Judas Priest - The Essential Judas Priest

Judas Priest
The Essential Judas Priest
Columbia Records
9/10





As Judas Priest is again rising, fresh from a reunion album with the band’s familiar voice, Rob Halford, Columbia Records has seen fit to issue “The Essential Judas Priest,” a two-disc compilation of greatest hits and crucial tracks that serves as a placeholder between Priest records. What fans get is thirty-four of the trailblazing British group’s best known cuts. For those that aren’t ready to part with the cash to purchase the steel-studded JP boxed set, “Metalogy,” this album makes for the best collection of Priest classics that you’re going to discover all in one place.

Throughout the band’s career, Judas Priest has delivered some of the most exciting and innovative metal concepts and packaged the entire affair in a leather-clad, Harley-Davidson riding, ear-ripping atmosphere that has produced some of the most well-known and much-loved heavy metal hits of all time. Sandwiched between a strong pair of new tracks from the band, the roaring “Judas Rising” and the hit single “Revolution,” classic hits like “Living After Midnight,” “Breaking The Law,” and “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” underline the group’s massive commercial successes, while live standbys like “Victim Of Changes,” “Freewheel Burning” and “Heading Out To The Highway” recall past concert memories of massive arena chants and the group’s purely electric stage show.

Whether you love to sing along with “Hell Bent For Leather,” a track from the band’s controversial album Killing Machine or fiend for the space age ride of “Turbo Lover,” this collection packs enough Priest punch to keep you “Hot Rockin’” for well over two hours. Insightful liner notes penned by long-time metal scribe Geoff Barton add to the value of this package, but no amount of words can properly illustrate the profound impact that Judas Priest had in defining the most powerful style of the Rock ‘n” Roll genre, heavy metal.

Although hits packages are often catalog crunchers, there are enough important tracks here to be worthy to casual Priest listeners to die-hard collectors. Many call Judas Priest originators and this impressive collection shows that the group had the Metal Gods have delivered the goods like none other. “The Essential Judas Priest” is just that, essential. In terms of sheer volume, this gathering of metal classics will easily become a cornerstone of the record collection of many a metalhead.


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