Judas Priest's Reviews

Turbo

(Average Rating: 5.88 out of 10)

'Turbo' Needs A Tune-Up

(Rated this album with 6 out of 10)
Reviewed by emperorcaligula from Dania, Florida United States

For those who aren't aware, 'Turbo' was originally written as double album to be entitled 'Twin Turbo'; however, the band opted to split the material and release it as two separate albums, namely this and 'Ram It Down'. That these songs were all written at the same time is very telling in why both albums were so overwhelmingly disappointing to Priest fans.

To be honest, my problem with this album isn't the use of synthesizer guitars or the Priest's embarrassing hair-and-fashion sense at the time (Dave Holland looking particularly foolish). Frankly, the songs just aren't all that good. I would say that the key to enjoying 'Turbo' would be to take about half the album and throw it away.

The good stuff: "Turbo Lover", an awesome atmospheric number that sounds unbelievably heavy despite it's lack of any really in-your-face metallic guitar theatrics, the catchy "Locked In", the emotionally-charged power ballad "Out In The Cold", and "Reckless", an old school metallizer with high-tech touches. Also noteworthy is the production, which was actually the first-ever full digital recording of a metal album.

Now, the bad: the entire rest of the album. The biggest atrocities? "Parental Guidance" (pandering teen-rebellion ploy), "Rock You All Around the World" (lame commercial Scorpions cheese), "Wild Nights, Hot and Crazy Days" (same), and "Private Property" (stupid plod metal with even stupider lyrics).

Clearly, this was an attempt to cater to a larger US audience which was at the time far more interested in style over substance, and in some ways, it worked, preceding the most successful tour of their career. However, long-time Priest fans like myself were appalled and made no secret of it. Combined with the diminishing impact of commercial hair-and-spandex metal, as well as the release of both Metallica's 'Master of Puppets' and Slayer's 'Reign In Blood' that same year, and 'Turbo''s fate was pretty much sealed.

Get 'Painkiller' and everything Priest did before 'Turbo'. Ignore this, 'Ram It Down', 'Jugulator', and 'Demolition'...Priest in name only and pretenders to the throne, all.

Buy this album on Amazon at $10.99