To be fair, Judas Priest did not invent the Heavy Metal genre that they are now often associated with. That was done by Black Sabbath’s work earlier on in the 1970s. However, having said that Judas Priest does deserve their name in the musical history books for pioneering what was known at the time as The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. No doubt that this highly influential musical movement was hugely important in beginning future musical movements as well, such as Metallica’s Thrash Metal in the 1980s. This is not the greatest album for Heavy Metal, let alone the greatest album that Judas Priest made. However, it is silly to write this one off without listening to it. Let’s take a good listen to this hit record that was highly influential, and hopefully, it will be a very good listen as promised.

Rapid Fire begins with palm-muted riffs, and powerful drumming and launches into an awesome tune that sounds really gritty, dirty and powerful. Instantly, this makes a great impression upon the listener and Rob Halford’s vocals are pseudo-Ozzy Osbourne territory here. The guitars by K.K. Downing and Glen Tipton are also really integral to the sound of Judas Priest. All in all, this is a very strong start to this album, and the whole thing sounds uniformly fantastic, and is packed full of twists and turns within. The guitar riffing after a massive set of drum rolls is insane. This is great listening, and although it is unlikely that this is the most original music, it makes up for it in terms of pure effort. Manic guitar solos are present here, and this whole tune sounds really fantastic. Eddie Van Halen obviously was up against some serious competition on this record. A really solid effort that works wonderfully, every Metal fan should listen to this if they have a need for some historically important music. A great song, through and through. The ending is ridiculously great and ends with a dramatic conclusion by the band, followed by industrial sounds. Awesome.

Metal Gods begins with some slower and more groove based riffing, before launching into another fantastic tune that is a must hear for Metal fans. It may sound somewhat dated to this day, but the music here is absolute gold. It is really awesome, and the band plays thoroughly as a strong unit. The lyrics are about robots (perhaps AI here?) who threaten humanity. This was the dawn of the 1980s, after all. There is an absolutely fantastic guitar solo on this song, and the whole thing is really interesting and amazing to listen to. A great, great song that is frequently overlooked today, this is the transitional moment between Black Sabbath and Metallica in terms of music and performance. A great tune, there is some metallic clanking towards the end as the band play along. An excellent tune, no doubt. Absolutely wonderful for what it is. A Metalhead’s delight.

Breaking The Law is the big hit of this album. It launches straight into an instantly recognisable guitar figure, launching into a short and simple tune about rebellion when bored. This is a really fantastic and awesome tune that sounds lively to this very day. A wonderful music and melodic piece of Metal, this tune sounds much more like Judas Priest’s own music rather than them doing cover songs here, as the rest of the album sounds fairly forced in that regard. All the same, this is very good and amazing to listen to. In the second half, the main guitar figure returns and this song resumes with a glory of guitars, excellent singing and crashing drums. Very good, and short at just over two and a half minutes. Excellent.

Grinder launches right into it, with some good and catchy guitar riffs. The rest of the band follows soon enough, and this tune begins to come alive. An enjoyable and wonderful listening experience, this is a great mixture of elements of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal musically that was popular back in the 1970s. Still, Judas Priest manages to maintain their own originality and speciality when it comes to music. Rob Halford’s vocals are spot on here. There is an extremely enjoyable and manic guitar solo that is really excellent to listen to here, and the whole tune has a great bridge throughout. This is still quite consistently good and impressive by this point of the album, which means that every song is a winner here, contrary to popular opinion. This song is no different, and the music within is legendary. A totally decent, great and thrilling listen, this song sounds like a gem. It concludes with fantastic drum rolls by Dave Holland, before finishing up excellently with a slowed-down tape part. Great work.

United begins with some strangely treated guitar riffs and enters into a groovy and heavy tune. This isn’t as consistent as some of the other songs on this album, but it still kicks the proverbial nicely. The music present is really quite nice to hear and is a good response to Pink Floyd’s The Wall ethos around this time. Nonetheless, this music is incredibly good for what it is and is miles better than anything being made for Pop based audiences today. A really good chant like tune with a breakdown in the second half with heavily reverberated drums, this is a really fantastic listen using the then primitive technology of the day to make a great anthemic number. A long fade out is here, this is excellent music. Worth your time.

You Don’t Have To Be Old To Be Wise is a true statement, if there ever were one. It begins with some interesting guitar licks in the right channel, launching into a good song that sounds powerful. This sounds decent, chugging and a lot like AC/DC. Still, this isn’t Bon Scott and company. Rob Halford sings with a great vocal delivery, and he delivers extremely well on this song. The rest of the group follows along nicely soon afterwards. An excellent piece of music that sounds really divine and memorable, but this does have a slight flaw in that the music is a bit bland. Regardless, it works well. A great pinch harmonic leads into a roaring guitar solo that sounds super expressive. This is as close as Judas Priest gets to AC/DC here, and the whole group work nicely as a unit. A really enjoyable tune, this is absolutely worth hearing. It has chanted vocals towards the end, finishing up with some manic guitar playing and excellent vocals. Excellent, once again. It fades out nicely.

Living After Midnight begins with a typical yet steady drumbeat, launching into an excellent and heavy guitar riff laden song. This is an excellent song and is one of the best listens from this album. It’s a very egotistical, male-centric tune that is a joy to hear. It is about getting out, getting loaded and meeting ladies for the night. Nonetheless, it is memorable, catchy and fun to listen to. This is the sort of music that one can imagine would be played in bars and taverns of the day. Awesome is the best way to describe this classic song. In the second half is a nicely played guitar solo that fits the song perfectly. Fantastic song, and definitely worth your time. A great tune that means a lot more about what the 1980s were about than Michael Jackson ever did. Great music to hear.

The Rage begins with some loose bass guitar riffs by Ian Hill, launching quickly into a quirky drum-led tune with some unusual guitars and other sounds present. Eventually, distorted guitars enter and this song gets underway. It’s a mosh pit moving, kick the proverbial sort of thing. Unfortunately, this does not sound as good as it could do. It sounds rather naff in general. Still, that does not stop it from being enjoyable. A kicking and heavy tune, this has some excellent vocals by Rob Halford, who makes some great fluttery sustained singing here, in terms of vocal vibrato. This is followed by a great guitar solo, which sounds really twisted and amazing. Returning to the sounds from the start of the song, this builds up nicely in terms of overall suspense, to the riffs at hand. Rob Halford returns with some amazing vocals expressing fury at the climax of the song here. Yngwie Malmsteen must have gotten his musical ideas from songs such as these. Great nonetheless. This concludes with a load of dramatic guitar solos and a gong hit. Sweet.

Steeler launches into some good riffing, drumrolls and is a proto-Metallica song. Rob Halford sings about the issues at hand in life and delivers wonderfully here. If anything, Rob Halford is a very underrated singer in the history of Rock and Metal based music. All in all, this is another great listening experience with some expressive, fast and fantastic guitar playing throughout. If this album were not made, Kill ‘Em All would have never existed. Fact. Even so, this is a really top-notch tune that is like a punch in the face: very aggressive. The drumming throughout is really excellent as well. The lyrics are quite mystical, too. The second half has a sectional change with some nice aggressive guitars and fast drumming to match. Some great guitar work is present in the second half, with some whammy style work and fast-paced riffing. Very nice to hear, it concludes with some great mixing and playing from the band, before crashing into oblivion. Nice.

Red, White & Blue is a bit of a patriotic song by Judas Priest. It sounds awful from the start and is definitely not really worth your time. An eye-rolling tune that really needn’t be on this album, this is a weird song that sounds forced and unnatural as a tune. Worth skipping, if you can. This just doesn’t sound like a Judas Priest song and it sucks life out of this album. Nonetheless, the sounds and sound effects present do not prevent this song from being totally unnecessary and mediocre. There are choirs and marching drums, but regardless, this is not needed. Nationalistic and borderline racist, this falls flat. Terrible. The cheering at the end is nonsense.

Grinder – Live begins with some crowd cheering before Rob Halford addresses the crowd at Long Beach in California. A great introduction by Rob Halford is here, and this song eventually gets going. This quite clearly proves that Judas Priest could cut it live as well. A lively, powerful and reputation sealing listen, Judas Priest does a wonderful job here of cutting their live stuff out nicely. Great in its own way, the guitar playing and menacing vocals throughout sound quite excellent, along with the rhythm section. The guitar solos present are frenetic and manic, and this tune is very impressive. A relentless, powerful and interesting listen, Judas Priest could Rock well when needed. Great music to hear, this is an outstanding and thoroughly good live performance here to listen to. A nice addition to this interesting album, and worth listening to conclude this recording with. Excellent. The crowd approve nicely as well.

This is a good album that is not quite a great album. Still, this is historically important and listenable, for the most part. The consistency isn’t quite there, and Judas Priest made better music afterwards in an album format. Even so, this is a really awesome and good listen that is ideal for young males to play with their friends and enjoy. Should you listen to this album? It really depends on if you dig Heavy Metal or not. If you do, go right ahead, but even so, be prepared to skip some tracks. Otherwise, this is not for you.

Interesting, powerful and aggressive.

7/10