Judas Priest - Painkiller review
| Band: | Judas Priest |
| Album: | Painkiller |
| Style: | Heavy metal |
| Release date: | September 03, 1990 |
| A review by: | Pierre Tombale |
01. Painkiller
02. Hell Patrol
03. All Guns Blazing
04. Leather Rebel
05. Metal Meltdown
06. Night Crawler
07. Between The Hammer & The Anvil
08. A Touch Of Evil
09. Battle Hymn
10. One Shot At Glory
11. Living Bad Dreams [Recorded during the 1990 Painkiller sessions] [2001 re-release bonus]
12. Leather Rebel [Live at Foundation's Forum, Los Angeles, California, USA in 13 September 1990] [2001 re-release bonus]
The most wicked, crass, screaming guitars, heaviest? album in Judas Priest's discography with Rob Halford. There are simply not enough attributes to describe it. To many if not most of the fans say it's the best album they ever recorded. For me, it's the second best (pointing at the Screaming For Vengeance review). Of course, this is a perfect production, incredible songwriting, a brand new sound you would not have imagined before 1990, but everybody can have his own view on that.
Devastating drums and screaming guitars, a sound that has influenced many bands since the release of Painkiller, the most famous album among Priest's works. The guitars remind me at times of a chainsaw, incredible, lightspeed solos, this album gives you all that you may desire, but it is a complete breakaway from the sound the metal legends were famous for. A sign of the beginning of the end? Soon after Painkiller Rob Halford left the band to start a solo carreer, which should reach the height of the Painkiller-times a whole decade later.
To me the cover artwork already shows what kind of a furious monster of metal was unleashed with the release of Painkiller, the pure metal massacre? here comes the 'Metal Meltdown', run for your lives! My favorites on this album are definetely 'Night Crawler', a real metal-nightmare, 'Between The Hammer & The Anvil' and 'A Touch Of Evil', the latter using keyboards. The bonus track 'Living Bad Dreams' fits this record perfectly and the 'Leather Rebel' live is unnecessary but what the heck? this record could not be ruined even if the song had a bad quality.
Once again Priest have proven that they can make a record without a single weakness, leaving you the choice of loving or hating it. As I said I prefer the classic sound, but worship this of course as a masterpiece, just as it deserves.
Rating:
9.2
9.2
|
Rating: 9.2 |
The year is 1990 and after 2-3 softer releases like Turbo or Ram it down, Rob Halford, KK Downing, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill and new drummer Scott Travis (the five members of Judas Priest) decide to do something so brutal, even by death metal standards of the day. It's so heavy, so fast and shredding, yet so catchy and melodic that no-one has ever heard anything like it before. Read more ›› |
Comments
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Comments: 59
Visited by: 415 users
| SiLenTShadoW Account deleted |
SiLenTShadoW
Account deleted
NOT a single bad song on here and all of them shred like hell. Perfect album for me as well. Gotta love the awesome drumming of newcomer Scott Travis! 
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| Dangerboner Lactation Cnslt Posts: 7262  |
Not their best, but still amazing. This band has so many consistent albums it's crazy.
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254  |
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| Valentin B Iconoclast Posts: 10094  |
the intro to painkiller is simply the peak of all heavy metal imo 1990 was such a good year for metal with rust in peace,seasons in the abyss and this genius of an album the title track is one of the heaviest,fastest,most skull grinding assraping songs in history
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| Valentin B Iconoclast Posts: 10094 |
 i really wanted to steal the riff to night crawler that comes at 2:30 or somethingi didn't know it's theirs but i wanted to do something strikingly similar
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| Jason W. Razorbliss Staff Posts: 3523  |
This CD was *the* ultimate when I bought it. There are other metal CDs that are equally as good as this one, but this is one of the best metal CDs ever. A 9.9 is too low of a rating for this CD. "Night Crawler" and "Touch Of Evil" hit me the same way now they did back when I was in 8th grade!
---- "After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." - Aldous Huxley
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| Metal Meltdown Posts: 35  |
God i wish the name painkiller wasnt taken as a user name : / best album ever made!!!!!!!! 9.9 is far to low of a rating, the first time i heard the song painkiller i was in complete shock and disbelieve of what i was hearing, and that contuned throughout the entire ablum THE PAINKILER RAISES AGAIN!
---- Immortal soul, takes control! Immortal soul, Thrash till Death! (death To "posthardcore")
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| Breed-Dreader Posts: 12  |
"I love my painkillers!" ....and a song was born He does love his painkillers
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| Paradox0 Unasuming Madnes Posts: 592 |
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| +{Jonas}+ I R Serious Cat Posts: 4955  |
Probably Judas Priest's best album. Fast, with alot of solos and alot of screaming... 10/10
---- "Nobody wants to be the weird kid, you just end up being the weird kid. You don't know how you ended up getting there" - Rob Zombie http://jonas-bs.deviantart.com My dA, mainly photography, go check it out!
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| Murder Posts: 255  |
yeah... the Judas Priest's best album and a real hymn in the metal history!!! I can't stop listening Hell Patrol, All guns blazing, One shot at glory!!! wow... This is one of this albums that you can listen all tracks and all of them will like you for sure!!! this album was made in an incredible way!!!! Long live for Judas Priest!
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| Powerslavex Alexskywalker Posts: 777  |
THIS IIIS THE PAIN KILLER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 10 all the way:maniac:
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835  |
Best songs: Night crawler, a touch of evil, between the hammer & the anvil. But let's just say this is a memorable album. One of the best albums ever made by one of the best bands that ever lived.  It's true.
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| Elio Red Nightmare Posts: 4920  |
Written by BloodTears on 08.10.2008 at 21:06 Seconded. And yes, Nightcrawler and A Touch of Evil are the best here.
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| VPeter Posts: 1450  |
what do people see in this awful album? ugh. Rob's screams are just as annoying as those of Dani Filth! The whole album is extremely repetitive and never takes any solid substance. Definitely Judas Priest worst. 3/10
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| Metalbound7 Posts: 229  |
Written by VPeter on 16.10.2008 at 19:24 This Album is the Metal Nirvana! (the state of mind when you reach the total ilumination, not the band). its amazing, Wicked, Huge, Fast, Agressive, Powerful, Consistent and Evil in some kind of way. at the time the album start it pounch you in the face with a solid Drums intro then one of the most Wicked riffs in Metal history making that bloodchill that every of us love, after that Halford's Voice Posses the speakers and then the most wicked and amazing journey into Metal music begins, that descrive the first time i listened to this album. For me Painkiller is not just an Album, it is the resume of a Religion, a Way to live, a world that only the stronger can reach. this Masterpiece make me understand the meaning of power, superiority and why Metal is the most Beautiful and Perfect thing that have been created ever.
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| the napalm rain Posts: 26  |
For me the best song from this album is One Shot At Glory... yeah it's one of the best powerful albums but Painkiller couldn't take the place of Screaming For Vengeance
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| VPeter Posts: 1450 |
Written by Metalbound7 on 15.11.2008 at 08:51 No, it's not powerfull. It's weak and crap. it's by far the worst what Judas Priest ever did.
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| Metalbound7 Posts: 229 |
Written by VPeter on 27.12.2008 at 19:45
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| DayFly Posts: 383  |
Written by VPeter on 27.12.2008 at 19:45 Well I don't dislike it as much as you do but I understand your point. I never made my peace with Painkiller's vocals either.
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| Mountain King K i K o Posts: 1361  |
I love this album and everything that Judas Priest do...But still Screaming For Vengeance and Defenders Of The Faith are the best 
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| Hrothdane Posts: 489  |
Written by DayFly on 22.03.2009 at 15:05 I consider Halford's vocals one of my favorite aspects of this album. That said, I can understand why someone, even a priest fan, might have been put off by them, as they do mark a departure from his previous style. Fans probably overrate this album, but not by much.
---- Despair is death, and I'm not interested in dying. Member of the True Crusade against True Crusades
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| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469  |
My favorite Priest album by far. Not a single bad song on this one. Very impressive vocals, great guitarwork and drumming (I knew drumming would be very good on "Painkiller" as soon as I heard Scott Travis was now in Priest- I heard him before in Racer-X)
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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| Deadmeat Necrobutcher Posts: 2437  |
Yeah!!! this IS the best JP album... it is really magnificent...
---- Υou've sold your human essence to the cold world of dead and empty things... You're SOLD!
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| Valentin B Iconoclast Posts: 10094 |
Written by VPeter on 16.10.2008 at 19:24 you may not like it, but denying the fact that this is the first modern metal album released in a time when most bands were still trying to repeat the 80s formula, and influenced other great bands such as Primal Fear or Iced Earth(to name only 2), this is just bias.
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| VPeter Posts: 1450 |
Written by Valentin B on 17.05.2009 at 16:08 To be honest I don't hear much traces of Painkiller's presence in nowdays metal - except for 3 Inches of Blood. I never cared for Primal Fear and I find Iced Earth crap, care to name other bands who really have a "painkiller vibe"?
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