Judas Priest

3-24-10 Judas Priest

According to my files, I’ve only ever written about Judas Priest right when I first started blogging in 2002! Heavy Metal, from Birmingham, England.

CD POINT OF ENTRY COLUMBIA US CK 37052

1981 10 TRKS original CD issue

CD SAD WINGS OF DESTINY RCA US 4747.2

1976 9 TRKS ('93 issue?)

CD SIN AFTER SIN COLUMBIA US CK 34787

1977 8 TRKS original CD issue

LP SIN AFTER SIN COLUMBIA US PC 34787

1977 8 TRKS promo

CD STAINED CLASS COLUMBIA US CK 35296

1978 9 TRKS original CD issue

I don’t have a large Judas Priest collection. Really, my favorite is “Sin After Sin” – and the others have been found very inexpensively. None of the CD’s are re-mastered versions, either. I am such a casual fan, that I can’t even remember which album “Freewheel Burnin’” is on! (But it would have to be about ’84 or so).

I did see them live, probably 30 years ago or so. I believe I can remember Rob Halford riding onto the stage on a motorcycle. And it was LOUD.

Looks to me like their ‘golden period’ is from ’76 – ’78. No so much changed after ’78, but a whole slew of NWOBHM bands walked down the pike (Def Leppard etc.)

I am always greatly amused by my perceived chasm between Rob Halford being gay, and what his 70’s fans think of gender issues of this nature. Could those heavy metal fans really all be ‘OK’ with his being gay? I suppose there is now an entire sub-genre of “Gay HM” of which I know little or nothing. I know at some point, Halford left Judas Priest – but didn’t he return later on?

No matter – “Sin After Sin” is amazing. Nice, ‘heavy metal production’ from a member of Deep Purple. Interesting Joan Baez cover version, “Diamonds & Rust”. “Sinner”!

I wonder if there was something in the water up in Birmingham? How could a British city like Birmingham have been responsible for both Black Sabbath and Judas Priest? I visited Birmingham when I lived in England, and it seemed ‘fine’.

But I don’t do much HR ( = hard rock ) these days – my hearing simply won’t take it! At least heavy metal is served very nicely in the CD era – certainly all of the HM albums that I like from the 70’s are on CD, at least in Japan.