(Rated this album with 10 out of 10) Reviewed by
slayer21394
from Staten Island, NY, USA
I have a theory about how this masterpiece came to be. Judas Priest, after releaseing Ram it Down, sat down one day and decided that they were going to make the perfect album. On most of their previous albums, they had put one or more speed metal classics, and these were almost always the best songs on the album. I'm talking about "Ram it Down", "Screaming for Vengeance", "Exciter", "Rapid Fire", "Hell Bent for Leather", "Freewheel Burning", and whatever other devastating speed metal they had put on their albums over the years. Everyone knows that Priest + speed metal = instant classic (Hell, even the speed metal songs on Jugulator (1997) were awesome). Then one of them said something like, "Let's make an album FULL of speed metal classics!" Another said, "that's bloody brilliant!", and thus, Painkiller was born. Actually, there is one song here, "A Touch of Evil", that isn't speed metal, but it's definitely a great song. Every other song is just crazy, awesome metal at its best. Each and every song has its own reason for being absolutely mind-blowing. All of the songs have amazing riffs, leads, vocals, and drums throughout, except for "Nightcrawler", which doesn't have a lead. Adding to this is a dark and intense atmosphere which makes every song even better than it already was. The production is flawless. Halford's vocals are at their best. The drumwork is the best they've ever had. Don't listen to some of the other review here. The lyrics are just awesome, and fit the music perfectly. It is obvious that almost every power metal band has simply been trying to make this album. This may be the greatest album ever made. Buy it. Now!
