JUDAS PRIEST — Stained Class (review)

JUDAS PRIEST — Stained Class album cover Album · 1978 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
666sharon666
1978's Stained Class, the fourth album of Judas Priest is actually one of two full-length albums that the band released that year, the other being Killing Machine. Les Binks become the first drummer of the band to play on two of their albums between these two. Stained Class is probably the most infamous album of Judas Priest due to them being put on trial many years later, in 1990, accused of putting an subliminal message (saying do it) in the track Better by You, Better Than Me, cited as a trigger for the suicide attempt of two American men in 1985 (one successful the other dying a few years later). The case was rightly dismissed.

Where the previous album Sin After Sin has always been a disappointed me to me, Stained Class represents the exact opposite. Judas Priest sound absolutely on fire here. While there are a couple of songs that I don't enjoy so much, most of the album is classic Judas Priest for my money. Especially the opening trio of Exciter, White Heat, Red Hot and Better by You, Better Than Me (which is actually a cover song, originally by Spooky Tooth) are really strong work and how can I also not mention the title track and Beyond the Realms of Death? While out of their 70's releases I think I will always prefer Sad Wings of Destiny Stained Class comes in at a very close second.

Attribution: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/judas-priest-stained-class-t3790.html
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adg211288 wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Yeah I don't like that Arch Enemy version either. I often quite enjoy extreme versions of classic metal songs but the music seems so off in that cover.
666sharon666 wrote:
more than 2 years ago
I didn't know Helstar had done a version of it. I've heard Blind Guardian's though which is pretty good.

Tell you one Priest covered I don't like. Arch Enemy doing Breaking the Law. Absolutely butchered it IMO.
Unitron wrote:
more than 2 years ago
This is also one of my favorites of the seventies albums, you should check out Helstar's cover of 'Beyond the Realms of Death'.
666sharon666 wrote:
more than 2 years ago
It's my third favourite personally. For me Painkiller will always be the best. But the 70's are overall their best time period IMO, despite my impressions of Sin After Sin.
Bosh66 wrote:
more than 2 years ago
My favoutite ever Priest album. I'm never sure whether its an objective or nostalgic reaction, but I agree Sharon, this is a classic.

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