Judas Priest's Reviews

Sin After Sin

An excellent classic metal album

In the mid-seventies, a little-known hard rock band from Great Britain known as Judas Priest emerged onto the rock scene. Their first album, Rocka Rolla, wasn't too successful in any part of the world, but it showed that these guys were a band with potential. The follow-up, Sad Wings Of Destiny, showed us what these guys were fully capable of. Following the release of Sad Wings Of Destiny, someone must have heard it and been very impressed, because the guys got a deal with a major record label. In 1977, they released their third studio album, Sin After Sin. And to make things even better, every Judas Priest album from Sin After Sin to Painkiller has recently been remastered and given two unreleased bonus tracks (usually an unreleased studio session and an unreleased live session.) Read on for my review of Sin After Sin.

Sinner - The opener is a prime example of straight-up classic metal, with a very slight but noticable melodic touch. In this track, Halford's vocals are simply killer.

Diamonds And Rust - This one is a cover of an old Joen Baez song (she was a fairly famous recording artist from the hippie era.) This song is a little weird because it's so much different from what you're used to hearing from Judas Priest, but it's still a good one.

Starbreaker - Here we've got classic British hard rock at its very best. Halford's vocals, as usual, are excellent. One of the guitar riffs in this song was later used in their biggest hit, You've Got Another Thing Coming.

Last Rose Of Summer - If the title of this track didn't give it away, this one slows things down a bit. Basically, what you get here is a slow, melodic ballad. It's a good track - surprising since Priest is recognized for being a classic METAL band.

Let Us Prey/Call For The Priest - This one kicks off with some excellent guitar riffs and "chanted" vocals, giving the first few moments a "holy" sound. Before long, it becomes a classic NWOBHM assault on your senses that you won't soon forget. Great song.

Raw Deal - With this track, the band does what just about every British hard rock band of the day was trying to do. This one's got some good vocals, but ultimately, it's probably the weakest track here - it's not a bad one, though.

Here Come The Tears - This is a very interesting track due to style fusion. Though it starts out as a slow and melodic ballad using a piano and acoustic guitars, it quickly adds electric guitar riffs into the mixture. Surprisingly, the style fusion works well.

Dissident Aggressor - The closing track (to the original version of the album) is the fastest one on the album, and it's no less heavy than the previous ones. Once again, Halford's vocals steal the show.

BONUS TRACKS:

Race With The Devil - This is an excellent example of early British hard rock/heavy metal. It sounds like what a number of bands were trying to do in the early seventies, just after the discovery of heavy metal. Although this track steals the riff from UFO's Doctor Doctor, it's still an excellent one, and I'm glad to see it finally get an official release.

Jawbreaker (live) - The closer is a live version of a track that wouldn't actually make it to a studio album until 1984. This live version is less polished and of lower sound quality than its finished brother, but it's still a good track overall.

If you're a fan of classic hard rock/heavy metal, Sin After Sin is a highly recommended album. THIS is what heavy metal is supposed to sound like, unlike the garbage that has been flooding the airwaves in recent years. Just make sure you buy the remastered edition, or you'll miss out on the bonus tracks!

SIDE NOTE: An interesting note to anyone who cares - I recently received word that Rob Halford has rejoined Judas Priest, and they will be touring and releasing a new studio album (Halford's replacement singer in Judas Priest, Tim "Ripper" Owers, left to become the new singer of Iced Earth.) And when that new album hits stores, you can rest assured I will be reviewing it.

Buy this album on Amazon at $10.99