Published on Feb 8, 2000
Okay, I’m going to come out and say it: This is a guilty
pleasure album!! OK?!! I don’t want to hear anything from anyone
about how cheesy and bad Priest was or how this isn’t worth the
time of day or how it’s ten years too old. Everyone got that?!
Alright. Onto the review.
There have always been two sides of metal – three if you count
the glam/pop side that Bon Jovi and Poison strutted through, but
we’re not counting that. On one side, there’s a serious side to
metal. This is where bands like Metallica and Megadeth exist. They
write stuff that is firmly set on the real world and about issues –
like drug abuse (“Master Of Puppets”) or nuclear destruction
(“Symphony Of Destruction.”)
The other side has been a bit more…hmm…theatric. It’s less
interested in issues or real-life problems and more on fantasy and
hormones. Bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest lived here. Their
music was not usually about problems. It was about chest-thumping
and attitude. Note that I said usually. The line is very thin and
bands moved back and forth along it. In today’s terms, Rob Zombie
and Gwar are in this theatric side of metal – where anything can be
said and done because it’s not about it being honest. It’s about a
release of pent-up emotions into an media that lets people be
something else.
Coming out of the late 80s, the British metal band known as
Judas Priest was in a bit of a funk. Their previous album,
Ram It Down, had failed to light up the charts in any way.
And, truth be told, the album suffered from watered-down lyrics and
a lazy attitude towards the material. Aside from the ass-kicking
title track, that album was barely worth the plastic on which it
was burnt. It was a sign that the band may have been trying to
adapt to the sound of chart-toppers like Warrant and Bon Jovi.
So, in 1990, the band released
Painkiller. It mixed their two-guitar attack of Glenn Tipton
and K.K. Downing with the thrash drumming of newcomer Scott Travis.
Perhaps it is the addition of Travis that gives this album its
stronger and sharper edge. The band hadn’t sounded this fresh and
crisp since their breakthrough album,
British Steel. It’s loud, mean and in-your-ears. All of this
sonic boom actually helps lift the vocals done by singer Rob
Halford – who is, along with Freddie Mercury, one of the few men
who could go toe-to-toe with Mariah Carey in an octave contest. His
voice hadn’t sounded this well since their mid-80s hits,
Screaming For Vengeance and
Defenders Of The Faith.
So what about the songs? Well, if you can get past some of the
lyrics that sound like they came right out of the Necronomicon
(Hey! A Lovecraft AND an
Evil Dead reference in one! Yes!) or that sound a bit
contrite, you’ll find that they’re not that bad. The title track
starts off with the pounding of Travis before letting loose the
guitar attack. From here until the end, the band hits all its
marks. They’re tight and very, very professional. Some of the songs
may seem trite and soulless – “Hell Patrol,” “All Guns Blazing,”
“One Shot At Glory” – but no less than any of the songs in Britney
Spears’ album or in Limp Bizkit’s. Like I stated, this music isn’t
about correctness or honesty. It’s about becoming something else –
even if it’s just in your mind.
The more you hear this album, the more you may be inclined to
believe that this is the perfect album for Halloween. “Night
Crawler” might fit rather well in a Freddy Krueger or a Stephen
King movie while “A Touch Of Evil” should be in the soundtrack to
the next Anne Rice-vampire movie. Both songs are very moody and
show off the talents of all people involved. In particular, Halford
carries the songs and gives them much of the needed attitude. The
funny thing is there is not one dirty word or profanity-laden song
– proving that Priest was not a dumb band.
While the album became a minor hit when it was released, Priest
soon faced serious problems. After their tour, they were forced to
go to court to defend themselves against a lawsuit brought on by
the parents of a fan who commited suicide. After that ran its
course, Halford found himself tired with his twenty-year bandmates
and left, recruiting Travis for his Pantera-Anthrax sounding
project, Fight. However, neither one of Fight’s albums went much of
anywhere. Later, Halford joined Trent Reznor for Two – but that
didn’t do anything. Meanwhile, the rest of Priest eventually
re-recruited Travis and, with new lead throat “Ripper” Owens, tried
to capture their former magic. They’re still trying.
Therefore, you can consider this the swan song of one of metal’s
most theatric line-ups. Like I said before, this is a guilty
pleasure album. If you’ve ever been sixteen and had no money, no
friends, no girls, no plans, then this album might remind you of
how you felt deep down inside. Or if you just want to return to the
times when you felt invincible and could hold the world by its
cojones, this album will make you smile. Now, go on and enjoy!