Continuing my discussion with Unknown Soldier from my "Rocka Rolla" review...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier
See what you think after listening to some of their 70's output pre-Killing Machine (Hell Bent for Leather) as their sound changed on this album to a more overly commercial sound.
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Alright so I've listened to
Sin After Sin,
Hell Bent for Leather (Killing Machine),
Stained Class, and
British Steel.
I agree that
Sin After Sin is more refined than
Sad Wings while not really sacrificing too much heaviness on many of the songs. I enjoy "Sinner" (like,
a lot), "Diamonds and Rust" is of course, fantastic, "Raw Deal" is great as well, and "Dissident Agressor" reminds me of something from
Sad Wings, but I would still prefer
Sad Wings to this album. Some of the songs I think are far too long and that hurts my interest in the album as a whole. Overall, I would rank this the best of the four albums. Probably a
7/10 for me.
For
Stained Class, I agree that it is one of their most accomplished and well-produced albums, although I disagree that it is their
most accomplished album, but the music is simply not for me. Yes the material is innovative, but songs like "Exciter" and "Invader" are just not nearly as harsh as their previous albums, and I don't like it.
Hell Bent for Leather or whatever it is called, is just awful. Absolutely awful. "Burnin' Up" is.............disgraceful. My biggest complaint with this album is easily the vocals. It barely sounds like the same singer from the previous four albums. The lyrics are also very inauthentic/not creative at all.
British Steel I have a love/loathe relationship with. Ignoring it's obvious pop influences and the fact that the guitar is barely audible on many of the songs ("United"), "Rapid Fire" is-
Wait a second why the hell is "Rapid Fire" not track 1 for the U.S.? That destroys the flow to "Metal Gods." That would sound horrid to listen to in that order.
Anyway, "Rapid Fire," "Metal Gods," "Breaking the Law," and "Living After Midnight" are songs I could play over and over and never get tired of. Halford's vocals on "You Don't Have To Be Old To Be Wise" remind me of their earlier material and I quite like that song as well. Also it has a great solo.
"Grinder" is the part of the album I can not stand. The lyrics for "Grinder" sound like they were created maybe about 5 seconds before they recorded the song-and that's shocking considering that the lyrics for "Rapid Fire" were basically awe inspiring. It reminds me of
Killing Machine, and I do not like that direction at all.
I'll give
British Steel a
7/10 as well.
I may give a more detailed and thorough review for
Stained Class and
Killing Machine in the future, but that would require me to listen to the albums again and I do not know if I can/want to do that.