Defenders of the Faith (Exp) Review

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Defenders of the Faith (Exp) ReviewNot wanting to give up on their new-found momentum after the superb, fast and hard-hitting SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE, Judas Priest released DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH in March of 1984. Sporting a darker, more violent side than SCREAMING, it nevertheless continued the same tradition of fast, rat-a-tat-tat drumming from Dave Holland, K.K. Downing/Glenn Tipton twin-Stratocaster guitar solos that intertwined with each other at blistering speeds, and high-pitched screeching courtesy of Rob Halford, the greatest heavy metal singer alive both then and now. I became a die-hard fan when I first saw their video for the speed-metal opener "Freewheel Burning". The song is fast, furious, yet still very melodic. It's also my favorite on this CD. Even at their fastest, Priest always retained their melodic sensibilites; they were never just noise. "Jawbreaker" continues this dark speed-metal sound nicely; although not great like "Freewheel Burning", it keeps the momentum going. "Rock Hard, Ride Free" is a great racing-as-metaphor-for-life song like "Heading Out To The Highway" and "Freewheel Burning", but is mid-tempo in rhythm with a high-pitched tandem guitar tune that sounds like the perfect theme of a teenage life-story. "The Sentinel" burns up the air; it's a fast, burning, and violent song which could have been made into a movie. It's about a supernatural (and apparently immortal) sentinel who takes out an entire army with his scabbard of 200 daggers, which "fly out like bullets, upon their deadly course." Quite gory, but nonetheless an excellent Priest song with a memorable bridge.
The second half of DEFENDERS also rocks, although not quite as hard. "Love Bites" is Priest's metallic take on vampirism; it begins memorably with some slow, forboding bass guitar chords from Ian Hill before kicking in with Halford growling "When you feel safe/When you feel warm/That's when I rise/That's when I crawl". It was the perfect song to open all of Priest's live shows on the "Defenders" tour--I know, I saw them twice on that tour--although it's not quite as great of a song to hear whilst lounging in the comfort of your living room. "Eat Me Alive" is pretty self-explanatory ; its true meaning not fully revealed until Rob courageously came out of the closet in 1998. It's an okay speed-metal track, a bit too repetitious; it's probably the weakest song on the CD. But then we get to my second-favorite track on here, "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll", which became widely played on FM hard-rock stations. It's about "the power-mad freaks who are ruling the earth" and gives us a great lead guitar solo trade-off between Glenn & K.K. The next track is a haunting power-ballad called "Night Comes Down". It's dark, emotional, and fits the mood of this CD perfectly. Closing out the original DEFENDERS set is "Heavy Duty/Defenders Of The Faith", a slow-paced but pounding two-part heavy metal anthem that serves as a tribute to the legions of Priest fans everywhere, and for all those who want to be rocked till their "Metal Hunger's fed". That's a fake audience cheering on this studio version, but it reminds me of when I saw them do it live, and I was part of a REAL screaming crowd!
But wait; there's more! With this Remastered version, we now get a studio bonus track called "Turn On Your Light". It was written "during the early years of our career". Like most of the bonus tracks on Priest's Remastered CDs, it was recorded in 1985 during the sessions for TURBO. It's an unusually slow song, with both acoustic guitar and keyboards (very unusual for a Priest song), although it does contain a fuzzy lead guitar solo and does get pretty heavy towards the end. It's not a great, standout track such as "Prisoner Of Your Eyes" (from the Remastered SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE), but it's not bad either, and it is good to *occasionally* hear Rob Halford sing without screaming. Finally, the CD closes with an appropriately live version of "Heavy Duty/Defenders Of The Faith." It's rendered faithfully, and extended to five-and-a-half minutes with Rob leading the real screaming crowd on a minute-long "We are Defenders of the Faith" chant.
DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH still remains one of Judas Priest's strongest albums ever. It's earned a special place in my heart, and it still rocks me till my Metal Hunger's fed! HIGHLY RECOMMENDEDDefenders of the Faith (Exp) Overview

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