1084. Judas Priest / Killing Machine. 1978. 3.5/5

As they have done on a few occasions during their long and storied career, Judas Priest tended to mix up just how powerful or aggressive their albums were, changing their sound from album to album in a rebuilding fashion. Up until this album there had been a gradual build and refashioning from progressive rock to a heavy metal sound, increasing with each release. And while some of that remains here on Killing Machine, there seems to be a lull overall, something that doesn’t quite hold up with the direction the band had been heading in.

When you put this record on what you get is a polished great sounding album. The playing from all members is superb. The drums are again perfectly played by Les Binks, with his expertise on hi-hats and cymbals especially pleasing. Ian Hill does as he always does with great bass riffs and bottom end throughout. The guitars of Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing are truly superb, and their riffs and solos are caught clean here by producer James Guthrie, while Rob Halford’s vocals are as always fantastic.
However, the songs themselves have taken an interesting turn and that is where the difference lies between this album and the previous two releases. Overall the songs are much less technical, and there is much more basic beat and layout to them. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is quite noticeable from the beginning. There is nothing wrong with any of the songs on the first half of the album, it’s just that there is nothing overtly exciting about them either. I do like the opening track “Delivering the Goods”, but this studio version is just a bit slower and less energetic than it feels it should be. It has all of the qualities to make a really good opening track but by the end it feels as though it has perhaps plodded along rather than energise the album’s starting point. This is followed by “Rock Forever” and “Evening Star”, which both have very basic song patterns, and trot along in a mid-tempo range without any great moments that bring you to life or have you raising a pumped fist along the way. Neither has a breakout solo or anything outstanding from the vocals to become memorable. Slightly better than average songs that fill the space but don’t own it. “Take on the World” looks to be an anthemic song but without the drive or balls to really make it one. In the end it feels weaker than it is because it feels like it is trying too hard to be something it is not. “Burnin’ Up” also falls into the average ranking. The title track “Killing Machine” doesn’t seem to get out of second gear at any stage. The power ballad “Before the Dawn” sounds great, with Halford’s vocals soaring throughout, but it just isn’t my style of song and doesn’t grab me in the slightest. And the closing track “Evil Fantasies”, even though it was written and recorded well before the song “Heavy Duty”, still sounds like a poor cousin to it, and Halford’s vocals for the first half just sound completely out of context with the song. In the majority of these songs, it just feels as though one of the major drawcards of Judas Priest, their twin guitar assault, has gone completely missing.
There are some highlights. “Delivering the Goods” I have already mentioned as one of my favourites, along with the more markedly upbeat “Hell Bent for Leather” (which also substituted for the title of the American released album) and “Running Wild” which I’ve also always loved. Perhaps surprisingly though it is the heavier cover version of Fleetwood Mac’s "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)" which is the star of the show. This was not on the original release of Killing Machine and only originally made it on the U.S release. I didn’t hear Fleetwood Mac’s version for many years after I first had this version, and this version puts it in the shade. That it is the redeeming feature here is interesting given that the other cover songs Priest had done on previous albums were also fan favourites. One thing that you can take from this album is that when performed live the songs on this album sound infinitely better. That isn’t meant to be a criticism, it is just meant to show that the band knew what they were doing in the writing process, it just took until they played them live to get the energy into them that they probably needed in the studio. Take a listen to Unleashed in the East: Live in Japan and you will know what I mean.

While it probably sounds as though I have torn this album apart, it is not all bad. When I put it on and just listen to it without trying to break it down for a review, I listen to it all the way through and enjoy it for what it is. My favourite songs are spread evenly throughout which probably helps that. It is not as good as previous albums, and not as good as some of the albums to come. But rest assured there is still enough here to make this pleasant enough when the mood hits you to take it out of its cover and put it on your stereo.

Rating:  “I move as fast as I can, I like to get around”.  3.5/5