Judas Priest - Painkiller

The Best Priest ever recorded

Man, the boys must of taken some viagra and chased it with a crack pipe. This is some heavy stuff. Its really good throughout... and I think its the best Priest out there, and I love their older stuff. I didn't think they would top SFV or BS but they have with this monster. Awesome stuff. July 23, 2008

Appropriately titled, "Painkiller" is like speed-metal medicine

With the dawn of the '90s comes Judas Priest's "Painkiller", possibly the greatest and one of the most influential speed metal albums of all time. Between Rob's always-impressive range of vocals shattering the air, KK and Glenn's jaw-dropping guitar work and newcomer Scott Travis's complex, thundering drumming, this album is one of the absolute finest releases by the Metal Gods.
There's no doubt when it comes to the fact that Judas Priest has experimented a bit over the years. Their earlier works were bluesier and more progressive, their '80s classics delved in New Wave of British Heavy Metal. In terms of the sound on this album, if compared to other artists, it's kind of like taking the thick, rich epic guitar-and-drum tone of Mercyful Fate, mixed with the speed and sinister riffage of Slayer and the melody and talent of Van Halen, only faster, heavier and a more epic sense of melody. However, that's only comparing them to other artists, I feel that "Painkiller" has a sound that totally original Judas Priest. And "Painkiller" is the Holy Grail of adrenaline-driven metal of the past 20 years. It's the high-water mark probably most metal bands today aim at. And you've got to be honest and say that all these songs, as fast and wild as they are, still are very well written.
One great thing about the album is that it's a concept album. The Painkiller is the hero, and the Nightcrawler is the villain, and most of the album between those two songs is about triumph in battle, and the evils that lurk in the night. Yes, this is indeed Priest at their finest.
Another thing that makes this album more interesting is the order of the songs. I mean, sure, they've gotta be in a certain order to make a sensible concept, but I love how the songs go from tense to comfort, and back and forth. The dynamics of the album are just as impressive as the musicianship, songwriting and singing.
Some of my favorite songs on this metal classic are:
"Painkiller": The six-minute epic that opens the album, kicking the song off with some blast beat drumming and a heavy, sinister guitar riff. Lots of blazing, power-packed guitar soloing fill out this album, with Rob screeching all the way through with his signature power.
"Hell Patrol": A nice contrast of "Painkiller", like I was talking about. It rocks just as hard but it's got more of a comfort level than a tension like "Painkiller". More great riffs, and Rob uses his cool mid-range voice for this song.
"Metal Meltdown" opens with 30 seconds of pure guitar shredding, a great way to open the album. In comes a fast, melodic but sinister riff and lightning drums, and Rob using his powerful voice as always.
"Nightcrawler": The headbanger of a song that's about the villain in the concept album. Features a creepy and tense, quiet section where Rob sings about the Nightcrawler being like a villain in a slasher film. Very interesting song.
"A Touch of Evil": An epic song at over five and a half minutes, combining awesome keyboards, guitar work and lyrics. One of the best metal songs ever, indeed.
"One Shot At Glory": Is the lengthy, epic anthem that closes out the original album with a bang!
In addition, the album comes with the moody "Living Bad Dreams" and a live version of "Leather Rebel". So to sum myself up, "Painkiller" is one of the best speed metal/ power metal albums ever to be released. I strongly recommend this to all Judas Priest fans, and all metal and rock fans, because it's an amazing, well-written classic. Thanks for the time, and peace. July 4, 2008

Rightfully one of Judas Priest's best albums HANDS DOWN

English metal gods Judas Priest released their 12th studio album entitled Painkiller in September of 1990.
After the disappointment with 1988's Ram it Down, Judas Priest reached their mid-career crisis. First, bands like Metallica and Megadeth were fighting hair bands like Bon Jovi and Poison for metal supremacy. Second, longtime drummer Dave Holland quit Judsa Priest leaving lead singer Rob Halford plus guitarists Glenn Tipton and KK Downing and bass player Ian Hill without a drummer. That all changed when they replaced the somewhat Phil Rudd-ish playing Holland with a fast footed and armed American named Scott Travis from Racer X (Scott's influences were John Bonham, Neil Peart and Alex Van Halen all rock drumming legends). Also, the band were embroiled in a lawsuit after two families sued the band for claiming their kids killed themselves after hearing backwards masking on the 1978 album Stained Class.
With the problems facing Priest, the band went in the studio with producer Chris Tsandgeries to record what is possibly one of the greatest metal albums EVER RECORDED!
The album's opening title cut is one of the best tracks the band ever recorded though I must admit when I first heard this on the radio and MTV in late 1990, I thought I was listening to an album by Slayer but it was Priest with Rob Halford's shrieks and KK Downing and Glenn Tipton's fiery riffs. Travis' drumming breathed new life into a band that were arguably heading for mediocrity, Priest were never known for lightning double-bass drumming prior to that. Next is another great classic "Hell Patrol" which is another great song. We follow with the heavy "All Guns Blazing" which just kicks serious arse. Next is another great piece "Leather Rebel" which is a great but underappreciated gem in the Priest canon. The first half ends with "Metal Meltdown" which sees Halford shrieking like he had some Devil trapped in his body and the dual leads of Tipton and Downing just rocking out in a serious way.
The album's second half picks up where it left off with the heavy "Night Crawler" which rocks. Next is the classic "Between the Hammer and the Anvil" which was another great Priest rocker. Next was the album's second single "A Touch of Evil" which features keyboard work from Don Airey (famed for work with Ozzy Osbourne, Rainbow, Deep Purple, Brian May) and speaks of demonic possession and metaphorically speaks of love and features one of Halford's best vocals, especially his scream at the end of the bridge and the three Halford singing/screaming the last chorusand one of Tipton's best solos. "Battle Hymn" is a great instrumental which serves as an overture to the classic speed metal closer "One Shot at Glory" which sees Halford joust between singing and screaming. He ends the track with a high scream and would end his tenure with the band for 14 years after this.
While many hold Painkiller in high regard (like myself), unfortunately the record buying public disagreed and this album flopped when first released due to stuff like Poison and Vanilla Ice. Painkiller barely hit the Top 30 and scraping Gold.
In 2002, the album was re-issued with two bonus tracks. One of which called "Living Bad Dreams" was kept off the album due to time constraints whilst the live "Leather Rebel" rocks as hard as studio version.
Highly recommended! June 22, 2008

A Masterpiece

Put quite simply, a masterpiece of aggression from one of the creators of modern heavy metal. Sounds as good now as it did then...A must have for any metalhead. June 18, 2008

This is so good

This album is amazing. Classic metal, and Classic Priest. Rob sounds amazing. Guitars are flawless, as are drums. Just amazing. "Night Crawler", "Leather Rebel" "Between the Hammer and the Anvil", and "All Guns Blazing" are probably the best tracks. Buy it. Hell, buy two copies. LONG LIVE THE PRIEST! April 13, 2008

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