Published on Mar 24, 2005
Look past the teenage fantasy lyrics, the leather/bondage gear
and albums like
Ram It Down and
Turbo and you’ll find an intelligent band. In 1989, Priest
saw a musical landscape that not only virtually guaranteed top 10
chart entries for bands like White Lion and Winger, but was also
opening to harder bands, such as Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth.
Judas Priest wisely saw this as a safe time to put away the
keyboards and make a return to form. The addition of drummer Scott
Travis also injected some much-needed urgency.
Less than fifteen seconds into the title track of their 1990
release,
Painkiller immediately lays down one simple statement:
Priest was not f*%&ing around with this album. Priest wisely
chose to release this song as their first single: it was a great
way to reintroduce the band to fans who thought the band had gone
soft, or their heaviest song was “Breaking the Law.” The song was a
multi-layered powerhouse, filled with breakneck riff changes and
Rob Halford’s voice going from a dentist drill to the sound of
someone literally descending into hell.
If you can manage not to repeat the first track, the rest of
Painkiller may not attain the same heights of the title
track, but it holds up remarkably well, even 15 years after its
release. “Metal Meltdown” and “A Touch of Evil” balance deftly
between melodicism and muscle. Whether it was the addition of
Travis or the friendlier music environment, Priest seemed totally
reenergized with
Painkiller. So energized, you can even overlook
clichéd titles like “Hell Patrol” and “All Guns
Blazing.”
Rob Halford’s now-open sexuality makes it hard to listen through
“Leather Rebel” without snickering. Lyrically, you almost wish they
would have added a bit more thought into their songs (a la
Stained Class). If they focused a tad more on their lyrical
muscle,
Painkiller would have been an instant classic.
Still,
Painkiller made for a great introduction into ’90s metal.
Megadeth’s
Rust In Peace would be the band’s commercial and artistic
peak and Metallica’s black album would forever change Metallica in
the eyes of their fans. Unfortunately, the band was not able to
hold together after
Painkiller’s release. Halford would leave the band and the
Judas Priest would not drop another album for almost seven years.
It’s understandable that the band has been trying to recapture the
magic of their earlier recordings, but
Painkiller would have been the perfect album to end their
career with: a near-masterpiece that can stand with the band’s best
works.