Stained Class

by

Judas Priest

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Stained Class. Judas Priest's fourth studio album and first one to feature the talented drumming of Les Binks. In the first years of the band's career, they were searching for the right sound that could set them apart from other heavy metal bands of the 70s. This was especially apparent on their first album Rocka Rolla(1974) and Sad Wings Of Destiny(1976). Although both albums were a commercial flop at the time, the latter album produced many great songs that gained them a steadily increasing fanbase. Priest was financially poor and were ready to quit for good when in no time, CBS(Columbia) Records offered them a name-promoting contract deal to leave Gull Records and record with them for many years. So they happily obliged and recorded their third album Sin After Sin(1977) which gained an American interest for the first time. Although a good album, it still showed signs that the band were trying different things in order to find a fix.

Judas Priest finally made up their minds and decided to go with a full-blown heavy metal style, enhanced further by bringing leather and studs into the formula. With heavier guitars and a new drummer, they released Stained Class(1978) an enhanced followup bearing the same style as Sad Wings. It's a dark album similar to the later released Defenders Of The Faith(1984) but in a 70s metal vein.

Any true Priest fan knows this album's two monster hit numbers, Exciter and Beyond The Realms Of Death. Both songs display a level of complexity not found in most any song that Priest has ever made since then. Exciter showcases Rob's high vocals and speedy riffs, unknown to metal music at the time. BTROD is more of a slower tune which emphasizes a powerful vocal performance and complex guitar arrangements. Those two songs aside, there are still great rockers spread throughout the disc. White Heat Red Hot and Invader are fast moving tracks that often get overlooked by fans. Also, Stained Class has to be the most underrated title track in Priest's discography. It has enough good guitar playing by Glenn and K.K. to label it as a classic. Then there's Better By You Better Than Me, a catchy cover song, and Hero's End, a midpaced song with a memorable midsection. Unfortunately, both of these songs ended up getting the band into trouble twelve years later, as they were brought up in a lawsuit about a couple of kids commiting suicide after listening to those songs. Savage is similar to Sin After Sin's Dissident Aggressor, but with a theme about Indians forced out of their homes by the white men. The only song I don't really like on here is Saints In Hell, which although it has a decent Black Sabbath-esque guitar section, is hindered by a lame chorus. Now even though the bonus track, Fire Burns Below doesn't belong here, it's still a very powerful unfinished track that should have replaced some of the bad songs off of Ram It Down(1988). The live version of BBYBTM is a decent live outtake, neither better nor worse than the original.

Stained Class ended up being the first high-selling Priest album, which would be topped with each succeeding one. After having their first headlining tour in Japan and Europe, Priest took their sound a step further with their next album, Killing Machine(1978)(also titled Hell Bent For Leather). Even though they shortened their songs and made them more commercial, it still retained the same raw heavy metal Priest fans were used to, so it ended up being a great success. All told, I recommend this album as one of the first ones to pick up, especially if you're interested in early Priest. It took me a while to warm up to Stained Class, but since then it has become one of my favorite albums. Others to check out besides this one are Sad Wings, Hell Bent, and British Steel. Then go for the others. Even if you already have Metal Works 73-93, you're still missing many of the band's great songs off of Stained Class. Five Stars for the album, excellent remastering quality, and extras. Now Judas Priest has begun to climb the stairs of success as the one and only Metal Gods. At the very least, this album is a great sign of things for the future to come.