Stained Class

Day 19: Judas Priest is the greatest band of all time and if you disagree with me, you are wrong. Personally, I would rank this as their second best record. And it comes from what I believe to be the best era of Judas Priest: the 70's Priest. At that time, Priest where a new up and coming band that exploded on to the scene. They had to prove to everyone that they weren't just another run of the mill rock band. In order to do so, they pieced together their most musically ambitious masterpieces that set the bar unattainably high.
The entire band is in perfect form. The twin lead attack of Glen Tipton and KK Downing is in full force. They're constantly spitting out riffs, licks, and leads with impeccable chops that cannot be rivaled by anyone else. The title track and the album opener "Exciter" are prime examples of this. "Exciter" is pure fucking speed metal that would be copied by every metal band (there's a band that literally named themselves after this song). The title track opens up with a powerful solo before giving way to thundering gallop that Iron Maiden would steal and turn into a career. "Saints in Hell" features a middle break section that's total fucking thrash metal. "Savage" centers on a topic that Iron Maiden would borrow and call it "Run to the Hills". Priest did it first, heavier, and better. The album closer "Hero's End" contains one of the most sinister riffs ever. Then there's the power ballad to end all power ballads: "Beyond the Realms of Death". Don't even bother listening to "Fade to Black", or "Children of the Damned", or "Gods of Wrath". This is the only power ballad you'll ever need. In fact, forget Iron Maiden, Metallica, and Metal Church. They suck. Just listen to Priest!
The other highlight is, of course, none other than the Metal God himself: Rob Halford. He sounded amazing during the 80's.He still wielded tremendous power during the 90's. Hell, he may struggle to hit the highs, but he can still slay it at age 67. But his performances in the 70's where inhuman. Not only did he wield such commanding power and presence, they where also breathtakingly beautiful in a way that every single other metal singer must simply kneel down and admire.
The drummer Les Binks and bassist Ian Hill also deserve credit. Les Binks is among the first drummers to bash out double bass beats. Check out that intro to Exciter. Boy, the intro to Painkiller sure sounds inspired by that opening. Ian Hill just follows the guitar lines, which is no simple task for riffs of this caliber.
Stained Class is perhaps Judas Priest's most ambitious work. They wouldn't write songs that are this challenging again. It's just what happens to bands. They reach their peak of musical depth and complexity, and then they start simplifying things and streamlining their sound to attract a larger audience. There's nothing wrong with that. Guys have to pay bills, after all. And these guys did it even that better than anyone. They basically invented mainstream metal with Killing Machine (that's Hell Bent for Leather for us Yankees) and British Steel.
I must have listened to Stained Class a thousand times. I still don't get tired of it. I could literally sit there and listen to it on repeat and never get bored of it.
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