Judas Priest: Heavy Metal Painkillers-An Illustrated History [Paperback]

Martin Popoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2007

With the 2005 release of their acclaimed new album Angel of Retribution, a comprehensive biography of the legendary heavy metal band Judas Priest was long overdue. Packed with full-color photos from the stage, album covers, and memorabilia shots, each album is recounted song by song alongside interviews that span the rocky, often comical ride of heavy metal’s proudest ambassadors in this definitive biography. Covering all the major moments—from Rob Halford's outing as gay, to their notorious subliminal message trial, to the fan who inspired the Mark Wahlberg film Rockstar by becoming the lead singer—this collector’s item is sure to satisfy true metalheads and rock aficionados alike.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Martin has the most thorough knowledge of heavy metal of anybody I've ever met."  —Dee Snider, Twisted Sister frontman

"Popoff is a blast to read with an acute style as cerebral as it is from the gut . . . you can't help but be impressed by the furnace level of this wordsmith."  —MaximumMetal.com

"A must-have for Priest fans."  —About.com

"A highly enjoyable book for any Judas Priest or heavy metal fan, and quite mandatory."  —SeaofTranquility.org

"Martin Popoff has positioned himself as quite possibly the world's most prolific metal journalist. . . . In true Popoff fashion [this book] is utterly exhaustive."  —Decibel magazine

"For metal fans, this will not disappoint."  —Vintage Guitar

About the Author

Martin Popoff is the author of 18 books, including Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose; Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away; and Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums of All Time. He also reviews albums and interviews bands for Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, Guitar World, Hardradio.com, and Record Collector.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: ECW Press (December 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155022784X
• ISBN-13: 978-1550227840
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,098,758 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Periodical Journalism:

Editorships: HardRadio - Reviews Editor and Writer (Hard Reviews), Interviews Editor and Writer (Hard Views); bravewords.com: Senior Editor.

Contributing Writer: Goldmine, bravewords.com.

Past Work: Amazon.com, musicmusicmusic.com, hmv.com, metalshop.com, CMJ, Chart, chartattack.com, Outsider, VH1.com, Glass Eye, Maximum Guitar, Guitar World, Lollipop, Record Collector, Revolver, Live Wire, Enrage, Radio M.O.I..com, Juggernaut, Classic Rock, bwbk.com, lollipop.com, seaoftranquility.com, interview radio show called BraveWords Radio at internet station VirtuallyCanadian '96 - '98, BBC doc on heavy metal, long-form reviews and features for special edition metal Hammer mags on AC/DC and Iron Maiden, Foreword in Neil Daniels' book, All Pens Blazing: A Heavy Metal Wwriters Handbook, Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles ('94 - '08): Editor In Chief and Writer, Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage feature film and DVD - Researcher, Metal Evolution (11 episode series on metal genres for VH1 Classic), a Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen production - Researcher.


Books:

Riff Kills Man! 25 Years Of Recorded Hard Rock & Heavy Metal (1993)
-1,945 album reviews, 440 p.

The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal (1997)
- update of Riff Kills Man!: 3750 album reviews, 540 p., 600,000 words, full-length CD sampler, in fourth printing

Goldmine Heavy Metal Record Price Guide (2000)
- 11,800 entries, 300 photos, 368 p., best of list, essays, full-length CD sampler

Heavy Metal: 20th Century Rock And Roll (2000)
- part of series, themed as The Fifty Most Influential Bands In Heavy Metal, essays, interview segments, discographies, best of lists, 190 p.

Southern Rock Review (2001)
- 410 southern rock record reviews, 150 album cover shots, 200 p., 10 tr. CD sampler, appendices

The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs Of All Time (2003)
- poll winners, reviews of each, artist quotes for approx. 460 of them, singles shots, artist lists, 486 p.

The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal - Volume 1: The Seventies (2003)
- 1162 reviews of '70s hard rock albums, most not in original '97 source book (and those that were, expanded/rewritten), 188 album cover shots, seven appendices, 12 tr. rarities sampler, 344 p.

The Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums Of All Time (2004)
- Like the Songs book but better, longer quotes and reviews, longer overall, due to 7" x 10" page size (450 p.). New appendices etc. Winners from a poll, reviews by me, artist quotes for almost all entries.

Blue Oyster Cult: Secrets Revealed (2004)
- A 193 p. bio of the band (focus on albums and songs); original interviews with Buck, Eric, Albert, Joe, and Bobby, plus Greg Scott, Ioannis, Murray Krugman, Sandy Pearlman, Richard Meltzer, John Shirley, Helen Wheels and David Roter.

Contents Under Pressure: 30 Year of Rush At Home & Away (2004)
- a 230 page book with 270 photos (most quite rare) authorized by the band, with fresh interviews, to be sold in bookstores and on tour; full colour throughout, 7" x 10" format.

The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal Singles (2005)
- 580 reviews, 424 pictures of rare singles, prices, catalog #s, dates, label info, 192 p.

UFO: Shoot Out The Lights (2005)
- album by album, song by song "bio" of the band, much new interview footage, 257 p.

Rainbow: English Castle Magic (2005)
- album by album, song by song "bio" of the band, much new interview footage, 228 p.

The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal - Volume 2: The Eighties (2005)
- 2,528 reviews of '80s albums, Metal Blade CD, album cover shots, two appendices, 432 p.

Dio: Light Beyond The Black
- album by album, song by song "bio" of the band, much new interview footage, 207 p.

Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose
- all eras covered in detail, full colour throughout, large format, 1 kg of doom, 355 p.

Run For Cover: The Art Of Derek Riggs (2006)
- full colour, large format, high quality art book, with loads of chat from Derek, 180 p.

Ye Olde Metal: 1968 to 1972 (2007)
- full trade 6" x 9" format, 231 pages, essays with interviews on classic old hard rock albums.

The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal - Volume 3: The Nineties (2007)
- 3,073 reviews of '90s albums, Metal Blade CD, two appendices, 518 p.

Ye Olde Metal: 1973 to 1975 (2007)
- full trade 6" x 9" format, 232 pages, essays with interviews on classic old hard rock albums.

Judas Priest: Heavy Metal Painkillers (2007)
- album by album, 541 pictures, 8" x 10", full colour throughout, 380 p.

Ye Olde Metal: 1976 (2008)
- full trade 6" x 9" format, 241 pages, essays with interviews on classic old hard rock albums.

Ye Olde Metal: 1977 (2008)
- full trade 6" x 9" format, 247 pages, essays with interviews on classic old hard rock albums.

All Access: The Art And History Of The Backstage Pass (2008)
- full colour, hardcover, with nearly 1000 photos of passes.

Gettin' Tighter: Deep Purple '68-76 (2008)
- my 250 page book looking at all the records through Mk. IV; lots of pictures too

Ye Olde Metal: 1978 (2008)
- 250 action packed pages on Starz, Boyzz, Godz, DMZ... all the "z" bands.

Blue Oyster Cult! Secrets Revealed! (2009)
- new 2009 edition: new cover, 100 more pages, 174 pictures.

Worlds Away: Voivod & The Art Of Michel Langevin (2009)
- hard cover, full colour throughout, a mammoth compendium.

Goldmine Price Guide To 45 RPM Records, 7th. Ed. (2009)
- front essays, collectible info, 700-odd pages of listings, lots of pictures

Goldmine Record Album Price Guide, 6th. Ed. (2009)
- front essays, collectible info, 700-odd pages of listings, lots of pictures

A Castle Full Of Rascals: Deep Purple '83 - '09 (2009)
- book on Purple covering second half of career; tons of new interviews

Goldmine Standard Catalogue of American Records, 7th Ed. (2010)
- front essays, collectible info, 1344 pages, lots of pictures

The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal - Volume 4: The '00s (2011)
- 3,367 reviews, 572 pages, Metal Blade sampler included

Black Sabbath FAQ (2011)
- 400 pages of trivia, odd topics, cool interview footage, memorabilia shots

The Deep Purple Royal Family - Chain Of Events Through '79
- 280 pages of detailed timeline and 542 memorabilia shots



Miscellaneous:

Record Label biographies: approximately 72.

CD liner notes: approximately 30, including work for Dio, Danzig, Testament, Montrose, Molly Hatchet, Love/Hate, Mahogany Rush, War Babies, Badlands, Moxy, Razor, Anvil, Twisted Sister, Blind Vengeance, Nasty Savage, Love/Hate, Kraken, Trouble, Nevermore, Stuck Mojo and various metal and southern rock compilations

Interviews completed, fully transcribed: 1475

Rhino/Warner Heavy Metal Box liner essay: My contribution is approximately 75 or 80, 100-word "reviews" pertaining to the track selection.

AC/DC - High-Voltage Rock 'n' Roll: The Ultimate Illustrated History. Contribution of long-form reviews of The Razors Edge and Black Ice. In production is a similar coffee table book on Aerosmith, for which I contributed reviews of Draw The Line and Rock In A Hard Place.

Metal Blade box set: one 5000 word history of Metal Blade

My Sabbath, Rainbow and UFO books are available in German. The Sabbath is also available in Czech. The two Deep Purples will soon be out in German. These are all through Matthias Mader and Iron Pages, at www.ip-verlag.de. The Dio book will soon be issued in a Bulgarian edition.


In A Previous Life:

Born and raised in British Columbia, Canada., B.A. In English, M.B.A. in Marketing, Xerox Corp. (Rookie Of The Year in '88: Yay!), nine years as co-owner of The Perfect Page, graphic design, print brokering.


Coordinates:

Martin Popoff,
P.O. Box 65208
358 Danforth Ave.
Toronto, Ontario
M4K 2Z2

[e-mail] (PayPal also accepted with that address)

www.martinpopoff.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As comprehensive as you're gonna get with Priest..., July 6, 2009

By 

Doctor Whiskey (Detroit, MI USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Judas Priest: Heavy Metal Painkillers-An Illustrated History (Paperback)

This book is good enough and thorough enough that I don't feel I would need to seek out any other written work on Priest to connect the dots. Unless of course, when it's all over Priest actually writes their own tale, as their level of secrecy could only be cracked from the inside.

When a writer tackles an entire history of a band whose been around as long as Priest, I prefer that they primarily focus on the music. Popoff does this in spades. The chronological, album by album structure ties everything into the particular time frame of the albums. Thus, Popoff sticks to the music, the making of the albums, and what was going on with the band at the particular time.

I LOVE that this book in not sensationalized in any way. I'm not sure if this is because Priest keeps their inner workings so shrouded in mystery or because Popoff truly does not prefer to spend chapters on the PMRC, the Reno suicides, Dave Holland's extracurricalar activities, or Rob Halford's coming out. Ultimately, I like that these more gossipy tidbits are covered briefly and relevantly within the context of the time frame at hand.

Popoff is smart to start off with the disclaimer that Priest are quite protective of their legacy and their inner workings, and that they often do not give a lot of the grit in their responses to questions. I think this is a strength of Priest. They do not give us the Dirt as it were. This keeps a healthy element of mystery to them, which intrigues me and keeps me interested in what they do. Priest do load their interviews with metal cliches and are smoothly protective in defending their work. Somehow, Popoff still manages to give us a great deal of insight and history into the band.

Popoff does an excellent job of letting the band, or those involved with the band, tell the story, while injecting a nice balance of his own views and opinions. This is top-rate journalism.

As for his opinions, I agree with many and disagree with quite a few as well. I agree with Popoff's disappointment with the album British Steel, which is probably the most overrated album in Priest's catalog. I am a bit more partial to most of Priest's 80's (Screaming, Defenders, even Turbo and Ram It Down) work, while Popoff is more impressed with the 70's output, which is fantastic in it's own right.

Like many, I find the debate and argument over the song Loch Ness most fascinating. Popoff clearly does not like the song. It is one of my favorite Priest songs. There are many who do not have the tolerance for this epic song, feeling that it meanders on too long and doesn't really grab you anywhere. I was more in agreement with KK's take on the song. It is a great mood piece. It takes you on a long journey, which you can really sit and get into, rather than the song ending just after you catch the wave. Like another reviewer said, it is to Popoff's credit in this instance and with many others, that he presents opposing opinions to his. Debating over songs and albums is part of what makes metal the joy that it is.

Lastly, I appreciate that Popoff gives detailed attention to the Ripper years as well as the bands outside projects (Glenn Tipton, Fight, Two, Halford). He could've easily brushed over those quickly, or not even included some of it. Also, the visual elements of the book are top notch! You really get the feel of each particular era through the inclusion of the photos and visuals (ticket stubs, singles, t-shirts). This is great stuff!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Another winner by Popoff, June 16, 2009

By 

M. Fonseca "carmarthen" (Thunder) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Judas Priest: Heavy Metal Painkillers-An Illustrated History (Paperback)

Well, since the guys from Judas probably will not release an official biography soon and (as Popoff himself states) they are not very generous about the quality of the informations the give in interviews, this book is simply the best book in the market about Judas Priest.

Following Popoff's tradition of analysing album by album, you will read this book in a flash if you're a Judas Priest fan. The photos are also top-notch, a lot of them never seen before.

The only reason (albeit a strong one!) I rate this book three-stars is simply because Popoff could write better. By now, I'm getting a little bit tired of his writing style and the errors in phrase construction. I think he should hire a better editor (or hire any editor at all, if he does not use one) and make the already high quality of his work to be upgraded immensely.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Judas Popoff!!!!, February 16, 2008

By 

Stuart Priest "stusretribution" (Fargo, ND) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Judas Priest: Heavy Metal Painkillers-An Illustrated History (Paperback)

Very well done mate... and THANK YOU! A ton of memorabalia, photos, and informed writing make this a MUST for every Priest and Metal fan on the the planet! Martin does a wonderful job chronicling the Priest's career album by album and remains subjective throughout, as every REAL fan can appreciate.

Of course, Priest are the world's second and purest Metal band there has ever been! After Sabbath..it was Rob Halford and this slicing Heavy Metal that really defined the genre better than any other band, including Black Sabbath!

Simply...a real feast of Priest is served here.