1082. Judas Priest / Sin After Sin. 1977. 4/5

For those coming in late to the Judas Priest story, Sin After Sin can perhaps be best described as a conduit. It is the bridge between how the band started out and how they were to transform. The beginnings of this could be found on the Sad Wings of Destiny album with some of the songs there. This definitely increases and improves here though there is enough of the past sound here to allow it to be labelled as the bridge between the two eras of the band. Like the previous album there are three or four stand out songs here that can still be compared to the best that Judas Priest has written and performed, however it is the overall change in the music that is produced that makes this an interesting album to listen to.

Leading off the album is the quite brilliant “Sinner” which screams off the vinyl and marks itself as one of the great opening tracks of a Judas Priest album. The tone is set from the outset, with Halford’s vocals screaming for the ceilings and the guitars taking lead throughout. Even when it slows it is a menacing slowness, atmospherically driven by the guitars and the terrific drum work combining hi-hats and cymbals in perfect synchronisation. It is still a sensational song. This is followed by the famously speeded up and heavy version of “Diamonds and Rust”, originally written and performed by Joan Baez. It is amazing that such a cover song, given a more rock oriented grunt, was the song that first gave Judas Priest time on radio airwaves. Apart from that it is a great version of the song and alongside another cover version that came along a couple of years later has become a staple for all fans of the band
If “Sinner” is the complex part of Priest, and “Diamonds and Rust” is the creative part of Priest, then “Starbreaker” is the heart of Priest. It is the kind of song that they eventually made the centre of their albums, the straight forward heavy song with that amazing rhythm base of the drums and Ian Hill’s brilliantly effective bass lines, holding the centre as the guitars of Glen Tipton and K. K. Downing firstly wind together and then explode separately into their solo sections before their duet in harmony, and allowing the unique vocal chords of Rob Halford to do their thing. “Starbreaker” is not the star attraction, but it is the song that holds its own with the superstar attractions and continues the great vibe of the album, and it is songs like this that gives Judas Priest its star billing.
“Last Rose of Summer” is the best example of a song reaching back to their past. While Halford’s vocals easily climb around the melody of the tracks and give it that honeyed simplicity that makes it likeable, there is no power at all in the music itself. The drums blithely keep time while the guitars are kept in check all the way through, almost acoustically driven rather than the full power twin lead/rhythm that made the band who they became. Certainly this is not a bad song, it is indeed a terrific track filled with great musicianship – but it is a ballad driven song that changes the mood of the album from the time it begins until the time it ends. Sin After Sin was pretty much the final album that contained songs such as this. The same can be said of the album’s other more reflective track, “Here Come the Tears”. It too heralds back to the band’s earlier material, though on a much more mature and composed writing and performing scale. It builds from the start into a crescendo of guitar solo and Halford’s vocals crying over the top, which will either please the fan or set them in their place.
The short intro of “Let Us Prey” cuts straight into “Call for the Priest” – showcases the best of the Tipton/Downing partnership in the middle section, trading solo pieces and then combining for the harmony guitars in the middle as well. It is this that was developed over the following albums that made Judas Priest what they became, and while “Call for the Priest” may only be classed as a ‘better than average’ interpretation of that here on this album, all the bones are visible and accounted for. “Raw Deal” does much the same thing, another good song that, for anyone who has heard future albums, contains similar sounds and musical turns from some more famous songs that were to come down the line.
Perhaps the track that best sums up where the band is heading is the album closer, “Dissident Aggressor”, which starts with a layered Halford scream and is followed by the hard and heavy guitars soaring through the heaviest section of the album while the great rhythm of the drums and the bass drive this along in its hardest elements. It’s heavy and short, so short that you can’t believe it is over when it finishes. It is still enough forty years later to give you shivers and make you want to listen to more, both hear and on other albums. It is still a great track and embodies just what Judas Priest had in front of them.

As a bridge between the past and the future, this album does its job. Each element of the band does their job well, and the songs have increased in power and aggression. Those songs that still remain with a tinge of the early days sound terrific musically but for me just drag it back from being an elite album. It doesn’t stop it from being a very good album, and is a necessary stop for those who want to know what Judas Priest were about before they became one of the flag bearers of the heavy metal movement.

Rating: “We both know what memories can bring”. 4/5