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Judas Priest - Stained Class



8.6 | 877 votes |
Release date: 10 February 1978
Style: Hard rock, Heavy metal

Owners:

950 have it
55 want it
1 trades it


01. Exciter
02. White Heat, Red Hot
03. Better By You, Better Than Me [Spooky Tooth cover]
04. Stained Class
05. Invader
06. Saints In Hell
07. Savage
08. Beyond The Realms Of Death
09. Heroes End
10. Fire Burns Below [Recorded during the 1988 Ram It Down sessions] [2001 re-release bonus track]
11. Better By You, Better than Me [Live at Foundations Forum, Los Angeles, California on September 13, 1990] [2001 re-release bonus track]

Top 20 albums of 1978: 4
Featured in "Getting Into: Judas Priest"

Additional info
Produced by Dennis MacKay and Judas Priest.

Guest review by
Nosurper
Rating:
9.0
Stained Class. How this album has not been reviewed is...troubling. But, very lucky for me.

Judas Priest had been laying down the groundwork for NWOBHM for four years, and with three albums by this time, in 1978; it's considered today as a miniscule portion of the "killing road" traveled on their glorified expedition to metal "God-dom". Stained Class must have contained some of the most influential songs for aspiring guitar players at the time, because the entire album shreds. From "Exciter" on down the line, it's guitar gold. Or maybe stained steel? Oh yes. Steely guitar distortion, upgraded even slightly from that of their previous two classic albums; with solos that define the term "face-melting". Thank you Glenn and K.K.

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published 12.04.2012 | Comments (4)

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Comments

Comments: 23   Visited by: 1004 users
08.05.2011 - 06:13
Void_Eater
Account deleted
While I find Sad Wings to be overrated(musically, not in influence) this album deserves all the cock sucking it gets. Exciter remains aggressive and powerful to this day, the title track has one of metals best opening riffs, and Beyond the Realms of Death is better than any song you could ever write.
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26.06.2011 - 20:14
Rating: 10
Mountain King
K i K o
Beyond The Realms of Death is my all time favorite song. Such deep lyrics and the music and solos don't get any better in 1978. Priest is a great inspiration to all bands...
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26.06.2011 - 23:22
Rating: 10
Angelic Storm
Melodious
A totally classic album in every sense of the word, and one of the most influential metal albums of all time, as well as one of the best! "Exciter" must have sounded extremely fast back in 1978, and was definitely a pre-cursor for speed metal. "Beyond The Realms Of Death" is probably the greatest ever metal ballad, and songs like "Savage" and "Heroes End" are so immense it's amazing that they've remained so underrated and unknown except to the real Priest fans. Brilliant album. xD
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07.08.2011 - 03:20
Rating: 9
Ace Frawley
The Spaceman
Agree with all the comments above. This album must have been incredible to listen to in 1978 when compared to what else was being released. It really all comes together on this album for Judas Priest. Surely this album must have inspired so much of the great music that has followed in the many years since it was released.
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The sun shines over The Fool...
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30.08.2011 - 14:16
Rating: 9
Ace Frawley
The Spaceman
Have to add that I think "Saints in Hell" is an absolute killer of a song. It TAKES NAMES!
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The sun shines over The Fool...
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01.02.2012 - 01:21
Auntie Sahar
Drone Empress
The best of their 70s material, by far.
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I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go.

~ II. VII
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27.02.2012 - 16:56
Rating: 9
musicalkaratekid

Interesting how i heard the strapping young lad version of 'Exciter' before this, the original one. I now believe the original to be the better of the two, though devin townsend always manages to make it sound even more insane. Aside from that little note, i thought this album was pretty neat-A lot of heavy hooks and some truly inspirational riffs. The longer songs are in my opinion better written than the shorter ones, but even they have a metal attitude within.
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12.01.2013 - 00:25
megadeath13
Account deleted
Not only their best 70s album but its in my opinion even their best studio album in general. Its also very influential.
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12.01.2013 - 01:56
Rating: 9
Ace Frawley
The Spaceman
Written by Guest on 12.01.2013 at 00:25

Not only their best 70s album but its in my opinion even their best studio album in general. Its also very influential.


I often think of this as the first pure "metal" album to be released. I'm sure others might have differing views on that but your statement about it being "infuential" cannot be denied.
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The sun shines over The Fool...
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15.02.2013 - 14:18
belphegor666

Stained Glass ? For me is the best Heavy Metal Recording ever.... absolutely carnage....The vocals always high...the best guitar duo....K.K Downing and Glenn Tipton harvest the souls of them who call themselfs metal like BVB etc ... It makes you to grab the axe and behead every random idiot who believe metal is rubbish/crap and rap is the absolute music bang that head that doesn bang
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27.08.2013 - 12:39
Rating: 8
M C Vice
ex-polydactyl
Does anyone know who the 1st verse of Hero's End is about? I assume the 2nd is about Hendrix.
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"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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27.08.2013 - 13:43
Rating: 10
Angelic Storm
Melodious
Written by M C Vice on 27.08.2013 at 12:39

Does anyone know who the 1st verse of Hero's End is about? I assume the 2nd is about Hendrix.


It's about Janis Joplin.
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08.12.2013 - 08:42
Rating: 8
CobiWan1993
Secundum Filium
This album is very much ahead of its time, the music sounds like it could have been released 6-7 years later and be able to fit right in, and the album cover itself looks really awesome for its time in the 70s (even for today really). One of my absolute favorite Priest records (though Screaming for Vengeance is my fave, this is still awesome). \m/
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Ordinary men hate solitude. But the Master makes use of it, embracing his aloneness, realizing he is one with the whole universe (Lao Tzu).
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15.02.2014 - 15:31
Rating: 10
pkillerjp

No question, one of the best, if not the best of all time. Love Tipton's guitar work in the title track, under rated track.
The solos in Beyond the Realms of Death are just legendary. I agree, this album is a good distance better than the slightly over rated Sad Wings (also a classic).
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06.02.2016 - 21:03
Rating: 10
Metalex

For me the best of the 70s priest era cheers
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05.09.2017 - 23:51
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Great, maybe most heaviest album from 70's era, same time every single song can be best there. Amazing
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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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13.09.2020 - 19:47
Rating: 8
majormalfunction

Very influental album, you can hear they were ahead of their time on this one. Some really good tracks in Beyond the Realms of Death, Stained Class, Saints in Hell and Heroes End.
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Everything's twice as bright with money in your hands
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19.11.2020 - 23:05
Rating: 9
Redel

Written by majormalfunction on 13.09.2020 at 19:47

Some really good tracks in Beyond the Realms of Death, Stained Class, Saints in Hell and Heroes End.

+Savage
+Exciter
So many great tracks here. Yes, a classic.
Do I even prefer this to Sad Wings? On some days I do, on some I dont.
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20.07.2021 - 22:34
Rating: 8
Joppe
Steelemeister
Classic heavy metal music that lacks memorability of their best albums, however. I'm having a good time listening to it again, but frankly, I'm afraid that I will be very much forgetting most of the songs after being finished listening to them. Exciter and Beyond The Realms Of Death are the winner songs. Doesn't compare with Sad Wings IMO.
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My vision is augmented
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22.07.2021 - 00:38
Rating: 9
Redel

Written by Joppe on 20.07.2021 at 22:34

Classic heavy metal music that lacks memorability of their best albums, however. I'm having a good time listening to it again, but frankly, I'm afraid that I will be very much forgetting most of the songs after being finished listening to them. Exciter and Beyond The Realms Of Death are the winner songs. Doesn't compare with Sad Wings IMO.

Wow, I am really surprised that you say that.
I find most of these tracks extremely memorable.
Next to the ones you mentioned, there are Saints in Hell, Savage, the title track, and of course Better By You Better Than Me.
Everyone alive in the 1980s has heard the latter song basically everyday on the radio.
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06.08.2021 - 20:52
Rating: 8
Joppe
Steelemeister
Written by Redel on 22.07.2021 at 00:38

Written by Joppe on 20.07.2021 at 22:34

Classic heavy metal music that lacks memorability of their best albums, however. I'm having a good time listening to it again, but frankly, I'm afraid that I will be very much forgetting most of the songs after being finished listening to them. Exciter and Beyond The Realms Of Death are the winner songs. Doesn't compare with Sad Wings IMO.

Wow, I am really surprised that you say that.
I find most of these tracks extremely memorable.
Next to the ones you mentioned, there are Saints in Hell, Savage, the title track, and of course Better By You Better Than Me.
Everyone alive in the 1980s has heard the latter song basically everyday on the radio.


I think I rated it 7 earlier so I'm being generous when I raised it. I know other people generally regard the album higher than me. I agree the songs are good but they don't have the same effect on me as most songs on Sad Wings and Painkiller do, I never listened to this album as much as those two. It's one of the better JP albums for sure, but how it's rated always felt a bit too high to me.
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My vision is augmented
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11.01.2022 - 19:51
Rating: 9
F3ynman2000
Nocturnal Bro
While Black Sabbath invented "heavy" music, Judas Priest initiated "metal" with this monumental album!

Unbelievable vocal performance by Rob, masterful guitar-work by Glenn and KK, and intricate drumming make this release at times furious, at times melodic, and all the time damn catchy and fun!

What also makes this album special, especially making it stand out from other Judas Priest albums, are the lyrics!
The lyrics of all of these songs here are intriguing and amazingly well-written: the damning critique of colonialism (Savage); mentally leaving the world behind (Beyond the Realms of Death); mortality (Heroes End); gladiators (White Heat, Red Hot); aliens invading (Invader); returning light to mankind (Exciter), which had fallen to sin (Stained Class); and an epic account of a Crusade in Hell (Saints in Hell).

Overall, there are many themes of fighting against injustice and despair - with a brief lighter moment of the catchy "Better By You Better Than Me".

It's incredible what these guys were writing and performing in '78 - so innovative and influential for the entire metal genre!

This album is definitely (after Painkiller and Defenders of the Faith) a contender for my 3rd favorite Judas Priest album (other candidates are Screaming For Vengeance and Sad Wings of Destiny)
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27.05.2023 - 12:19
Rating: 9
AndyMetalFreak
A Nice Guy
Been randomly listening to "Beyond The Realms Of Death" alot recently. It's one of the best songs ever! That main riff, those lyrics, the vocal performance, and that phenomenal guitar solo
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