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Judas Priest - Rocka Rolla



6.9 | 585 votes |
Release date: 6 September 1974
Style: Hard rock, Heavy metal

Owners:

527 have it
42 want it


01. One For The Road
02. Rocka Rolla
03. Winter
04. Deep Freeze
05. Winter Retreat
06. Cheater
07. Never Satisfied
08. Run Of The Mill
09. Dying To Meet You
10. Caviar And Meths
11. Diamonds And Rust [Joan Baez cover] [2003 re-release bonus]

Featured in "Getting Into: Judas Priest"

Additional info
Produced by Rodger Bain.

Guest review by
SeanC
Rating:
6.0
After forming in 1969, undergoing several line-up changes and experiencing significant financial woes, Judas Priest finally got the chance to record their debut album, Rocka Rolla, with Gull Records in 1974. Production was fraught, and the band's decision to break contract and leave the label for their third album meant relinquishing rights to both Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings Of Destiny, its follow-up. But, considering the band members have all but disowned their debut since 1976 (only "Never Satisfied" has found its way onto a major tour setlist since then), they haven't seemed all too bothered by the rough start to their recording careers.

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published 04.09.2019 | Comments (2)

Found in 18 lists
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Comments

Comments: 23   Visited by: 734 users
10.08.2011 - 16:37
Rating: 8
Tiago Rocha
Dark Lighthouse
One hell of a good hard-rock album that, IMO, marked the birth of hard-rock, side by side with Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple or Black Sabbath's first ones, even when being released 4/5 years later than those... Way under-rated debut by the Priest, way often forgotten when compared to their later issues. Don't miss your chance to discover the mix between rock, blues-rock and hard-rock in Rocka Rolla. And don't be mistaken too, it helped marking the progressive journey in changing styles, from hard-rock to what we know nowadays as classic heavy metal.
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10.08.2011 - 22:55
Rating: 6
Angelic Storm
Melodious
For whatever reason, I've just never been able to click with "Rocka Rolla"... I dunno if it's the production or what, but it sounds incredibly dry and stale. I haven't listened to it in a very long time, but I do love the title track, and I remember "Run Of The Mill" being a decent tune as well. The leap they made from this album to the next one was incredible... there's no sign on the debut that Priest were going to make something as groundbreaking and amazing as "Sad Wings Of Destiny", that's for sure!

Maybe I should give this album another listen though...
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06.05.2012 - 03:39
Rating: 8
M C Vice
ex-polydactyl
Is there anywhere you can get the full (14 mins) minute version of Caviar And Meths?
----
"Another day, another Doug."
"I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples."
" 'Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
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01.10.2012 - 04:51
John Shock

Written by M C Vice on 06.05.2012 at 03:39

Is there anywhere you can get the full (14 mins) minute version of Caviar And Meths?

No, unfortunately it wasn't done! I'm always asking my self how would be Caviar And Meths with 14 minutes lenght....it seems curious that only past 2 minutes long! ... I will die without listen to it!
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01.10.2012 - 05:38
Rating: 8
M C Vice
ex-polydactyl
Written by John Shock on 01.10.2012 at 04:51

Written by M C Vice on 06.05.2012 at 03:39

Is there anywhere you can get the full (14 mins) minute version of Caviar And Meths?

it seems curious that only past 2 minutes long! ...

The bit on this would only be the intro. Just used to fill up room on the record.
----
"Another day, another Doug."
"I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples."
" 'Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
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01.10.2012 - 19:41
John Shock

Written by M C Vice on 01.10.2012 at 05:38

Written by John Shock on 01.10.2012 at 04:51

Written by M C Vice on 06.05.2012 at 03:39

Is there anywhere you can get the full (14 mins) minute version of Caviar And Meths?

it seems curious that only past 2 minutes long! ...

The bit on this would only be the intro. Just used to fill up room on the record.

I believe so, but is a nice filler...not a forced one!!!
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12.01.2013 - 00:41
megadeath13
Account deleted
Its OK, just nothing special like the others. But it has also its great moments, such as the title track.
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30.04.2013 - 15:15
Rating: 6
MetrockickA

Very average and boring album,just the title track is kick ass and of course run of the mill.
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18.06.2013 - 03:23
John Shock

This is Progressive Rock for me...
The more i listen, the more i think it is and i like the way it was done!!!
So magical...2nd best for me just behind Sad Wings Of Destiny!!!
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28.08.2013 - 16:33
Rating: 8
Vasil de Shumen

For me, 7.2 is low rating for this interesting debut album.

One more underrated gem...
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14.10.2014 - 04:16
Rating: 6
Ruchesko

Written by John Shock on 18.06.2013 at 03:23

This is Progressive Rock for me...

Know what you mean - sounds seriously like Hawkwind in places.
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03.09.2017 - 17:03
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Classic music, not heavy as today metal, more hard rock, but still its amazing, better as many of grind core bands, and modern bands. That trime music no matter what was possible to listen, but we can not say it about todays music.
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Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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08.12.2017 - 18:41
Rating: 8
Antares8001

How this has a lower rating than British Steel and Killing Machine is beyond me.
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08.12.2017 - 19:17
VIG
Account deleted
Written by Antares8001 on 08.12.2017 at 18:41

How this has a lower rating than British Steel and Killing Machine is beyond me.

Because British Steel and Killing Machine are much more popular albums that more people like and favor over this one.

I am not too familiar with this album btw.
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08.12.2017 - 19:55
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
Maybe because it's a way worse album than British Steel lmao
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14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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09.12.2017 - 14:39
Rating: 8
Antares8001

Written by Boxcar Willy on 08.12.2017 at 19:55

Maybe because it's a way worse album than British Steel lmao

Seriously this album which has songs like Dying to meet you, Run of the Mill and Rocka Rolla on it is way worse than an album where Breaking the Law, Living after Midnight and Metal Gods are considered to be the best on the record. British Steel is one of the most commercialized generic un-innovative metal and rock albums of all time. Here at least they are willing to experiment.
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30.03.2019 - 13:51
Rating: 7
pandrstudios

I think this is a pretty average hard rock album. But One for the Road and the title track are actually really good.
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08.09.2020 - 16:59
Rating: 6
majormalfunction

Old-school stuff. Compared to many of their other albums I do find this one quite intresting all around. Run of the Mill is the obvious highlight, mellow and prog influenced. It's right between a 6 and 7.
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Everything's twice as bright with money in your hands
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25.01.2021 - 05:45
Rating: 10
quieted_darkness

F*ck this is so good! Exquisite blend of heavy metal and hard rock with psychedelic and some good ol' blues influences. Psychedelic solos are quite tasty as well as the lower vocals in, "Dying to Meet You" which is my top favorite song from this album.
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25.01.2021 - 09:05
JoHn Doe

^ nice to see Rocka Rolla getting some love.
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I thought the two primary purposes for the internet were cat memes and overreactions.
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26.01.2021 - 13:10
Zap
Guest
Yeah this is a pretty great album. Definitely underrated by most Judas Priest fans and overlooked by everyone else.
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04.04.2021 - 23:11
Rating: 6
Joppe
Steelemeister
Nothing amazing IMO, just a rock album among many. The songwriting is pretty forgettable without anything really to come back to. I've always thought Cheater to be the best song on this album, but even that isn't really good, so I don't know what I'm supposed to re-listen here. Good that they took a bit different approach for Sad Wings of Asskickery.
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My vision is augmented
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26.05.2022 - 22:01
Rating: 7
AndyMetalFreak
A Nice Guy
All legendary heavy metal bands had to start off somewhere, and for Judas Priest it started here with this bluesy hard rock debut. It's obviously different to anything else the band has ever done but it's still a pretty cool album in it's own way, with it's strong bass lines, groovy riffs, and cool guitar solo's, and Rob Halford's vocals are phenomenal too, particularly on the song "Run Of The Mil".

It's amazing what this band went on to achieve after this early release, they became one if the pioneers of heavy metal, and there were glimpses of that future heavy metal sound in the riffs on this album. "Never Satisfied", "Run Of The Mill", and "Dying To Meet You" at the stand out tracks for me on this album, the album overall is pretty good.
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