Judas Priest's Reviews
Painkiller (Average Rating: 8.64 out of 10)
Judas Priest in their One Shot At Glory (Rated this album with 10 out of 10)
Reviewed by
tkdmateo
from Manhattan, Kansas United States
Painkiller. Judas Priest's twelfth and final album with Rob Halford at the vocals. Up until this album, the band had literally gone through hell. The release of the prototype-album Turbo(1986) turned-off their older fans with the use of synthesizers and caused Priest's success to spiral forever downward. The followup Ram It Down(1988), although a step back in the right direction, did little to help gain the respect back of the older fans. Even the newfound Turbo fans hated it because it differed too greatly. Although the band had fun making the album, Priest was now out of steam and the producer and drummer quit on them, leaving them in a terrible state. To make matters worse, a lawsuit was filed against the band for two Stained Class(1978) songs apparently causing two teenagers to commit suicide. It lasted for four long weeks before Priest finally won the case, and proved that it was in fact the victims' home environments to blame and not the band. Later that year, Priest found a new drummer, Scott Travis, who's frantic pace breathed new life into the band's songs, and also a new producer, Chris Tsangarides, who worked with them way back on their 2nd album, Sad Wings Of Destiny(1976). The newly equipped Priest then unleashed Painkiller(1990) late into the year. Priest carried a lot of their current angst to drive each of the nine high-octane, thrashy songs. Gone were the happy tunes found in the previous albums. Judas Priest is back and with an unapologetic vengeance.Kicking off is the incredible title track in which sheer intense drumming and powerful vocals grab hold of you and don't let go until the end. Next is the unique midpaced, yet underrated Hell Patrol. All Guns Blazing is the one track on here that I would say is a bit cheezy, but even still, Glenn and K.K.'s wild guitar playing still gives the song some strength. Leather Rebel is the album's machine-gun totting anthem, in the veins of the much earlier Hell Bent For Leather and Breaking The Law. Its live counterpart is less than stellar though, and shows that Halford's enthusiasm for the band is wearing thin. Metal Meltdown is the fastest song on there, resembling a darker version of their previous album's title track. Night Crawler and A Touch Of Evil are Painkiller's two haunting tracks: the latter slow, and the former resembling The Sentinel. BTHATA is solid, midpaced 80s thrash, with the greatest guitar tapping section in a heavy metal song. The album's strongest and most productional track, Battle Hymn/One Shot At Glory is an underrated Priest classic, with Glenn and K.K.'s guitar shredding abilities set on maximum. Living Bad Dreams is Painkiller's single studio cut ballad, which should have stayed in the album even though it's a break in the all-out metal assault. Following the album's large-scale world tour, Halford quit the band in 1992 and started a solo career, which showed mixed results until his heavy metal return album Resurrection(2000). The remaining band was in stand-by, hiding from the fans for seven years until they found a replacement, Tim "Ripper" Owens and released Jugulator(1997). Unfortunately, this changed the band forever and fans lamented its new death metal, grunge sound. So how does this album fare? Well, it's far removed from their earlier, more successful days, but at the same time, much different than Turbo or Ram It Down. Though Priest was no longer influencing popular metal, you have to wonder if this album really had some historical significance, because a whole lot of neo-classical power metal bands (and even Halford's Resurrection and Crucible albums) borrow HEAVILY from Painkiller. Hmm. Musically, it resembles old Metallica but with non-inspired lyrics. I noticed that many reviewers hated this album just because of "cheezy" lyrics. They may not be poetry in motion, but Halford sings them like no one else can. Just as I had mentioned before in my Ram It Down review, songs don't have to have good lyrics to simply rock, and rocking is what this album does very well. I heartily recommend Painkiller, as its a worthy addition to top off the Priest discography. Come in open minded, and you will not be disappointed. Get ready because Judas Priest will rock your world one last time. And as they say, its better to burn out than to fade away...
Buy this album on Amazon at $10.99
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