JUDAS PRIEST — Screaming For Vengeance (review)

JUDAS PRIEST — Screaming For Vengeance album cover Album · 1982 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
SouthSideoftheSky
We did have another thing comin’

After three disappointing albums in a row, Judas Priest started their ascent towards a returned to form with this album. The Pop Metal ambitions that started with Living After Midnight and continued on the Point Of Entry album were basically dropped and the band once again focused on making Heavy Metal. Once again the great twin-guitars of Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing were allowed to shine and the whole band seemed to have regained their senses and injected a newfound energy into the music that was so clearly lacking on previous albums. They would never again reach the heights of their strongest period in the 70’s, but this album started a kind of second coming that continued with the next album, Defenders Of The Faith.

The new found inspiration is immediately apparent on the first song, the very good The Hellion/Electric Eye. The dystopian lyrics are great and highly relevant today when governments are trying to control the free exchange of information on the internet. Riding On The Wind is another strong song with inspired vocals by Rob Halford. Bloodstone, (Take These) Chains and Pain And Pleasure are weaker songs, but still good. One problem is that they are rather similar to each other. Then comes the great title track in which Halford really is screaming for vengeance and Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing do their trademark duels.

The rest of the album is a bit weaker again, with You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ being rather tedious, in my opinion. Fever slows things down a bit and features some very good passages, but the main melody feels rather unimaginative somehow. The album ends with Devil’s Child which is something of an anticlimax as it is a rather Delivering The Goods-like Rock ‘N’ Roll number.

This album is clearly worth having, but it is still far away from the band’s glory days. Make sure you get the re-mastered version as then you get a good bonus track called Prisoner Of Your Eyes. This is a ballad and is just the kind of song that would have brought a much needed diversity to the main album. But I guess the band didn’t have the courage to include this song at the time?
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Suns of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion Black Metal
PANZERFAUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Facilis Descensus Averno Death Metal
SAEVUS FINIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Merciless Crossover Thrash
BODY COUNT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Vengeance [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - I Need You [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed