Unknown Soldier

Overview
Wow after five albums in a row by North American bands on this year’s list, there was certainly a big shift in terms of quality in favour of the North American continent, despite the fact that America was still not biting the goodies it had on offer! But the top of the pile was still firmly in the hands of the British bands and none more so than in the hands of a bunch of Brummies errrrrrrrr that’s people from Birmingham for any non-Brits reading! That band of course was Judas Priest, that would effectively be the band that took over the heavy metal baton from Black Sabbath and would soon be the vital bridge-link between the unofficial First Wave of British Heavy Metal in Black Sabbath and the just-around-the corner New Wave of British Heavy Metal effectively the second wave. Quite simply nobody at this time, was putting out metal that sounded this fast with such technical precision and vocals that sounded like an operatic wail against a background of real brute force.……well if they did they were probably not doing it as well as Judas Priest did! Sin After Sin is the second album in what is known as a troika of classic Judas Priest albums of the late 1970s, that starts with the Sad Wings of Destiny and ends with the following years Stained Class, before the band moved into a more commercial sounding direction for their fifth album Killing Machine. Also Sin After Sin saw the band ending their tenure with Gull Records and moving onto major labels, their releases in the UK were now on CBS Inc. and on Columbia for the US market. The line-up that had recorded the first two albums Rocka Rolla and the Sad Wings of Destiny, had remained intact with the exception of the drum stool duties and by Sin After Sin, the band would be on their third drummer already in Simon Phillips, who like the previous two drummers, would only stick around for just one album, Simon Phillips would of course go on to become one of the great session musicians of the 1980s and 1990s. Roger Glover now very much a producer to have, would be on production duties here for the album. If their previous album cover for Sad Wings of Destiny had provoked the fantastical aspect of metal, then Sin After Sin would surely provoke its darker and more menacing side. So when it came to metal and the right ingredients Judas Priest nearly had it all: album cover-check, menacing music-check, blitzkrieg guitars-check, acrobatic vocals-check, but image wise they were still working on that one and I guess things weren’t so bright for them either when it came to touring, as they had to play the opening slot for both Foreigner and Reo Speedwagon on their US tours that year.

Rob Halford- Vocals
K.K Downing- Guitar
Glenn Tipton- Guitar
Ian Hill- Bass
Simon Phillips- Drums

Production- Roger Glover

Album
Sinner- The 6 plus minute classic opener, that is to this album what “Victim of Changes” was to the previous album. If anything this track actually displays a harder edged brand of metal than the previous “Victim of Changes” and it’s certainly harder on the ear, but just as rewarding in every way. Diamonds & Rust- A cover of the Joan Baez song and Joan Baez was about as far from Judas Priest as you could get. The song is a well-known cut and actually does sit well on the album and was included on the behest of producer Roger Glover. The song was included at the cost of “Race with the Devil”. Starbreaker- With its bouncy and powerful thrusting feel, this is the perfect third track for the album and it has that distinctive clapping backbeat on the song. The song would be a blueprint for much of the band’s sound over the coming years as well. Last Rose of Summer- With a name like this it had to be a ballad and it always surprised me just how many heavy metal and hard rock bands were doing ballads around this time and in fairness most did them as well as a more straight-laced rock act. Let Us Prey- A brief dodgy sounding Queen effort, but the song quickly moves into …….. Call for the Priest- This aptly named song then speeds the whole thing up again, to give us a nice slab of juicy speed metal and this is a great way to kick-off the second side of the album. The guitar riffs on this album are worth the entrance fee alone! Raw Deal- Probably the most inaccessible track on the album, with its gay themes and it’s a song which certainly pre-dated Rob Halford’s more open gay tendencies that came later on. Here Come the Tears- A downcast later album effort, which despite its slow and mopey sounding start, gradually builds in some great and heavy guitar work in its later part…..before the explosion at the end of the song! Dissident Aggressor- The heavy monster of the album and Slayer later covered this song and I guess that says it all really. “Race with the Devil” one of the later released bonus songs that was originally left off the album in place of "Diamonds & Rust" on Roger Glover's suggestion. It’s nothing special but it does have a feel of vitality about it.

Verdict
In many ways Sin After Sin is often regarded as the least of the three albums in the previously mentioned troika of Judas Priest albums, for the simple reason that it deviates from the musical stance that had been laid down on the previous album Sad Wings of Destiny and also it actually dares to build on the hints of experimentation that were featured on that album. On the album Rob Halford’s vocal range was at its very best, whether it was the screaming on “Dissident Aggressor” to paint stripping on “Sinner” to the ballady tones of the “Last Rose of Summer” and the downcast feel on “Here Come the Tears” and the band may have had their best ever drummer in Simon Phillips with his precision double bass drumming! The album is littered with metal classics from the opening “Sinner” with its classic riffs and the sophisticated guitar interplay between the dream team of K.K Downing and Glenn Tipton, all full of their trademark classic twin guitar attacks. Then there is the pure speed metal overdrive of “Call for the Priest” with the blitzkrieg guitars of both K.K Downing and Glenn Tipton. The overtly gay themed “Raw Deal” is as about as macho as it all gets here and it also happens to be one of the best and most accomplished musical tracks on the album. Then of course there is the metal monster of “Dissident Aggressor” one of the heaviest songs of its time and the name sounds like the whole thing was invented for the future thrash metal movement. The energy of the band is served up on the melodic “Starbreaker” whose sound would go onto symbolize the typical Judas Priest sound over the coming years and it was this high geared, potent and distinctive sound that seemingly helped to reshape the vanguard of heavy metal. The cover of “Diamonds & Rust” turns out to be a galloping accomplished success and it’s one of those great and surprising choices by a metal band. But the biggest surprises on the album, surely have to be the ballad the “Last Rose of Summer” and the mopey sounding “Here Come the Tears” again two accomplished efforts, which might not be to everybody’s taste. In fact amongst metalheads Sin After Sin is not seen as a great album, something I whole-heartedly disagree with. Personally I view this album as a more accomplished listen than its better known and higher regarded predecessor the Sad Wings of Destiny and I find the whole experience of Sin After Sin a more overall rewarding listen. In many ways Judas Priest wouldn’t be quite this daring again, at least in terms of accomplished music diversity and song choices! Sin After Sin is one of the very best albums in the Judas Priest discography, but also one of the most underappreciated.

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