Hardcore, Punk & Heavy Metal > J Hardcore, Punk & Heavy Metal > 1970 to 1979

Advantages: Great tunes
Disadvantages: overdubs !

The legend that surrounds this album is not so much about the playing or songs but about the amount of studio overdubbing that was added later ! The truth finally transpired that it was onlt the vocals that were re done and that the whole gig's vocals were done live in Ringo Starr's living room ! Apartf rom teh numerous stories surrounding it , its not a bad album at all. Most of their best songs to that date, a decent production (!) and tight enough ... Read review

Advantages: A nicely diverse album of early material.
Disadvantages: Poor production and bad decisions.

...One for the Road 2. Rocka Rolla 3. Winter 4. Deep Freeze 5. Winter Retreat 6. Cheater 7. Never Satisfied 8. Run of the Mill 9. Dying to Meet You 10. Caviar and Meths The album begins on a disappointing note with the repetitive and bland 'One for the Road,' based on a tedious blues riff that lacks the usual Judas Priest energy in all areas apart from Rob Halford's voice, which is up to its usual high standards regardless of production. After ...
...to reveal its real charms with the great title track, a typical Priest song about love and rock with plenty of great harmonies, solos and riffs from Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing. It's a little derivative, with contemporary influences all over the place - the verse sounds like Roxy Music, while the chorus sounds like David Bowie - but the guitars are distinctly Priest. Halford even offers a brief harmonica section similar to Black Sabbath's 'The ... Read review

Advantages: Early heavy metal classics, some of the band's finest songs.
Disadvantages: Format becomes repetitive quite quickly.

Released in 1976 when the popularity of heavy metal was beginning to wane, Judas Priest's second album injected new life, speed and energy into the genre, and along with its successors paved the way for what would ultimately be defined as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Still commonly regarded as one of the band's finest releases, it was unarguably a vast improvement over the messy and long-forgotten debut 'Rocka Rolla,' abandoning its blues-tinged, ...
...favour of a highly charged approach that was in equal shares melodic and aggressive, based on the shrieking vocal talents of Rob Halford and the dual guitar harmonies and discordance of Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing. Even at first glance, with the album's hellish cover art, vicious song titles and new gothic logo, it's clear that Judas Priest has begun to define itself as a heavy metal band rather than the slightly confused hippies who recorded ... Read review

Advantages: A return to form, but with better production
Disadvantages: None

I very rarely make money on music reviews on review sites such as this… this is because when I finally get round to writing a review, someone else has already done it! Unless, of course, I write a review on a less 'popular' band. So… knowing I will probably make about 8p on this review, here goes… Since Metallica's 'Black' album was released I felt that Metallica's music took a very steady downhill slide, with only a handful of highlights such as ...
...looked like the days of 'Master of Puppets,' or my favourite 'Blackened' were gone forever, lost in time… a bit like teardrops in rain… The 'Black' album (1991) sparked a journey of success for Metallic, though - and included the phenomenal hit 'Enter Sandman.' A little bird told me about a month or so ago that Metallica were releasing a new album, and thinking of 'Load' and 'Re-load,' I think I may well have just pulled an 'Ah, well… so what,' ... Read review

Advantages: Kirk's Solos back, songs more varied and better than St Anger, a couple of epics.
Disadvantages: Not as good as some over-the-top reviewers have said.

...also a stand-out song on Death Magnetic, in some ways, it's sad to see them take such a move away from the old Unforgivens, however what they have created is outstanding. Despite some good quality songs on this record, there are a few that aren't bad, but turn into a drag when your listening to them. Songs like Broken, Beat and Scarred take a while to get into after the somewhat slow start. As a guitar player myself its a blessing to hear Kirk back ...
...most fans would agree that the absence of the guitar solos was a key reason for the disappointment of St Anger. Despite all these positives, we shouldn't be too optimistic. There has been a lot of speculation that this album would be a 'Neo-Master of Puppets.' In my opinion, this album is a good piece of work that shouldn't be judged in that way, as that will only let down a lot of hyped Metallica fans. The Metallica sound has evolved too much to ... Read review