Judas Priest - Point of Entry
#86
By Rob Haneisen
Judas Priest
Point of Entry
Genre: Classic Metal…Mostly
Allen’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Rob’s Rating: 3 out of 5
Highlights:
Heading out to the Highway
Desert Plains
Solar Angels
If there’s one thing about albums that I have discovered I abhor, it’s filler.
Every song does not have to be great, or even good. But filler songs are an unforgivable sin of a professional musician, especially if you are in a band with as big of a following and as much talent as Judas Priest.
“Point of Entry” is an album half-filled with filler. Good guitar riffs get spoiled by slapdash lyrics, go-nowhere songwriting, and ill-conceived changes of style and pace. Some songs are embarrassingly bad and cringeworthy in subject matter and lyrical laziness. “Hot Rocking” has the just dumb chorus of “I wanna go, I wanna go, I wanna go, hot rockin!” Or maybe take a gander at the lyrics in “Troubleshooter” – “You're givin' I'm gettin'. I'm gettin' satisfaction.
You're makin' I'm takin'. I want some heavy action.”
Mishits aside, there are three truly great songs on here, including one of my favorite Priest tunes in “Desert Plains” that boasts fantastic, poetic lyrics, some great guitar licks and riffage from K.K. Downing and Glen Tipton and a thudding bass and drumbeat from Ian Hill and Dave Holland, who joined the band two years earlier. “Point of Entry” also features the big hit in “Heading out to the Highway” and a slower paced by muscular rocker in “Solar Angels.”
Rob Halford’s voice is at its prime on “Point of Entry” with precise, crisp resonance, piercing high notes and lots of attitude.
But there are songs on this album that veer into realms that Priest should not dwell – bluesy-influenced, AC/DC wannabe tracks that just don’t work at all. I found myself shaking my head at several songs and looking at how much time was left on the track so I would not have to listen to it anymore. I’m talking about “Don’t go”, “You say Yes”, “Turning Circles” and “All the Way.”
As uneven and at times incredibly disappointing as this album was, the highlights show that Priest can still lay claim to be a force in classic 80s metal. It seemed like they figured it all for their next album “Screaming for Vengeance” that absolutely blew the doors off any doubts of their metal cred.
https://open.spotify.com/album/02mDd1vg3xHPOxpNYkZIGP?si=7draRo_jRCCzBXO39pusCQ
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