What can I say about Judas Priest that has not already been said? Probably very little. As influential and important as Judas Priest has been, I have paid precious little real attention to them. Of course, I was familiar with many of their biggest hits, such as "Breaking the Law" and "Living After Midnight," but there are so many other songs, obviously that I was completely unfamiliar with. I only actually ever owned one Judas Priest album, and of course, I think it is their best, that album being Painkiller.
I was then introduced to Judas Priest live last fall. I had the opportunity to see them last November when they were touring with the reunited Anthrax. That concert was absolutely amazing, and went a long way toward truly opening my eyes to the genius that is Judas Priest. It has been slow going over the past decade getting me into some of those bands that, for one reason or another, or even no reason at all, I never listened to. The other main band that I "discovered" during this period was Iron Maiden, which has become one of my favorites. But I digress, let us move on to the set, shall we?
The Essential Judas Priest is a two CD set that spans the bands three decades of metal mastery, and contains 34 tracks. My main complaint with the set is that the tracks are not in chronological order. That is something I like in my best of collections, I like listening to the progression in a band's sound as I listen through their best cuts; unfortunately, that doesn't happen here.
The set is framed by a pair of songs from Priest's latest release, Angel of Retribution. It opens with "Judas Rising" and closes with "Revolution." In between those two is a complete survey of the metal landscape, as has been crafted by these men since the 1970s. There are some absolutely fantastic tracks here.
Article comments
1 - Triniman
The only songs that I don't like on this compilation are Hell Patrol, Hot Rockin', Out In The Cold and Revolution. Compilations, for whatever reason, almost always include some lame material since they really want you to buy the original albums. Priest are at that stage in their career when they will release as many compilation and live albums/ DVDs as studio albums. Their new album is reportedly about Nostradamus.
Do check out Sad Wings of Destiny, British Steel, and Hell Bent To Leather, if you're not familiar with them.