Reviewed by Rob Haneisen
Released: July 17 1982 Judas Priest Screaming For Vengeance Genre: Classic Heavy Metal Allen’s Rating: 5 out of 5 Rob’s Rating: 5 out of 5 Highlights: The Hellion / Electric Eye Riding On The Wind Bloodstone You’ve Got Another Thing Coming Fever (honestly, the whole album, for the record) Let’s get something out of the way: “Screaming For Vengeance” released by Judas Priest in mid-1982 is the greatest heavy metal album of all time. As a huge Iron Maiden fan and someone who ranks Maiden as the greatest metal band of all time it pains me slightly to say that but “Screaming For Vengeance” just barely rises above Maiden’s “Number of the Beast.” “Screaming For Vengeance” is Priest at the height of its power, really the mid-point of its career if you look at the band’s founding and growth in the 1970s, explosion in the 1980s, and slow fall from the throne in the 1990s. The band already had a string of good to excellent albums by 1982. They were already doing stadium tours and big hits like “Hell Bent for Leather” , “Heading out to the Highway” and “Breakin’ the Law” made them no strangers to success. Yet, they sound hungry on “Screaming For Vengeance” – 10 songs that come in just over 38 minutes. They sound like a young band looking to tear the world apart, take no prisoners and make no concessions with their sound and fury. The previous album “Point of Entry” did nothing to indicate they were poised for this mammoth effort. If anything, that album, save for a couple excellent songs including the mid-tempo masterpiece “Desert Plains”, was a drop-off in musicianship and energy. Any low expectations for 1982 from Priest are immediately dispelled with the opening double-track of “The Hellion/Electric Eye”. The first instrumental section has an epic set-up of dual lead guitar and comes crashing to end with a huge percussive explosion to lead into the riff of “Electric Eye”, a sci-fi tinged ripper one could say is a cautionary tale on government surveillance. It’s not the first time vocalist Rob Halford delved into this theme (see “Metal Gods” on “British Steel”) and he admits to being a bit of a science fiction geek in his excellent autobiography “Confess.” There’s nary a moment to catch your breath when “Electric Eye” ends and we dive straight into the drum solo opening of “Riding on the Wind.” It’s a song that could have inspired thrash bands a few years later with its speed and viciousness. Halford’s voice reaches high and pure and holds the notes with strength while the maelstrom of the song swirls around him. Next up is “Bloodstone”, one of several songs here that has an iconic Glen Tipton guitar lead riff to kick off a song that takes the beat down a bit from the opening salvo. There are some great lyrics here from Halford as well that may take the listener by surprise: “How much longer will it take For the world to see? We should learn to live, And simply let it be” The next two songs “(Take These) Chains” and “Pain and Pleasure” are not ballads by any stretch but they do slow matters down. Given the Priest stage get-up of leather and studs, one might assume these are songs with an S&M theme but they are songs about unrequited love, longing, and heartache. “Pain and Pleasure” opens up with an absolutely groovy guitar line. Where did this come from? Priest and Halford knock you off expectations on these two songs and also on the closer-to-traditional heavy metal ballad “Fever.” Halford’s book provides plenty of insight on where this sincerity, pain, and loneliness comes from. For years he had been hiding his sexuality, terrified that his exposures as a gay man in the heavy metal world would ruin his career and more importantly the path of Judas Priest. As a result, the poor guy was horribly lonely, wounded, and in anguish. I highly recommend Halford’s book as not only an examination inside the band’s rise but also Halford’s torment and eventual salvation. Track seven is “Screaming For Vengeance” which gets right back to a blistering pace. There is pure anger and resilience on display here. The music and lyrics mesh perfectly and deliver a knockout blow: “I don't talk about it but that's alright Table's turned now there's a revenge in sight. If it takes forever babe I tell ya I can wait Send them screaming back through their hell's own gate” And the song fittingly ends with a stunningly powerful, explosive, prolonged scream from Halford. Honestly, there is an emotive art in screaming like Halford on some of these songs. The next song may be the biggest hit from this album, “You’ve Got another Thing Coming” but it’s one I sometimes skip over. Its power and maybe its weakness is its simplicity. Maybe it goes on a bit too long just repeating the chorus, but it’s still a great song and a huge part of the live show where everybody yells along to the chorus. The lyrics here also hit on the albums main theme of resilience: “In this world we're livin' in we have our share of sorrow Answer now is don't give in aim for a new tomorrow.” “Fever” follows the big commercial hit and shows the versatility of Priest. Like I said earlier, it’s in the metal ballad category but features a fantastic mid-song break and tempo shift accented by more soaring vocals from Halford as he sings: “So destiny has brought us Oh so close together We were like angels in the night Living the dream At last I'll be with you forever. And all at once it feels so right.” The guitar sound on this track is just so different from the rest of the album. It has a melody or harmony that shows the band can do so much more than pummel you. The album closer of “Devil’s Child” is – surprisingly – not about the son of Satan. It’s about a controlling lover, or maybe it’s about addiction. Either way, it’s about what happens to someone and what it feels like when the last of your willpower is ripped away. Despite its catchy guitar lick opening from Tipton and thudding rhythm from KK Downing and bassist Ian Hill, it’s a little bit of an odd choice of an album closer and the song has an abrupt ending. No album in metal is as complete of a masterpiece as “Screaming For Vengeance.” Every song here works immensely and there is some versatility in the craftsmanship, especially when listening to “Riding on the Wind” and then “Fever.” You can tell it’s the same band but man, you can see how well they can pull off different styles. Maiden’s “Number of the Beast” I would argue is #2 on the all-time list if only for the mediocre “Gangland” and good-but-not-great opening in “Invaders.” To be clear, in heavy metal hierarchy, Maiden reigns supreme but Priest holds the title for best album with “Screaming For Vengeance.” It’s a powerful, concise, surprisingly intimate, emotive, and introspective bit of classic metal that summons and delivers strength.
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