Review Summary: The Almighty Priest reclaims their metal throne.
In 1990, Judas Priest was coming off two very disappointing albums (Turbo and Ram it Down). Just when they were down for the count...HERE COMES THE PAINKILLER!!!
With their new recruit of Racer-X drummer Scott Travis, Priest came out with in my mind, THE best album of 1990 (yes, better than Megadeth's Rust in Peace and Pantera's Cowboys from Hell).
During the 80s, Priest went commercial on us. The two 80s albums I enjoyed from them were Screaming for Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith (British Steel is overrated).
Enough of the hubbub, let's get to the meat of this:
Judas Priest is:
Rob Halford: Vocals
K.K. Downing: Guitars
Glenn Tipton: Guitars
Ian Hill: Bass
Scott Travis: Drums
"Painkiller"-Within the first 10 seconds of the song, you are strapped in for absolute mayhem. The riffs are badass as is. However, when you add in Halford's piercing vocals and the almost 2 minute guitar solo, and the nonstop drum performance of one Scott Travis, this IS BADASS PRIEST. 5/5
"Hell Patrol"-Nice crunchy riff that drives the song, although the lyrics are kind of cheesy (more of that later). At the end, it's the music that matters. A very technical riff type of song. 4.5/5
"All Guns Blazing"-Kind of confused with this one. I do enjoy this track, but not as much as the others on this album. Can't deny the vocals on this as well. Sure the riff is great, but no progression. Kind of drags on for too long. Don't consider this to be filler. 3.5/5
"Leather Rebel"-Now THIS is shredding. A wonderful shred-fest to start the track, then into speedy riffs and more double-bass drum attacking. At over 3:30 in length, this really flies by. 5/5
"Metal Meltdown"-Much like previous track, a nice shredding dual solo by Tipton and Downing (don't know the order). Same as before except with a mid-tempo chorus chanting "HERE COMES THE METAL MELTDOWN." The solo really pushes this track to the brink. Along with Halford screaming "ME-TAL MELT-DOWN." 5/5
"Night Crawler"-This is the worst track on the album, not to say that it's bad. The lyrics do drag this down a bit (Fingernails start scratching/On the outside wall/Clawing at the window/"Come to me" as it calls). Not a good example, but listen to the lyrics and you'll get a good idea. 3.5/5
"Between the Hammer & the Anvil"-This is something reminiscent of Screaming for Vengeance (The track "Riding on the Wind"). Starts with a mid-tempo verse with a very catchy riff. Nice breakdown in the bridge along with one of the 3 best solos on the album. 4.5/5
"A Touch of Evil"-We come to the ballad. We get a touch of Turbo in here with the synthesizers in the beginning. This really is a nice crunchy type of riff for a ballad. Kind of like "Beyond the Realms of Death" with a Metallica-esque ballad style..sort of. Nice emotive soloing by Tipton. 5/5
"Battle Hymn/One Shot at Glory"-I include the instrumental "Battle Hymn" with "One Shot at Glory" for a reason...that being the fact that it is two tracks combined as one. "One Shot at Glory" is the definition of "fist-pumping, epic anthem." Everything you expect from the almighty Priest. This easily goes up with "Dissident Aggressor," and "Lochness" as the best album closer for a Priest album. 5/5
This in my mind would be one of the last classic metal albums until 2006 (Slayer's Christ Illusion). I don't consider Iron Maiden's Brave New World (2000) metal, more like progressive rock. I love them both.
If there were requirements for "Metal 101," Painkiller would be one of them.
Album rating: 5/5
