The decade of the 1980’s had had its ups and downs when it came to the popularity of Judas Priest. But perhaps more importantly, it had included a degree of differing styles in what Priest had chosen to infuse into their music at different times of that decade. Over the course of four albums in just over four years - “British Steel”, “Point of Entry”, “Screaming for Vengeance” and “Defenders of the Faith” - the band had ridden high on the wave of heavy metal that they had helped to create, and saw their style of dual guitar metal mayhem rise to the top of the echelons they were aiming for. Their decision to move in a similar direction to some of their contemporaries to include a synth sound in their mix for their 1986 album “Turbo” was no doubt seen at the time as a canny if brave move, and while it produced success in some areas along with a hit single, retrospectively it has not been seen to have aged well. Their response to this was to do a hard right turn and try to recover lost support with the “Ram it Down” album in 1988, purported to be a return to their more traditional style of heavy metal. More than anything else on these two albums, it was a combination of differing musical style along with lyrical content that seem slightly more ludicrous than Spinal Tap that was a major stumbling block, combined with the rapid rise in popularity of thrash metal in the form of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and other bands that was drawing attention away from Judas Priest and what they were producing.
At what point can it be conceived that the band decided that they needed to make a hard decision, and perhaps accept they had made a slight error in their direction? Synths had come in for “Turbo”, but were for the most part pushed out on “Ram it Down”, which was proclaimed to be a return to what Judas Priest did best. Even for someone like me, who enjoys every Judas Priest album and almost every era of the band, I found that the messing about with the ingredients over the previous four years had caused a change in the final product. Having taken the decision to try and run with the synth metal direction, they now found themselves approaching the new decade down the wrong garden path, ending up in the field of poppies rather than the thrash heavy populus of the Emerald City. They were not the only band to have found this fate awaiting them due to similar choices. But this was Judas Priest! One of the bands on which heavy metal had been formed! So the hard and difficult decision began to be made.
Somewhere, somehow, following the tour to promote the “Ram it Down” album, long time drummer Dave Holland was moved on. In his place they brought in the powerhouse of Scott Travis, whose powerful double kick drumming with the band Racer X had always been a prominent part of their music. They also decided to go in a different direction with their producer, with long time partner Tom Allom being let go and Chris Tsangarides coming into the chair. Now, the writing process had to begin for their next album, and given the adjustment and then over correction of their previous two albums, the discussion between the band and the writers and new producer must have been fascinating. Just what did they want and need to produce with their music in order to regain their position as one of the front runners of the heavy metal industry? Given the ground they appeared to have lost to the up and coming thrash metal elite, it would not be an easy task. So what did they do? They produced the album “Painkiller”, and absolutely crushed the fucking music world.
Way back in 1990, there was an absolute plethora of albums coming out that have become folklore in the world of heavy metal music. People’s opinions vary somewhat on them, but as a twenty year old trawling the record store shelves it was an amazing year of releases for this genre. While it is hard to go past albums like Megadeth’s “Rust in Peace” and Slayer’s “Seasons in the Abyss” and Anthrax’s “Persistence of Time” as the stand out albums of this year, one album in particular for me was the one that shepherded heavy metal music into the new decade. It also brought life back to the band in question, hurtling them to the top once again with another album that was a star attraction. The band was Judas Priest, and the album of course was “Painkiller”.
I had pre-ordered this album at the local record store, and came home from work one day to find my mother had picked it up for me. Having done the usual post-work things I took it to my room and put it on and, as I am sure occurred to almost every person who has listened to this album, was completely blown away by the opening drum fill from new Priest drummer Scott Travis. Having ben well informed of this ‘new guy’s’ previous work with Racer X, and that he was a beast of the drums, it shouldn’t have been a surprise, but that opening drum extension was just mind blowing from the outset. It is still as brilliant today, and then that magnificent guitar scream comes in over the top, before the song descends into the opening riff chords. And we are away – but everything you need to know about the album “Painkiller” comes in the opening fifteen seconds of the opening title track. You only got one chance to hear this opening to the album for the first time, but each and every time I play this album, I feel as exhilarated as I did the first time I heard it. It is almost unmatched in heavy metal music history. From there the song just continues into brilliance, as Rob’s vocals join the party, and sit in that high extreme phase of his range for practically the entire song, making it practically impossible to actually sing along with him. It is an incredible vocal feat, one that allows this song to remain as amazing as it has been for the past 35 years. It is a new Halford here, taking charge from the outset, making it known that Judas Priest is here to play with the so called youth brigade, and they are in no mood to relinquish their crown. The dual guitar solos in the middle of the song just tear it apart, and that scream to end the track is outstanding. What a way to open a new album.
What brought about this ‘revival’ in the band and its music? Was it really a revival? There are plenty of fast and hard tracks on the previous album “Ram It Down” along with a toning down of the keyboard and synth side of the recordings, something that makes a return in bigger and more bold direction here. No doubt the addition of Scott Travis on drums rekindles something that Dave Holland did not. Holland’s drumming was always precision and timing perfect and certainly never detracted from the music. Probably the difference here, as is evident from the opening of the album, is that Travis adds to the music and songs and isn’t just a part of the furniture. HIs drumming doesn’t just hold the rhythm, it becomes a bigger part of the picture, and this alone does make a difference in the songs produced.
The other factor changed here is the re-emergence of Chris Tsangaridis as producer, replacing Tom Allom who had produced every Judas Priest album since “Killing Machine”. Was his presence alone enough to create the changes that came with this album? Probably not, but the fact that he gave a fresh air of advice along with his success in those recent times with many other bands and artists surely added to the changes that came with the writing and recording of “Painkiller”.
What we got here was a mashing and melding of all of the greatest parts of Judas Priest, and then amplified beyond the normal. There is aggression in the lyrics and the vocals, there is fire in the guitars and bass, and there is speed and double kick to an extreme in the drums. Rob Halford’s vocals, often dormant in regards to his higher range over some albums, are at their most damaging here, so much so that it makes it almost impossible to sing along with him throughout this album. When Rob is reaching for the ceiling you know every effort is going into the song and it brings the roof down. The added power of the drumming of Scott Travis gives these songs a greater punch, and a harder and faster tempo than they would without it. Ian Hill’s bass is at its best too, providing the big bottom end that highlights the riffs it is backing while exerting its own rumbling influence over them, especially in songs like “All Guns Blazing” and “A Touch of Evil”. Sometimes maligned by those who aren’t fans of the band, Hill’s basslines on this album are a massive part of what makes them so great. Through it all, the magic of the twin guitars of K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton rule all. The melodic interludes that then get ripped apart by their blazing and blistering solos are the culmination of years of brilliant songs and writing. Yes they have been a part of so many amazing interludes over so many albums, but it truly feels as though it was all building to what they produced on this album.
Everything here is a triumph. Those faster and heavier songs such as “Painkiller”, the rifling of “All Guns Blazing”, the almost speed metal tendencies of “Leather Rebel” and pure heavy metal of “Between the Hammer and the Anvil” are complemented perfectly by the slightly less speed influenced but more heavy groove influenced tracks such as the doom riding of “Hell Patrol”, the heavy hitting tones of “Metal Meltdown”, the creepy horror film soundtrack vibes of “Night Crawler” and the charging fist pumping victory anthem of “One Shot at Glory”. On the outlier is the moody brilliance of “A Touch of Evil” which is still perhaps the show stealer it always threatened to be, the one slight change in appearance with the drenching synth that only enhances the concept of the song and the darkening mood that it portrays, a template that could well have been the benchmark of Judas Priest writing sessions had that future panned out differently. There is not a weak song here. Everything clips together perfectly, segueing from one brilliant track to the next, exhorting you to sing, chant or scream along in unison while frantically playing those air guitars to a standstill.
It is ludicrous that although this album was recorded early in 1990, and indeed was completed by the end of March, that it was not released until six months after that date. This was due to the much publicised trial over the supposed subliminal messages that finally began in June of 1990, a civil trial over the alleged backward messages on the Judas Priest song “Better By Me, Better Than You”, that it is alleged encouraged the suicide attempt of two teenagers in 1985. The case was eventually dismissed on 24 August 1990, which allowed the band to finally release their new album.
As I alluded to earlier, I had pre-ordered this album from The Rock Factory at Shellharbour Square, one of our nearby record stores, and arrived home from work one day to find my mother had gone and picked it up for me and left it on my bed. And so that afternoon I put it on, and had my brains metaphorically blown out. And it did the same things for months afterwards, alongside those other several albums I have mentioned here that came out around this same time - “Rust in Peace”, “Persistence of Time”, “Seasons in the Abyss” and “Empire”. It was an incredible time in music for a 20-year-old headbanger.
This album defined for me where I thought metal was heading back in 1990, into the next decade. Along with those other brilliant albums from the same year, it felt as though this was going to be the new direction that heavy metal was going to take, the morphing of heavy and thrash and speed metal into a monster that bands like Priest, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer could paint the decade of the 1990’s with, that they would make this the next wave, the next generation, of the heavy metal story. Of course it all became a ‘final shot at glory’, as Priest had almost predicted with their closing track.
This album is rarely away from my stereo for a long length of time. It always seems to find a reason to be played, to find its way off the shelves and back into my stereo. When my friends from over the years get together to have a few drinks and reminisce on old times, this album always seems to be a part of the soundtrack. Everything about it brings back this moment in time, as most of us turned 21 years of age within months of its release, and that period of our lives has this rusted onto it.
Last year I was fortunate enough to be asked to be a guest on the wonderful podcast hosted by Jay and Jeff that is called the Judas Priestcast, and on this episode, we were asked to come up with a movie idea that incorporated Judas Priest songs as the soundtrack to that movie. I basically took the entire “Painkiller” album and built my story idea around it, so that I could use the album as the soundtrack. Yes, that was slightly obsessive, but that is exactly how I feel about this album. Also, if you haven’t done so already, check out the Judas Priestcast podcast, it is one of the best out there.
So as you can probably imagine, I have had this album out for the last couple of weeks, and once again I have been playing it to death once again. Somewhere between 15 to 20 times as I first bathed in its awesomeness, and then studied its characteristics intensely. It is an album I could have spent another hour or so praising its magnificence, outlining its every great moment in intense detail. For the most part I have avoided that, simply for the fact that you all know this album as well as I do, and you either agree with me or you don’t, and no amount of fanboying about that will change your mind. Which is not what I am here to do. My role on this podcast is to present you with the albums of my life, the good and the average, and offer to you my opinion for what it is worth. I hope you’ll agree with me, but I understand that won’t always be the case. When it comes to this album, suffice to say that it is one of the most important building blocks in my love of music, and also myself as a person. If you delve below my surface, you will find the hell patrol, you will find all guns blazing, all taking that one shot at glory.
As I mentioned, I truly believed this album was pointing towards the future of heavy metal in 1990. Not for the first or last time in my life, I would be proven wrong. Grunge had taken seed, and Metallica would further commercialise the genre with the release of the black album the following year, and bands began to change their sound away from this magnificence to something… less magnificent. Judas Priest of course went on a lengthy sabbatical after this tour, with Rob Halford leaving the band for other ventures, and what should have been the album that provided the springboard to further greatness for the band instead became a lasting monument to their memory and legacy instead, and for a long time looked as though it would be their final chapter. All in all, it would not have been a bad way to bow out.
