Awesome Music / Judas Priest

HE! IS! THE! T! V! TROPES! THIS! IS! THE! T! V! TROPES!

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• While generally overlooked in favor of their later albums, Rocka Rolla did have its fair share of awesome music.
  • "Run of the Mill" remains to this day one of their most powerful softer songs.
  • The title track is a particularly fun little ear worm. And they did play it on the 50th Anniversary Tour.
  • She was a Cheater! The protagonist describes what every person who has been run around on wants to do, and makes it rocking.
    I reached the dressing table, kicked away the door
    I gripped the cold black metal, a loaded .44
    By this time they're awake and they don't know what to do
    I scream you cheatin' bitch here's what I think of you!
• If we're talking about Awesome Music, we shouldn't forget Sad Wings of Destiny.
  • All hear my warning, never turn your back on "The Ripper". Yes, JP made a song about a hooker murdering nutcase awesome to listen to.
  • "Victim of Changes" starts off heavy, with some really dirty, bluesy riffs, and Rob's signature screams, before an intense solo leads into a soft, melancholy ballad, all before ramping up again with another solo before reaching its crescendo with some of the most impressive screams in Priest history.
  • Rob's scream on "Dreamer Deceiver".
  • "Tyrant" is supremely catchy.
• 1977's Sin After Sin gave us many great tracks.
  • "Dissident Aggressor", a song with one of Halford's greatest screams IN THE INTRO.
  • "Sinner" had one of their best Epic Riffs.
• 1978's Stained Class.
  • Nobody else had done anything as heavy as "Exciter" in 1978.
  • "Beyond the Realms of Death" is just beautiful. With an almost sorrowful sound, before Halford lets it rip. Not to mention the ridiculously killer guitar solos.
• From 1979's Killing Machine: "Delivering the Goods". Not even Van Halen had performed riffs that fast!
• British Steel: Livin' After Midnight. All about partying into the wee hours, loving til the early morning, and splitting the scene to do it all again the following night with zero regrets.
• Point of Entry has awesome stuff in there.
  • "Heading Out to the Highway" is an excellent song for starting a road trip, as that's essentially what it's about.
  • "Hot Rockin'" really stands out. It's the perfect anthem for a night on the town — assuming, of course, that your date is a leather and spandex clad biker chick.
  • "Desert Plains". While not epic in length, it's certainly epic in feel.
• Screaming for Vengeance:
  • "The Hellion", probably the greatest intro track of all time. Unbelievably epic.
  • Electric Eye. Halford's synthetic sounding voice adds to the awesome/creepiness of an all seeing force watching your every move. When Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, then-called Galaxy Rangers, was pitched by Saban in 1991, the test footage was accompanied by "Electric Eye". So, in a way, the Power Rangers franchise owes its popularity to Judas Priest.
  • "Riding on the Wind", Especially the guitar solo.
  • BLOODSTONE! The opening riff is one the grooviest ear worms you will ever hear in a metal song.
  • Out there is a fortune waiting to be had, if you think I'll let it go you're mad! You've Got Another Thing Comin'! There's a reason this was the biggest single from the album.
  • "Prisoner of Your Eyes" was originally going to be on Turbo, but it was cut. Luckily, it found its way on the 2001 remaster of Screaming for Vengeance and what we got was one of the most epic power ballads ever written by a metal band. Especially when the chorus kicks in.
• Defenders of the Faith has several gems:
  • "The Sentinel", which has Glenn and K.K.'s best "guitar duel" ever recorded.
    Sworn to avenge
    Condemned to Hell
    Tempt not the blade
    All fear the SENTINEL!
  • The bafflingly hot "Eat Me Alive" in which they troll the PMRC with amazing results.
  • "Freewheel Burning". The music video is the distilled essence of Mundane Made Awesome.
  • "Rock Hard, Ride Free". Words to live your life by.
  • "Love Bites": Extended interlocking guitar solos and a scream that makes Halford sound like he's turning into a werewolf.
  • "Jawbreaker" is an underrated epic detailing a monster, possibly the Metallion as seen on the cover, obliterating everything in its path of destruction. Rob Halford’s vocals combined with the fast paced riffs makes this a stand out of the album.
• Turbo always seems to get slammed by hardcore metal fans, but it has its share of awesome:
  • "Out in the Cold". Creepy Gothic synthesizers, a slowly epic riff, and an unabashed dark romanticism make this one a winner.
  • The unabashed 'I'm better than you' of "Private Property".
  • The title track has a righteous slow build-up, until you hit the title and Halford lets it rip like he does.
• Ram It Down:
  • "Blood Red Skies", probably the definitive anthem for a Terminator-esque war against the machines.
  • The title track. It's the album opener, so naturally the first thing you hear is a piercing scream. And of course, the awesome lyrics:
    Thousand of cars and a million guitars
    Screaming with power in the air
    We've found the place where the decibels race
    This army of rock will be there!
  • The made-for-Audience Participation Song chorus of "Heavy Metal". WHAT DO YOU WANT?! HEAVY METAL!
  • The epic Badass Boast that is "Hard as Iron".
    Stop for no man
    You better beg and kneel!
    As I destroy, last thing you'll hear me cry
    Is victory, is victory!
• Painkiller:
  • The Affably Evil "A Touch of Evil" is definitely one of the sexiest heavy metal songs of all time.
    In the night, come to me
    You know I want your touch of evil
    In the night, please set me free
    I can't resist a touch of evil!
  • "All Guns Blazing". A very apt name.
  • Even more epic on Painkiller: "One Shot at Glory".
  • The largely underrated "Hell Patrol", best known for coining the terms "vaporapeize" and "paratamize".
  • "Between the Hammer and the Anvil" which should be the theme of the Inquisition. Every Inquisition.
  • "Living Bad Dreams" which they waited over 10 years to finally release.
  • "Nightcrawler". The perfect mixture of sleeplessness inducing Nightmare Fuel, and that signature Judas Priest shredding.
  • The title track. Piercing, shrieking vocals, killer guitar solos, a drum intro so powerful it can bring the house down, and lyrics with incredibly vivid imagery about a post-apocalyptic savior fighting for mankind; all combined into one of the most iconic metal songs of all time.
    CAN'T. STOP. THE. PAIN-KILLERRRRR! PAIN!

• Jugulator may be one of Priest's most divisive albums (the first of two with replacement vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens) but it is not without a rocking track or two.
  • "Bullet Train". Combine heavy lyrics, killer drums, a face melting solo and Owens proving he's no vocal slouch, and you have the track that came within an inch of winning a Grammy.

• Angel of Retribution, the group's big comeback album in 2005, is much better than you'd expect. Standouts:
  • "Deal With the Devil" is classic '80s-style metal, but doesn't sound dated at all.
  • "Revolution": a lot like Queen's "We Will Rock You", but even more badass.
  • "Worth Fighting For", a lusciously melancholy gothic cowboy/Western-style number, with a Buck Owens-like riff and Rob singing in a decent American accent; he even sounds a bit like Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots!
  • Yes, "Hellrider" is a bit Narm-y, with Rob sounding kind of like the Wicked Witch of the West at some points, but it's damn near irresistible.
• Say what you will about the quality of their Nostradamus album, but the title track deserves a special mention, as it still upholds the fast, epic riffs and amazing metal vocals fans know and love, but with the synth orchestra helping it stand out as a fantastical epic unlike anything they’ve put out before.
• With classic Priest-sounding tracks like "Down in Flames", "March of the Damned" and "Halls of Valhalla", Redeemer of Souls proves that there's life after K.K. Downing.
• Their 2018 album Firepower shows that after more than four decades of making music, Judas Priest still kicks all the ass.
  • The title track is a fiery, heavy song with an amazingly powerful chorus and a gorgeous, melodic guitar solo in the middle that somehow fits the rest of the song perfectly. Many people hailed Firepower (both the song and the album) as an instant classic.
  • "Lightning Strike" is another classic-sounding song, without feeling dated in the slightest.
• 2024's Invincible Shield comes roaring out of the gate with "Panic Attack", featuring a synth intro that feels like a modern version of Turbo and furious drums akin to Painkiller.

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