legendary Judas Priest!
That’s right everybody, Judas Priest once again! It’s been a couple months since we’ve first visited the band, with the iconic British Steel first setting foot on this blog. This time around, we’re beginning to take a look at the first of many albums from the band that I happen to enjoy. The album that I think are classics, and the ones that everybody should listen to, whether they’re metal heads or not. That said, let’s look at their 1984 classic Defenders of the Faith, and see if it can push back this wave of madness!
Background
With the coming of the 80s, Judas Priest had fully come into the world of metal. Throughout their time in the 70s, they were essentially a rock back, and while Hell Bent For Leather opened the band’s way onto the path of Heavy Metal, much of it remained rooted in Rock-N-Roll. The band began their dominance of the 80s with 3 classic albums: the iconic British Steel, Point Of Entry, and the classic album known as Screaming for Vengeance. Then 1984 came around, and out came the powerful titan known as Defenders of the Faith. The vinyl & cassette tape had both come out on January 4th, 1984, with the CD version getting released in July of the same year. A re-release of the album came out in May of 2001, complete with two bonus songs, one of which was recorded during the 1985 recording sessions for their next release, Turbo.
Defenders of the Faith was recorded at Ibiza Sound Studios in Ibiza, Spain, then it was mixed from September to November 1983 at DB Recording Studios and Bayshore Recording Studios in Coconut Grove (Miami, Florida). At the same time as the album was released, a tour for it had happened in Europe, although a majority of it took place in North America during the spring & summer.
Basic Description
Badass to the 10th degree!
If (In my humble opinion) there was a Judas Priest album from the 80s that was as close to perfect as possible, Defenders of the Faith is that album! Not to say that the other albums before this one aren’t classics: British Steel established the band’s Heavy Metal credit, Point of Entry was a nice diversion, and Screaming for Vengeance built up the foundation for the band’s dominance in the 80s. For me, Defenders of the Faith used the strength of the previously mentioned albums to create it’s own place in Metal history.
The songs on Defenders of the Faith are perfect example of how Heavy Metal was ruling the 1980s. With the exception of two songs (More on this in a little bit), there’s something on this album for everybody: fast & furious, slow & steady, and sappy ballad-like tunes can all be found on here.
Best Song
Wow, this was a difficult task!
Truth be told, every single song (With the exception of two) on this album is absolutely fantastic to listen to. We’ve got the blistering fast Freewheel Burning, a song that comes at you with the force of a out-of-control mach truck. The guitar work on this song is subperb, as it’s played at a energetic yet steady pace. The drumming is excellent as well, as it keeps up with the guitars quite nicely, and Rob Halford’s singing goes between banshee shrieking & more subdued (Yet still heavy) vocal work. Damn good song to start the album out on!
Freewheel Burning
Going to about the halfway point of Defenders of the Faith, we reach Eat Me Alive, a particularly infamous Judas Priest song. The song managed to get to number 3 on the PMRC’s “Filthy Fifteen”, with the co-founder of the PMRC, Tipper Gore, claiming that the song was about having Sex at gunpoint. This in turn would cause the band to record the song “Parental Guidance” for their 1986 album Turbo, but that’s for another review. Despite the controversy, Eat Me Alive is a damn good track to listen to! It’s most certainly erotic, but I can’t detect even a hint of the “Sex At Gunpoint” BS that good-old Tipper is talking about. What was surprising to me was that the tune’s erotic feeling complemented the fast instrumentation & more subdued singing. Once again, a great song!
Eat Me Alive
Getting towards the end of Defenders of the Faith, we come across the classic track, Some Heads Are Gonna Roll. If I was to pick a single song off of the album to best the best, it would most certainly be this one. A bit more subdued in terms of pacing, what Some Heads Are Gonna Roll lacks in speed, it heavily gains in heaviness. Rob Halford’s singing on this track is great, with him switching between his patented shriek & more tamed vocal work in a manner that can only be described as impressive. Guitar work is as awesome here as it is pretty much everywhere else, and the drumming is good too!
Some Heads Are Gonna Roll
Despite me complementing these specific tracks, Defenders of the Faith is one of the best collections of Heavy Metal that was ever produced in the 80s. It was just as successful as Judas Priest’s previous outing Screaming For Vengeance, obtaining a spot just below that album, and marked the apex of the band’s commercial success at that time.
Worst Song
Heavy Duty & Defenders of the Faith are the only two blemishes on this album’s otherwise perfect face. With names like what was previously mentioned, you’d expect some bombastic tunes. Sadly, these two songs really take out the steam of Defenders of the Faith, which comes at your with such force. The song Defenders of the Faith is particularly horrendous, as it ends on a rather weak point. Enough to the point where it just peters out, rather than go down swinging.
This is a similar issue with the beginning of Screaming for Vengeance in regards to the opening two songs, The Hellion & Electric Eye. The biggest difference in this regard is that there’s a far more satisfying payoff with these two songs, and with Heavy Duty & Defenders of the Faith, there’s really nothing with the two of them. My opinion is simple: skip these last two songs, and go on with your day (If you’ve got the re-release, skip tracks 9 & 10, then listen to the bonus material).
Other
Awesome album art! Nuff said!
Overall Impression & Rating
You are doing yourself a disservice to Heavy Metal, and perhaps music in general, by not listening to Defenders of the Faith! This album deserves it’s reputation in so many ways, as the music on here has aged incredibly well. This record deserves it’s place among the classic metal albums of the 80s, since the music has essentially become timeless among fans of Heavy Metal. Defenders of the Faith might have a weak ending, but the songs before that are just perfect!
Defenders of the Faith gets a 9.8 out of 10, which is the highest rating I’ve given to anyone on here...at this point, at least!
Whew, glad I got this review out of the way! Things seem to be calming down around here, and I think I’m back to doing more normal reviews. See you soon!
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I have no excuse as to why this review is later, other than some lapses in memory. This will screw-up my release schedule in the coming weeks for sure! Hopefully it won’t be too much trouble.
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If you want to see my first Judas Priest album review, click on the link below.
http://heavymetalotaku.blogspot.com/2014/09/review-judas-priests-british-steel.html
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