Judas Priest - Painkiller (1990)

I was a fan of 'Ram It Down', but it flopped, possibly heralding the slow demise of Priest who had, for many decades, influenced a nation. And then the second coming, an unexpected fist into the Earth, an uprising of pure molten metal that had put a few new, so-called talents to shame. From the off the title cut absolutely batters all in its wake, a trashing rage of a track not heard since the early days of Metallica, Megadeth et al, when the searing guitars, high-pitched vocals and metal-fused lyrics were all new. Somehow Priest reinvent the rock 'n' roll, burning guitars which simply carve through walls like they were butter, a metallic fury unleashed upon the planet. Forget the demise, even as the likes of Faith No More bring new colours to the genre, 'Painkiller' defies logic in its simple assault on the senses. Strangely, but with mystical aplomb, chief wailer Rob Halford left the band after the tour, making the record seem like a fitting final epitaph for a band that given the genre so much. 'Painkiller' is very much a thrash/speed record, the music belted out at a hefty pace. If Priest had continued their decline then cuts such as 'Hell Patrol', 'Leather Rebel' and 'Between The Hammer & The Anvil' may well have only existed as dated, embarrassing remains out of place in a new metal void fuelled by grunge and half-lived funk metal, instead, 'Pankiller' is a huge fuck you to the brigade who lost faith. The drums of Scott Travis are relentless, the guitars of Tipton and Downing have never sounded so vicious, but it's Halford and his newly-found evil wail which tips the record over into the realm of brutality. Instead of being a sonic blast from the past, 'Painkiller' takes all that has gone before and brings it into the modern era, making it sound so clean and blistering. No wonder this was the bands most critically acclaimed album, even receiving a Grammy nomination. Despite my past grievances with the Brummy lot, 'Painkiller' is a white-knuckle ride that MUST be owned by metallers from all walks of life.

9/10