Customer Reviews

Defenders of the Faith

5 star:		(124)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Not wanting to give up on their new-found momentum after the superb, fast and hard-hitting SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE, Judas Priest released DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH in March of 1984. Sporting a darker, more violent side than SCREAMING, it nevertheless continued the same tradition of fast, rat-a-tat-tat drumming from Dave Holland, K.K. Downing/Glenn Tipton twin-Stratocaster guitar solos that intertwined with each other at blistering speeds, and high-pitched screeching courtesy of Rob Halford, the greatest heavy metal singer alive both then and now. I became a die-hard fan when I first saw their video for the speed-metal opener "Freewheel Burning". The song is fast, furious, yet still very melodic. It's also my favorite on this CD. Even at their fastest, Priest always retained their melodic sensibilites; they were never just noise. "Jawbreaker" continues this dark speed-metal sound nicely; although not great like "Freewheel Burning", it keeps the momentum going. "Rock Hard, Ride Free" is a great racing-as-metaphor-for-life song like "Heading Out To The Highway" and "Freewheel Burning", but is mid-tempo in rhythm with a high-pitched tandem guitar tune that sounds like the perfect theme of a teenage life-story. "The Sentinel" burns up the air; it's a fast, burning, and violent song which could have been made into a movie. It's about a supernatural (and apparently immortal) sentinel who takes out an entire army with his scabbard of 200 daggers, which "fly out like bullets, upon their deadly course." Quite gory, but nonetheless an excellent Priest song with a memorable bridge.

The second half of DEFENDERS also rocks, although not quite as hard. "Love Bites" is Priest's metallic take on vampirism; it begins memorably with some slow, forboding bass guitar chords from Ian Hill before kicking in with Halford growling "When you feel safe/When you feel warm/That's when I rise/That's when I crawl". It was the perfect song to open all of Priest's live shows on the "Defenders" tour--I know, I saw them twice on that tour--although it's not quite as great of a song to hear whilst lounging in the comfort of your living room. "Eat Me Alive" is pretty self-explanatory <wink>; its true meaning not fully revealed until Rob courageously came out of the closet in 1998. It's an okay speed-metal track, a bit too repetitious; it's probably the weakest song on the CD. But then we get to my second-favorite track on here, "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll", which became widely played on FM hard-rock stations. It's about "the power-mad freaks who are ruling the earth" and gives us a great lead guitar solo trade-off between Glenn & K.K. The next track is a haunting power-ballad called "Night Comes Down". It's dark, emotional, and fits the mood of this CD perfectly. Closing out the original DEFENDERS set is "Heavy Duty/Defenders Of The Faith", a slow-paced but pounding two-part heavy metal anthem that serves as a tribute to the legions of Priest fans everywhere, and for all those who want to be rocked till their "Metal Hunger's fed". That's a fake audience cheering on this studio version, but it reminds me of when I saw them do it live, and I was part of a REAL screaming crowd!

But wait; there's more! With this Remastered version, we now get a studio bonus track called "Turn On Your Light". It was written "during the early years of our career". Like most of the bonus tracks on Priest's Remastered CDs, it was recorded in 1985 during the sessions for TURBO. It's an unusually slow song, with both acoustic guitar and keyboards (very unusual for a Priest song), although it does contain a fuzzy lead guitar solo and does get pretty heavy towards the end. It's not a great, standout track such as "Prisoner Of Your Eyes" (from the Remastered SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE), but it's not bad either, and it is good to *occasionally* hear Rob Halford sing without screaming. Finally, the CD closes with an appropriately live version of "Heavy Duty/Defenders Of The Faith." It's rendered faithfully, and extended to five-and-a-half minutes with Rob leading the real screaming crowd on a minute-long "We are Defenders of the Faith" chant.

DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH still remains one of Judas Priest's strongest albums ever. It's earned a special place in my heart, and it still rocks me till my Metal Hunger's fed! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

I think this is best Priest album ever and even more, best metal album ever made. New track is bad, but originally tracks are fine. BRUTAL, RAW and MELODIC same time. Such good ideas, playing and Rob`s voice.

I have 2000 records and i have listened music 25 years and still I keep "defenders..." one of the greatest master pieces of human kind. Every song is worth of listening. BUY IT! We in Finland know what is best :)

I could never understand the fuss around "Screaming for Vengeance", this album's predecessor. Surely, it's Judas Priest biggest selling album, and all. But it was so poppy sounding, and had almost no punch at all! Imagine my relief when I heard "Defenders of the Faith" for the 1st time. My Judas Priest, the band that I loved for their hellish energetics, piercing vocals, and relentless riffing attack, was back!

Even now "Defenders" stands strong against any competition, and is doubtlessly one of the best JP albums ever, on par with the groundbreaking "Stained Class" and Rob Halford's goodbye "Painkiller". The band threw away any poppy influence it might had and put out 40+ minutes of heavy metal classics. Right from the start, "Freewheel Burning" and "Jawbreaker" epitomize everything that is great about this music, running at breakneck speed with energy enough to rival an atomic explosion. And the incredible, arguably best JP song ever, "The Sentinel" adds up to the impression. Judas Priest throw in much variety, and alongside the speedy tracks there are a mid-tempo heavy metal anthem "Rock Hard, Ride Free", unexpectedly slow "Love Bites" and "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll", a return to JP's 70s trademark metal-ballad style "When the Night Comes Down", a stadion-stomper medley "Heavy Duty"/"Defenders of the Faith", and a faster "Eat Me Alive" with some dual-faced lyrics, considering Halford's declared homosexuality.
There's no need to mention that throughout the album K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton once again prove themselves as one of the best guitar duo in metal history, Rob Halford's vocals are in top-form, and the rhythm-section does its job remarkably well with some powerful drumming by Dave Holland.

I won't exaggerate much by saying that "Defenders of the Faith" is a mandatory album for any serious heavy metal fan. I'd advise to buy the new remastered edition, because its sound quality is better, and it features a couple of nice bonus-tracks/

Here it is. Defenders Of The Faith. With tracks like 'Freewheel Burning', 'Rock Hard Ride Free', 'The Sentinel', and 'Love Bites', this is quite possibly one of the greatest metal albums of all time. I don't agree at all that it's a "sell-out" as a reviewer below put it. The instramentation is all perfect, with it's melodic crunching guitars, thumping heavy drum beats, and Halford's easily distinguishible screaming vocals.

However, it's the remastering itself that I can't help but notice problems. It doesn't sound as crystal clear as it used to, and the hissing is still ever present. Although it's a bit muddy sounding, at least they had the decency to crank up the volume a bit so that it can be played louder.

When it comes to the extra tracks, this album is the worst of the four. The live version of "Heavy Duty/Defenders of the Faith' is great, but there are other better songs that they could have done instead that haven't been played on a live album. I would've liked to hear a live 'Rock Hard Ride Free' instead. The Studio track 'Turn On Your Light' is also the worst of the four new songs. Here's how my evaluation of the four current remasters is:

My Favorite Album-> Defenders Of The Faith
My Least Favorite Album-> Point Of Entry

Best Remaster Extra Tracks-> Point Of Entry
Worst Remaster Extra Tracks-> Defenders Of The Faith

Go Figure. Still, it's an excellent album that everyone should check out. No metal head should be without this fine piece of history.

Judas Priest was a bit before my time, as I didn't really get into "metal" until the late '80s with Metallica, Anthrax, and Megadeth. Recently I acquired the "Metalogy" four disc set by Judas Priest and was immediately blown away by the disc that spanned "Screaming for Vengeance" and "Defenders of the Faith."

Yesterday I bought "Defenders of the Faith" even though the majority of the songs are on the "Metalogy" disc set. I had to. Man, that CD is just brutal (in a good way). Halfords vocals sound his strongest to me during this period and the music is almost flawless. I'm kind of sad I didn't discover this album when I was younger because it would have been a great album to puke-and-rally to.

If you consider yourself a "metal" fan, you need to own this CD. I can't think of anything out at that time that even touches it.

I've exceeded my use of quotation marks for one review.

~Slick

I have been a Priest fan since high school. Being a guitarist myself I listen to music more than lyrics. I prefer Priest due to their sharp, clear and melodic sound. Glenn Tipton is a phenomenal songwriter who has written most Priest material since the mid-70's. He is also the finest metal guitarist, besides Dave Murray of Iron Maiden. Every song on this album is outstanding. It is must for every metal collector!

Heavy Metal music doesn't get any heavier than this, or better. I have been a fan of this album ever since it's release back in 1984 and it is without a doubt my top favorite Judas Priest album of all time. Upon my first listen to it I was amazed and enthralled by it's high octane and infectious energy. I had never heard anything more powerful come through my speakers at the time, and even upon listening to it today, it is still just as powerful and exciting as it ever was. I am such a huge fan of this album that I even have the poster of the image of the Metallion from the album's front cover hanging on a wall at home. I've read some other reviewers complaints concerning the cheesy lyrics on some of the songs and all I can say about that is, well, that's all part of the fun of it all.

Judas Priest's prior album to this one, Screaming for Vengeance, is a definite masterpiece recording, and Defenders of the Faith continues in that tradition and then some by delivering even more addictive power metal songs and anthems than seems humanly possible. Just sit back and pop this disk in your player and feel the music pummel you into a pulsating pulp with awesome tracks like Freewheel Burning, Jawbreaker, The Sentinel, Some Heads Are Gonna Roll, and Heavy Duty.

By this time in their careers, the mighty team of Glen Tipton, K.K. Downing, Ian Hill, Dave Holland, and Rob Halford, were like a well-oiled precision Metallion music machine and were really at a creative high point during the mid Eighties, and it definitely shows on this album. But to be honest, Judas Priest have hit many high points throughout their career and continue to do some very excellent and amazing music to this very day. In fact, I consider their reunion album Angel of Retribution to be just as good as anything else that they have ever done, but, I digress and shall save that review for another day.

Defenders of the Faith is a definite must-have album in any Hard Rock/Heavy Metal fan's collection and will go down in history as one of the best, if not THE best Heavy Metal album ever recorded, cheesy lyrics and all. "We'll rise inside ya til' the power splits your head. We're gonna Rock you til' your metal hunger's fed. We're Heavy Duty!"

Standout Tracks are: ALL OF THEM.

This album defines 1980s British Heavy Metal. There isn't a weak song in sight. Glenn and K.K.'s guitar work is super-tight throughout, especially their solos, which are mindblowing in both precision and power. Check out 'Love Bites' and 'Freewheel Burning' to see what I mean. The rhythm section is sound. As for vocals, there's not really a lot you can say...except that Rob Halford is the one and only Metal God.
Every metal fan should own this album. If you don't have a copy, then buy it now!
Buy it.
Play it loud.
Repeat.

Judas Priest had just finished touring for there highly acclaimed (sometimes) over-rated "Screaming for Vengeance". I know that if you're reading this, you probably think I'm crazy for thinking that, but I believe that it was there follow-up to that classic album that surpassed that on all levels. Defenders of the Faith, I believe took the foundations that were layed down on "Screaming For Vengeance" and Raised them to "11" on all levels. They took that sound and cranked it up by making it much heavier, louder, meaner, scarier, a little Gothic, Dark, Gritty, and a lot more intense.

If you don't know what I mean, just listen to every song on this album and you'll see how they tear down anything that was on "Screaming for Vengeance". While that album had a couple of good ballads ("(Take These)Chains", "Fever", "Pain and Pleasure"). Rob Halford shows more intensity and fury in his voice.

The album blasts the gates open with "Freewheel Burning", which really showcases what I'm talking about when I say that they sound a lot meaner, heavier, and intense.

"Jawbreaker" continues that sound with greatness. "Rock Hard, Ride Free" is very anthemic, but still kick-ass. "The Sentinel" is epic all on levels. "Love Bites" is Haunting, Scary, Gothic, But Very Heavy and Kick-Ass (They would normally start there shows in support for this album with this song, and it makes for a awesome opener!)

"Eat Me Alive" is creepy, fast paced, intense (kinda like "Freewheel Burning") but with a overall darker tone.

"Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" is a mid-paced, stalking, dark, song and probably my personal favorite on the album.

"Night Comes Down" follows in a great way, and even though it is a slower song, it's not a wimpy ballad in no way, it's quite epic and Rob Halford's delivery in this song makes the hairs on the back of my neck stick up.

"Heavy Duty/Defenders of the Faith" both these songs are separate, but i consider them one song due to "Heavy Duty" going right into the title track, and it's a great ending to not just a Perfect Priest album, but a Perfect metal album all in all.

Judas Priest followed this with "Turbo" which sonically went into the glam metal that Priest had no right to be in (although that album was good in it's own light), as they belong with Just Heavy Straight Forward Metal. The Priest eventually went back to there true roots with the return to form: "Painkiller" in 1990, which I believe is the sequel to "Defenders of the Faith".

Judas Priest's Defenders Of The Faith record is, simply put, astounding. It has all sorts of redeeming qualities. For instance: the riffing is superb, as are the bass lines. Halford's vocals are amazing, as usual. Drumming is great too. It's actually got several tracks with a great influence of thrash/speed metal. Let's break down the tracks one by one.

1. Freewheel Burning: A great opener, it kicks you right in the face, which is how a lot of the best metal records open up. Solo is insane!
2. Jawbreaker: Another fast one, bass line is amazing! I like how they make the sound effect of a time bomb with the hi-hat.
3. Rock Hard, Ride Free: A bit of a slower number, but still crunchy, with a great hook.
4. The Sentinel: A slow intro leads into another frantic speed metal tune. Solos are definetely at their best here.
5. Love Bites: Once more, a great mid-tempo rocker. Kind of an eerie little intro. Listen for Rob's little death growl near the end!
6. Eat Me Alive: Another frantic speed metal tune. Very heavy, but the solo is nothing special.
7. Some Heads Are Gonna Roll: Another slower one, but it's got such a great intro, who cares about the tempo?
8. Night Comes Down: Almost like a ballad. Probably my personal least favorite. A bit too slow.
9. Heavy Duty: This is one half of a whole song, and it's got the great fist pumping atmosphere of such songs as the Saxon classic "Denim And Leather" or the Manowar classic "Blow Your Speakers."
10. Defenders Of The Faith: The second half, continuing with the fist pumping atmosphere, but the lyrics are just repetitive crys of "We are defenders of the faith!" Oh well, at least they defend the metal faith, which is good!

I hope you have been convinced to buy this unbelievable album. Also, if you went to this years Ozzfest like me, you got a chance to see them on their first big tour since Halford re-joined! They still can rock after 30 years!