Judas Priest's Reviews
Stained Class (Average Rating: 8.66 out of 10)
Creativity and complexity: an immortal classic (Rated this album with 10 out of 10)
Reviewed by
barna_d
from Hungary
Judas Priest rose to high popularity in the beginning of the '80s by the expansion of NWOBHM, so I think their earlier classic works have got lost a bit beside the records of that era. But this album is a star-turn of their career. What's striking at first and is the virtue of 'Stained Class' is the complexity of the songs that the later albums lacked in this measure. I even risk to say it contains some of the ever-greatest epic works of Heavy Metal, like 'Stained Class', 'Beyond The Realms Of Death' or 'Saints In Hell'. And not forgetting the double-bass drummed hellfast thunder of 'Exciter', true Speed Metal from 1978! - with a magnificient drum-intro exhausting later many times (f.e. 'Riding On The Wind', 'Painkiller', 'Machine Man'). The bizarre and brutal riffs of 'Saints In Hell' were conceived in an extreme manner that wasn't spread until the nineties.
The guitarists - mainly Glenn - are doing some of their most memorable and finest solo-works with capturing melodies and atmosphere, but I must emphasize the mighty and striking, rather versatile riffs, too - some of them are also among the best and heaviest Priest ever created. I don't miss to mention the excellent drumming of Les Binks (my personal favourite), who was also the most creative drummer of Priest, because though he wrote only one song, all the memorable that is: 'Beyond The Realms Of Death' (though I would lie if I said its main distorted riff doesn't resemble too much the one of Mountain's 'Thumbsucker' from their LP 'Avalanche'.) And even more on this album Priest finally reached a faultless and powerful sound (not forgetting it is 1978!). By the way its cover shows first that well-known angular Judas Priest logo.
'Stained Class' was the final argument that proved: this band was predestined to be a long time vanguard of heavy music.
Buy this album on Amazon at $10.99
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