220. Judas Priest / Defenders Of The Faith. 1984. 5/5.

Through the rise and fall of the Judas Priest musical catalogue by the time we had reached the mid-1980’s, one of the things that stuck out by the band was that they had a great ability to write memorable songs. Whether they were extended epics like “Beyond the Realms of Death”, fast and blistering songs such as “Exciter”, short and sharp singles like “The Ripper”, simple chant-inducing songs such as “Breaking the Law” or great cover versions like “Diamonds and Rust”, Priest had a knack of putting out albums with three or four memorable songs. Eventually you had to expect that they would put it all together and release an album that was all killer and no filler, one that showed off all parts of their amazing techniques. And while it is arguable that a couple of album prior to this album fulfilled this criteria, it is perhaps true that “Defenders of the Faith” was the first time they were able to do this.
Not everyone agrees with this assessment of course. Many prefer the excellence of “Screaming for Vengeance” for instance, the episode of which you can find in Season 3 of this podcast, and suggest that this album is just a continuation in the same direction that the previous album started. Others believe the pinnacle was the albums of the 1970’s. There is an argument that their best was yet to come, something with which I agree. And perhaps the most accurate assessment is that both this album and the predecessor can be seen to have been cast from the same mould. What does work for both albums is that all of the pieces fit together, and the album flows from one song to the next effortlessly and seamlessly. While there are the great songs that become the highlights of the album, the peaks are not so defined that they can be picked out easily.

The album opens with the brilliantly amazing “Freewheel Burning”, which has been one of my favourites since it was released. I spent an endless amount of time in those years in the mid-1980’s watching, dissecting and head banging along to the music video that was released for this song, fascinated by the studded armbands and belts, of Rob Halford’s amazing vocal range and of the dual guitars of K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton blazing away. It was a teenagers dream, and the speed and ferocity of the track has never left me. The heavy start to the album continues into “Jawbreaker” which continues to dial in the guitars and Halford’s vocals hitting the high places again. Don’t for a second think that it is a coincidence that the energy of this album is defined by the way Rob brings in all the starring qualities of his voice. He drives these first two songs vocally, and as wonderful as the band is behind him he literally drags you into this album with his vocals. The slightly reduced tempo of “Rock Hard, Ride Free” does not bring this song down in any way. Utilising a typical hard rock tempo and rhythm this is a great follow up to the opening two tracks with a great chanting chorus that invites you to join in.
As brilliant and fantastic as I still believe “Freewheel Burning” to be, my absolute favourite song from the album is “The Sentinel” which is a hallmark of the greatest Judas Priest songs. It has everything that makes this band great. The speed and energy of the track is emphasised by the great rhythm section of Dave Holland’s drums and Ian Hill’s bassline running along in charging fashion. Paste onto this the undercurrent guitar riff and then solo pieces of Downing and Tipton who squeak and squeal in perfect transition, while Halford then pulverises the lyrics in perfect symphony, emoting every nuance from every word. It is a cacophony of excellence and still gives me shivers down my spine every time I hear it. A gem. It closes out one of the finest first halves of any album, ever.
While some believe the second half of the album lets down the first, I choose to consider that it is an almost impossible task to follow it, and as such the songs complement rather than detract from it. “Love Bites” is a slower tempo than what has come before it but still has some surprises to keep the listener interested. This is followed by “Eat Me Alive”, whose greatest claim to fame is that it became one of the songs that landed on the P.M.R.C’s “Filthy 15” song list that they believed should be banned for various reasons to do with sexual innuendo or violence. While the lyrics mightn’t be exceptional the songs itself is still entertaining. Following on from this is another Bob Halligan Jr. song, “Some Heads Are Gonna Roll”. This is a better song that the one Priest recorded for their previous album, and has a much more anthemic feel to it. “Night Comes Down” reverts to a much slower and moodier pace, allowing Rob to again dominate the track with his amazing vocals. The album concludes with the AC/DC like “Heavy Duty” which segues nicely into the title track of “Defenders of the Faith” to complete a terrific album.
While the band has always sounded great, they have everything in order on this album. The guitars riffing and switching between solo licks from guitarist to guitarist is as impressive here as it had been to that point, and as mentioned earlier Halford’s vocals are in peak form, moving between pitches with ease.

Judas Priest came to me via the afore mentioned video for “Freewheel Burning” in particular on the late night video program Rage, along with “Breaking the Law”. That was enough to whet my appetite, and get me to start looking for more Judas Priest to enjoy. That beginning was the “Unleashed in the East” live album, the “British Steel” album – and then this classic. So it is one that I have had for a very long time. Not the 40 years that it has been in existence, but not far off.
This is one of those albums that I can pick up anytime, put on, and enjoy every moment. It is one of those albums that, if I am in a particularly rotten mood, or have had a bad day for any reason, I can put this on, and by the end of the album all of that has disappeared. It is a good mood creator. It’s a feel good album. Rob’s vocals, KK and Glenn’s guitars, it all fits together beautifully. It is just incredibly hard to sing along with because of Halford’s amazing vocal chords, but terrible or not I still do it to every song. This was the age where the New Wave of British Heavy Metal was beginning to morph into something different, and Judas Priest would begin to look at themselves. But if ever the band was going to play an entire album live, surely this one would be up there.
I have spent the last few weeks with this back in my rotation, but to be honest it is never very long sitting on my shelves before it gets another listen. And every time it has lifted my mood immensely, from the opening guitar riff to the closing fade out. 1984 is one of those insane years for album releases, but this would still be one of the first I would name as my favourites of that year. This era of the band is perfectly represented on this album. The band had some albums where they pushed the envelope in regards to the sound they wanted, but when they just got into it, and wrote a heavy metal album, you got results like this.
“Defenders of the Faith” remains one of my favourite Judas Priest albums, and one of my favourite albums, period. It not only has the star attractions such as “Freewheel Burning” and “The Sentinel”, but the remaining tracks aren’t just filling up the cracks, they are players in themselves. Though one Judas Priest album tops them all, this is very close to the top of the tree.