Unitron Probably my favorite 70's Priest album, maybe because in parts it reminds me of Rush's Caress of Steel. The energetic fun heavy metal is at its most energetic and fun with the likes of Starbreaker and Dissident Aggressor, and the summer introspection anthem Last Rose of Summer is the Priest equivalent of Rush's Lakeside Park with its laidback rock perfection. Raw Deal is pure swagger in the vein of their later Killing Machine album. Their heavy metal version of Diamonds and Rust is beautiful and one of the best cover songs out there so much that more people know it as a Priest song than a Joan Baez one, and Here Comes the Tears is intensely and emotionally powerful with one of Halford's absolute finest and touching vocal performances.

SilentScream213 Finally breaking the mold. Though most disagree, this album trumps everything else Priest did in the 70’s and 80’s in my opinion. The first traces of speed and power metal show up in pummeling tracks like Starbreaker and Let Us Prey. The meanest, heaviest riffs ever put to record are shown off in closer Dissident Aggressor. And that cover of Diamonds and Rust is absolutely flawless, it remains my favorite Priest song.

Rob’s vocals are more aggressive than they have ever been and ever would be until the landmark Painkiller release, and they are indicative of the raw power of this record. Underrated and never given the credit it deserves as a game changing release for the band as well as the entire genre of Metal.

Vim Fuego Judas Priest’s career has been built around cheesy but well-meaning anthems, short on substance but laden with leather-clad heavy metal appeal. With this in mind, ‘Sin After Sin’ seems like an oddity, and a relic of an age long since passed. And that’s exactly what it is.

By modern standards, the production values of this album seem quaint and understated. The guitars lack bite, and the drums are somewhat leaden. Luckily, Rob Halford’s clarion call voice shines through the murk. The subject matter of the songs seems somewhat grey and despondent. Song titles like “Last Rose Of Summer”, “Here Come The Tears”, and “Call For The Priest/Raw Deal” might not seem out of place on a goth album. At the time this album was recorded, Judas Priest had plenty to be gloomy about, because heavy metal was apparently on its last legs. In 1977, spiked hair, ripped jeans and safety pins were sweeping aside musical pre-requisites like an ability to play an instrument, hold a tune or write a song. Punk was the answer to the question of where rock should head, which must have been a pretty dumb question if punk was the best answer. Bands like Judas Priest and their ilk were destined for extinction, a supposed dead end branch of rock’s evolution.

Like the mammalians of the time of the great dinosaur extinction 65 million years ago, Judas Priest adapted and survived. First off, “Sinner” is the earliest example of those unforgettable anthems. It has the strongest riff on the album and a memorable refrain, with Halford unleashing a helium fuelled falsetto. “Diamonds And Rust” electrified Joan Baez’s folk standard, but surprisingly, it’s completely indistinguishable from Priest’s own material.

“Last Rose Of Summer” and “Here Come The Tears” are ballads which might have seemed more at home on an Elton John record in the 70s, except for the odd power chord. “Let Us Prey” lives up to the album’s gloomy image with its intro, but then rocks off with double kick drums, dual guitar harmonies and a truckload of riffs.

“Dissident Aggressor” is a case of saving the best ‘til last. The heavy, driving main riff is accompanied by thunderous drumming from session drummer Simon Phillips. Rob Halford let rip, with his soaring multi-tracked vocals. The six-string duo of Glenn Tipton and KK Downing also had a licence to shred in what is a short, sharp punch to close the album.

Despite the flat production, ‘Sin After Sin’ is oddly compelling. Crank the volume and all the studio induced problems disappear. Ultimately, ‘Sin After Sin’ doesn’t have the instant appeal of later classic albums like ‘British Steel’, ‘Killing Machine’, or ‘Screaming For Vengeance’, but is a far more thoughtful album, with more substance.

666sharon666 Sin After Sin, the third album of Judas Priest, was released in 1977. This is the only Judas Priest album to be recorded with the actual band only as a four-piece as the drums were handled by session musician Simon Phillips. It also marks the band's move to CBS Records which resulted in them getting a much bigger budget for the album, at the cost of breaking their contract with prior label Gull. For this album Judas Priest included a cover of the song Diamonds and Rust, originally by Joan Baez. It's not actually their first attempt at the song though, a previous version was made during the Sad Wings of Destiny sessions but only released on later releases including a reissue of Rocka Rolla.

Perhaps because of the massive budget increase that the label move gave them, Sin After Sin is quite a different sounding album to the previous Sad Wings of Destiny. The sound quality is a lot more polished (though it should perhaps be noted that I am listening to the 2001 re-mastered version here). The music is a little different as well and in some ways feels like both a step forward and a step back for Judas Priest in that it's got more of their hard rock roots going on than Sad Wings of Destiny, which I consider a pure heavy metal album (ballads aside). Sin After Sin crosses the line between hard rock and heavy metal a lot more. While a decent follow-up for Sad Wings of Destiny it's my opinion though that Sin After Sin is one of the least interesting Judas Priest records. I really like the Diamonds and Rust cover (to this day I have never checked out the original) and the opening song Sinner is as classic Judas Priest as you can find but the album doesn't include any other songs that I'd deem absolutely essential listening for the band, though Starbreaker comes close.

Attribution: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/judas-priest-sin-after-sin-t3789.html

Sinkadotentree "Sad Wings Of Destiny" was a tough act to follow but i think they did very well with the 1977 release "Sin After Sin". And it's cool that Simon Phillips is on drums here. The guy can play and he's been involved with some excellent projects over the years including among others 801 and Gary Boyle's classic record "The Dancer". Things get started with "Sinner" with that low end riffing sound as Halford sings over top. The chorus kills ! Check out the incredible instrumental section starting before 3 minutes that lasts well over a minute. Nice. "Diamonds And Rust" a Joan Baez cover and i've never heard the original but i've known this song for a long time from their live album. A feel good tune. "Starbreaker" opens with drums before the guitars and bass kick in. We're grooving now as Halford joins in. Good tune. "Last Rose Of Summer" is out of left field isn't it ? A ballad-like song that is well done but not what you'd expect on a PRIEST record. "Let Us Pray / Call For The Priest" is good once it kicks into that uptempo sound. "Raw Deal" sounds great early with that guitar then the rest of the band starts to join in. I like this one a lot. "Here Come The Tears" is laid back but i like the guitar solo part way through that goes on and on. "Dissident Agressor" was later covered by SLAYER and is a definite highlight for me. This one kicks some ass for almost 3 minutes. So a solid record for sure and worth the four stars in my opinion.

voila_la_scorie By circumstance of economics, “Sin After Sin” became my second Judas Priest album purchase, following “Screaming for Vengeance”. Quite simply, “Sin After Sin” was the cheapest JP cassette in the store and one my meagre earnings as a weekly real estate paper carrier could afford. Immediately I noticed the difference in sound and style from the infamous 1982 release that had blown my pre-adolescent socks off; however, I was not in the least bit disappointed and over the intervening decades this has become the Judas Priest album whose songs get the most plays on my listening devices.

In “The Story of Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith” by Neil Daniels, Chronos of Venom says that he used to call this album “Riff After Riff”. For many fans of heavy music in 1977, this was an album that picked up the heavy metal banner and waved it madly. From my perspective these days, this album was a crucial turning point for the band in a couple of ways. They had recently signed with Columbia Records after leaving Gull and began their long-running relationship with that label. But musically the band were beginning to depart from their more progressive heavy rock sound and this is what I would say is the last progressive metal album by Priest until “Nostradamus” 30 years later.

Yes, I do believe Judas Priest’s earliest recordings could be classified as progressive metal just as many of Sabbath’s songs also fit the bill. Consider that the two Gull albums “Rocka Rolla” and “Sad Wings of Destiny” included synthesizer and piano (thanks to Glenn Tipton’s musical training) and multipart songs, some of which ran over 7 minutes (one 10-minute long instrumental was shortened to 2 minutes thanks to the label and management). Furthermore, in the early seventies founding frontman, Al Atkins described his band’s music as heavy blues-based progressive rock, and many of his compositions were used in whole or in part on the first two albums. “Sin After Sin” continues this more progressive approach with three tracks reaching 6 minutes or more and having at least two parts to them. After this, Priest would write mostly shorter tracks for the next few albums.

The album’s opening track, “Sinner” starts with a crazy springy and dirty guitar sound and quickly the songs quick rock-out pace begins. Rob Halford is in fine form, using his rough-edged trademark voice and occasionally sliding smoothly over to his deeper voice. There are some complex guitar parts leading into the bridge and the speed slows down for a psychedelic spacy and evil guitar solo. The song returns to the complex bridge before a ripping guitar solo ensues and then we reach the dramatic finale. I think this is one of my favourite JP songs for its complexity and fabulous playing.

The following track is a cover of a Joan Baez song, “Diamonds and Rust”. In those days, Judas Priest often included a cover song on their albums and this version of a folk artist’s song is interesting if nothing else. It’s almost disco rock with a clean galloping guitar riff. Actually, Priest recorded a version of this song with Gull which was included on the unauthorized (by the band) Gull release “Hero Hero” and later on releases of “Rocka Rolla”.

Next up, Judas Priest introduce us to another one of their fictitious characters that appear on many albums, and this one is the “Star Breaker”, a gritty, driving metal tune. This is followed by what is perhaps the first true Priest ballad or love song, “Last Rose of the Summer.” I think it was this song to which many years later some thrash metal artist referred when he said that his band’s latest album wouldn’t contain any sappy songs “about giving your girlfriend a f**king rose.” Can’t remember who that was but that quote is stuck in my brain. It is, if you like pleasant and gentle electric guitar playing, a pretty number though in no way a power ballad.

Side B of the album takes us back to the solid metal sound that Priest was becoming known for. “Let Us Prey/Call for the Priest” breaks into a speedy metal pace after the intro and “Raw Deal” has some really mean bad-ass guitar riff. Over the last year and a bit, this has been my most-listened-to Priest song. It’s curious to think that the story concerns a visit to a famous gay bar in New York. And still so many of us were surprised when Halford came out of the closet two decades later!

“Here Come the Tears” is only 4:36 but it’s in three parts. Starting with a gentle electric guitar in the song's intro and Halford singing softly, the song changes to acoustic strumming and those wonderful clean vocals that Halford can produce (he still remains one of my favourite singers), then shifts to a heavy doomy mood that I believe includes some heavy piano chords and also some soloing that complements that mental/emotional-collapse atmosphere of the music. One a side note, my Columbia copy of the CD from the 90’s split this track so that the intro was part of “Raw Deal”. The remastered CD has the songs properly separated.

The final track is the incredible metal madness number “Dissident Aggressor,” which was later covered by Slayer. It segues from “Here Come the Tears” by means of trickling guitar effects that mimic the sounds of a brook and some trippy cosmic effects. Then abruptly the song explodes with a monster heavy riff and Halford delivering a scream that sounds inhuman. The song is only just over three minutes long but drives through like a tank going through a school. The guitar solo erupts like some malignant spirit bursting into the material world. There’s only one part where things calm down a little but only to set the mood for the last part of the song, which continues its bombast right to the yet again abrupt conclusion.

Though different from the more commercially successful albums that would follow, I personally love this album, and it seems this was a very influential album on metalheads who would later usher in the thrash movement in the 80’s. Definitely worth checking out.

Phonebook Eater 7/10

Although not always consistent, “Sin After Sin” is a fun and underrated excerpt of Judas Priest’s glorious discography.

“Sin After Sin” is Metal titans Judas Priest’s third studio album, the follow-up to one of the greatest albums of all Metal, “Sad Wings Of Destiny”. Being a hard album to follow, “Sin After Sin” nevertheless is an enjoyable experience that offers great, fun songs that still today are very well respected by Priest fans.

Compared to “Sad Wings Of Destiny”, SaS has a very similar kind of heaviness; this album though is a little less varied, more focused on delivering one kind of style and sticking only to one or two formulas, without adding much to it. The result however is not at all monotone or boring, because of the excellent songwriting the band always manages to have. That is not to say that all the songs are the same: a few of them are humble and honest ballads, instead of being rebellious, upbeat tunes. The guitars have the same kind of Hard Rock crunch they had on the previous two albums: with the album following “Sin After sin”, “Stained Class”, those guitars will be substituted with ones much more Heavy Metal oriented. Rob Halford though, in my opinion the greatest Heavy Metal vocalist of all time, still remains his own self, delivering both high and low pitched vocals.

Even though Judas Priest’s lyrics are not exactly popular in any way, there are still some nice images the lyricists portray, especially in the love songs: “Last Rose Of Summer” is a melancholic little declaration of love and of the change of seasons, while “Here Come the Tears” is even more blue, where the loneliness of the persona narrating is really highlighted well. The rest of the lyrics aren’t exactly memorable in any way, perhaps mildly entertaining in the description of a demonic figure (Sinner), or of an angelic figure of hope (Starbreaker).

The first half of the LP is a true gem: “Sinner”, the first track, is a colossal classic, sort of in the vein of “Victim Of Changes”, only slightly less emotional. “Starbreaker” is a fun and entertaining bridge between the powerful Joan Baez cover “Diamonds And Rust” and the beautiful ballad “Last Rose Of Summer”. The second half however disappoints because of some inconsistencies in the songwriting, noticeable even in the six minute “Let Us Pray/Call For the Priest”. “Raw Deal” and “Dissident Aggressor” don’t have the same impact as the previous songs, same thing said for “Here Come the Tears”, not nearly as haunting as the other ballad.

If “Sin After Sin” obtained a more solid and consistent flow, it would have been a guaranteed Priest classic. Yet, it’s sort of falls into the shadow of all the other albums the band has released over the years, being by the audience generally considered neither excellent or poor, but just in averagely decent.

Kingcrimsonprog Sin After Sin was British Heavy Metal band Judas Priest’s third studio album, released in 1977 following up the Sad Wings Of Destiny album. The album saw a few changes for the band; it was their first album on Columbia Records as they escaped from their original label Gull Records, the position of drummer changed from Alan Moore to the talented session player Simon Phillips and finally the production job was handled by Deep Purple’s Roger Glover.

Musically there is a lot going on, the tracks cover a lot of ground; are flashy and virtuosic and still manage to actually rock hard. For example the opening track ‘Sinner’ has impressive vocal performances, great guitar work and even impressive drumming, especially when it slows down in the middle; all individual areas shine yet don’t compromise the song’s energy or attitude for the sake of showing off.

Sin After Sin is also interesting to listen to from a vocal stand point as Rob tries out dozens and dozens of different voices, from lows to highs, hard to soft and sometimes adding in surprising emotional weight too. The amount of territory covered really is rather surprising and more and more variety is revealed upon repeat listening.

With such great vocals, improved drumming and the ever wonderful twin guitar approach of Downing and Tipton, Sin After Sin is a very strong and enjoyable record. In addition to the aforementioned ‘Sinner,’ other highlights include the heavy ‘Dissident Aggressor,’ the catchy upper-mid-paced ‘Starbreaker’ and the speedy Queen influenced ‘Let Us Pray/Call The Priest.’

Interestingly, the album features the concert favourite Joan Baez cover song ‘Diamonds & Rust’ which was previously recorded but eventually omitted from previous albums. This was the first of the few cover songs that the band would officially release, alongside ‘Better By You Better Than Me’ and ‘Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)’ which came out on the next two records.

Overall, Sin After Sin is a great record by Judas Priest with a few absolute classics and a mixture of interesting ideas, noteworthy drumming and a huge range of vocal approaches by Rob Halford. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the band or early metal in general.

**** If you get the version with bonus tracks, you are treated to another cover song called "Race With The Devil," which was recorded during the sessions of their next album Stained Class in addition to a live version of Defenders Of The Faith era song ‘Jaw Breaker’ recorded live in 1984. ****

Warthur Freed from Gull Records and with a new confidence about them following the success of Sad Wings of Destiny, Judas Priest brought a followup to the table that was almost as mighty as its illustrious predecessor. With fast-paced songs like Sinner and Starbreaker consolidating the outlaw biker image the band were beginning to cultivate, the blueprint for later albums such as Killing Machine and British Steel began to take shape. Meanwhile, slower, doomier songs like Here Come the Tears or Let Us Prey/Call For the Priest proving once again that Priest could move from quiet moments of reflection to raucous cries of despair, as on Dreamer Deceiver/Deceiver on the previous disc.

Unlike Sad Wings, however, Sin After Sin isn't an absolutely perfect album - the end of the side presents the unwelcome spectacle of Priest turning their hand to romantic soft rock in the form of The Last Rose of Summer. It's not incompetently done soft rock if you like that sort of thing, but it's hard to deny that it feels ludicrously out of context - it just doesn't fit on the same album as Raw Deal, for goodness' sake.

Still, other experiments on the band's part more successful. Their first cover version, Diamonds and Rust takes a Joan Baez folk-rock tune and turns it into an emotionally powerful metal anthem, whilst album closer Dissident Aggressor might just be the angriest thing the band had produced up to that point. Close to perfection, but kept away from it by a flower of all things - kind of a shame when you think about it, but the album's merits more than overpower its flaws.

rushfan4 The 3rd album from Judas Priest is still progressively tinged but they are becoming more of a metal band with each album. The highlights from this album are Sinner, and Let Us Prey/Call for the Priest. The album also includes an enjoyable cover of Joan Baez's Diamonds and Rust. I purchased this album on vinyl many years ago, and I always remember being disappointed in it because the album came with a scratch on it on the second side, so as much as I loved the music I didn't listen to it very often. I don't know why I didn't bring the album back and exchange it for a good one. Anyhow, it has since been replaced with a CD version and I am now quite happy to listen to the CD since it doesn't skip. The album artwork is also one of my favorites. There is something so cool about the building with the words Sin After Sin over the door that is so Judas Priest. It just says that when you put this album on you are entering into a great hall, where your ears will fornicate to the sound and you will feel oh so dirty but oh so good. I believe this album to be a 4-star effort that would be an excellent additional metal music collection, and it is an essential addition to any Judas Priest's fan collection.

vmagistr 1977 was certainly not the most prolific year for hard rock music in the United Kingdom. The old "dinosaurs" were either quitting or devoting their favour to the wide American market, and it was too early for the album production of the early members of NWOBHM. In this strange in-between time, alongside bands like UFO, Nazareth, AC/DC or Thin Lizzy, a relatively established, almost six years long touring formation from the Birmingham suburbs called Judas Priest tried to take the next step in their still slowly developing career. With a new record deal in their pocket, the band has gradually begun to blaze a trail for other future members of the brotherhood of aggressive distortion and sixteenth-notes. But the fact that the band was still in their "searching" phase shows fully on their first release for CBS - the album Sin After Sin.

The opener Sinner sounds pretty pumped up, and the accompanying guitar lines of the Tipton/Downing pairing amuse me a lot; unfortunately, the band also inserted a slowed-down instrumental passage into the bowels of the track, which still stumbles backwards to the progressive tendencies of the previous two albums. Even Halford's vocals, at times turning into a rather annoying squeal for me, don't yet have that edge of years to come. Joan Baez's cover of Diamonds and Rust (on the one hand, it sounds utterly implausible that an increasingly harder rocking band would borrow material from a folk bard, on the other hand - with the band's name itself inspired by a Bob Dylan song, I suppose pretty much anything is possible) is another in a line of hilarious covers that Priest have been able to do - fast, melodic and with the potential to be properly hardened.

Starbreaker shows exactly the direction the band would take on subsequent albums - biting guitars, Halford's vibrating but already sovereign vocals in the treble, and a throbbing rhythmic underside. At the same time, he's my biggest (who knew, right?) favorite on the record. It makes it all the more frustrating every time that the following track, Last Rose of Summer, goes in a completely different direction. A calm narrative with Halford's civilian vocals makes it a rather uninspiring end to the first side of the album at five and a half minutes long.

After an awkward opening, Let Us Prey peels off into a passable ride in which the work of hired drummer Simon Phillips and the colourful escapades of the guitar solos are definitely worth mentioning. The track Call for The Priest - Raw Deal does offer some sympathetic riff work, but the slow pace with few changes is not enough for its seven minute length. Oh, and we have another ballad here, named Here Come the Tears, on which Priest seem to have definitively assured themselves that the road to success does not lead past the piano in their case. Closing one Dissident Aggressor comes in with a proper acceleration and a wailing guitar solo, and (like Starbreaker) I more than enjoy it.

So what to do with this trying but still "looking over its shoulder" effort? When Judas Priest tried to rock hard, things were looking very promising, but the slow tempos and ballads drag the record down to below average again - the real "Sin After Sin" is contained mainly on the second side of the album. Along with the debut, I see this record as the weakest thing Judas Priest issued in the seventies or eighties.

DamoXt7942 "Sin After Sin" is known as JUDAS PRIEST's third full-length album and their first shot in their golden "authentic heavy metal" era, and (at least for me) looks like one of the most 'unfavourable' stuff for every progressive rock fan. The material in this album would have been composed, created mainly by Rob HALFORD (voices) and Glenn TIPTON (guitars), and been produced by Roger GLOVER ... their strong intention for shooting pure heavy metal out into the rock scene could be heard through it, I suppose. On the other hand, their sound-making, engineering and production should be pretty developed, which make us enjoy more and more keener, stricter soundscape.

The opening shot "Sinner" can be called as one of their masterpieces, and one of masterpieces in heavy metal world definitely. Heavy and speedy riffs via powerful guitars and Rob's high-tone voices ... both can be perfectly synchronized and crystallized. A tad theatrical and dramatic voyage round the metallic world is quite impressive. Yes they are powerful voyagers. "Diamonds & Rust", needless to mention here, was composed and originally released in 1975 by Joan BAEZ. The original one by Joan is acoustic and lyrical indeed, but Judas' cover version sounds harder, heavier, clearer, and more sharp-edged. Rob's not launched so high-pitched voices as other songs around in this album or something, but please listen carefully, and we can realize he would sing with less pressure and more pleasure. Forgive my overmention but enough might be only listening to these tracks (no, no, though). A heavy and ardent ballad "Last Rose Of Summer" will stabilize our inner soul. Crying guitar sounds are very cool in "Here Comes The Tears" filling tears in our eyes.

Again mentioned, but cannot understand the reason this album is underrated, and there is no suspicion this should emit crazy well-matured heavy metal flavour. Yay.

RuneWalsh2112 Anyone who ever wondered how this band went from the magnificent "Sad Wings Of Destiny" to the somewhat overrated "British Steel" should not look any further than the followup to their 1976 masterpiece.

"Sin After Sin" is not really a bad album in any sense of the word, in fact the highlights actually make it an excellent part of the Judas Priest legacy, but it's difficult not to consider it a slight disappointment for being crammed between classics like "Sad Wings Of Destiny" and "Stained Class". This was also the album where the band showed clear signs of the NWoBHM sound that would make them the veterans of the genre during the first half of the '80s.

Songs like "Sinner" and "Dissident Aggressor" really need no introductions since they both comprise the backbone of Judas Priest essentials. "Diamonds And Rust", on the other hand, was quite a surprise for me! I really like the comparison to the disco style of ABBA that was made by one of the collaborators since this is definitely a perfect parable for this Joan Baez cover. This is one of those unique tracks in the band's discography that won't really be exposed to it's core until "Turbo" and therefore is quite a classic for me.

The remained of the material here ranges from great to non-essential for me. But there is one moment that really ruins "Sin After Sin" for me more than it really should. I'm talking about the 5+ minute long ballad "Last Rose Of Summer". Whenever anyone asks me to give an example of a filler for fillers sake this track always comes to mind. The melody is very poor and the guitar solos just seem completely artificial and out of place with their terrible fade in and outs.

Luckily, this one misstep is not enough to make "Sin After Sin" a bad album, just a very inconsistent one. This will unfortunately be far from an exception to the rule on most of their later releases.

***** star songs: Sinner (6:45) Diamonds And Rust (3:27) Dissident Aggressor (3:07)

**** star songs: Starbreaker (4:49) Let Us Prey / Call For The Priest (6:12) Here Come The Tears (4:36)

*** star songs: Raw Deal (6:00)

** star songs: Last Rose Of Summer (5:37)

SouthSideoftheSky Call for the priest!

How would Judas Priest follow up the masterpiece that was Sad Wings Of Destiny? The answer was: with another brilliant album! Sin After Sin has a similar sound and structure to the previous album and once again we get a consistently excellent set of songs. The album opens with its best track, the fantastic Sinner. I love the slow middle section and the way it builds to re-introduce the main riff and also the operatic and slightly Queen-like vocals at the very end of the song. Next up is a Joan Baez cover called Diamonds And Rust. Judas Priest doing a Joan Baez cover might come as a surprise to many people, but Priest really manages to make it their own! Starbreaker is something of a precursor to what the band would do later on in the decade and in the early 80’s with the Killing Machine and British Steel albums. This means a slightly commercial approach in the sense that the main riff of the song is very infective and catchy and the structure of the song is rather simple and straightforward. However, despite the handclaps (that I actually find quite charming!), I much prefer Starbreaker to, say, Breaking The Law or Hot Rockin’. Last Rose Of Summer is a very uncharacteristic song in the Judas Priest output. It is a very nice ballad with excellent vocals from Rob Halford. Though this song would probably not appeal to me standing on its own, I think it brings diversity to the album as a whole in the same kind of way that Epitaph did to Sad Wings Of Destiny. I can imagine that some Metal fans don’t appreciate this type of song, but personally I like all of the songs on this album even if most songs here are not quite up to par with the otherworldly Sad Wings Of Destiny material.

Since Diamonds And Rust, Starbreaker and Last Rose Of Summer are all rather straightforward numbers, I strongly feel that (with the exception of the great Sinner) the second half of this album is the better half. Let Us Pray is this album’s Prelude (the instrumental that introduced Tyrant on the previous album) and it is strongly Queen-like in nature with Brian May-like guitar and Queen-esqe multi-tracked vocals. This piece functions as an excellent introduction to Call For The Priest. This song has some great guitar playing from Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing; the section that begins at 4:48 into the song is particularly brilliant. Raw Deal is indeed a pretty ‘raw deal’ with a rather gritty riff and verse but this is balanced by an operatic chorus and some short slower passages. Here Come The Tears is this album’s Deceiver and it has those unmistakeable high-pitched vocals that Halford is famous for. The album ends with the amazing Dissident Aggressor that together with Sinner and Let Us Pray/Call For The Priest constitute this album’s highlights.

While not as good as the previous album, I must say that I really enjoy Sin After Sin. It has several very uncharacteristic features that make it unique in the Judas Priest catalogue and it is, I think, the most diverse and varied album they ever made. Some might perhaps call it incoherent, but I think that its diversity is part of what makes it so appealing.

An excellent companion to Sad Wings Of Destiny!