Ram It Down [Original recording remastered, Extra tracks, Original recording reissued]

Judas Priest | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 19, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered, Extra tracks, Original recording reissued
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000630BW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #129,689 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PRIEST RAM IT HOME!!! REMASTERED!, April 16, 2002

By 

cd-heaven (ROCK CITY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ram It Down (Audio CD)

WOW! Let me first start off by saying that each Judas Priest studio effort is a distinguishable classic. The Judas Priest Remaster series is both good and bad. Good because each studio release sounds sonically superior to the old versions. All of them sound clean, crisp sounding from Sin After Sin through Painkiller. Also good on some of the reissues are the studio bonus tracks. I will review each bonus track as I review each reissue, some are better than others. The bad part about the studio ablum remasters series is the live bonus tracks (do not be confused, the live bonus tracks on both live reissues are great, and I include those bonus tracks in the reviews). ALL the live bonus tracks are lousy. The sound quality is good, just the performances are uninspried, and lame. From Sin After Sin's Jawbreaker (Halford sounds weak here) to Painkiller's Leather Rebel (which is made worse because it's rpobably the weakest song on Painkiller). If you are a fan who has all the studio albums already and are looking to wet your ears with the live tracks, forget about it, they will let you down. Seriously, the songs off of the Halford-less 98 Live Meltdown are more inspirational than these live bonus songs. Well that sums up the Remaster Series as a whole,
now on with the individual review...

This album is an UNDER-RATED Priest Jem. Sure, it's no British
Steel, or Killing Machine, but come on, it's 10 years later, and
they still can scream of Vengenence and riff like Metal Gods.
Proof is the leadoff track, Ram It Down. Their heaviest album opener since Screaming For Vengence in 1982. This song just cooks and it's kind of gets the tempo set for Painkiller in 2 years. Other great tracks are Heavy Metal, Hard as Iron, and a ripping cover of Johnny B. Goode. My 2 favorite tracks though are Blood Red Skies (Pure classic Priest) and Monsters of Rock, what a great way to close an album along with the opener title
track. All-in-all, a GREAT album, ever though the drums do sound a bit mechanical. It really isn't that bad. The remastering is
superb, both in sound improvement and album packaging (lyrics and photos). As for the 2 bonus tracks, Live Bloodstone and Night Comes Down, really not necessary to have been included.
But the album is definitely worth getting.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hammering of the Metal Gods, March 20, 2002

By 

cineman74 (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ram It Down (Audio CD)

After the release of "Turbo", an album I (and many others) dug but which left a lot of Priest fans scratching their heads, the question was whether or not the band was going to go in a poppier direction. Happily they did no such thing and came back with "Ram it Down", a crushing metallic onslaught that marked the return of the classic Judas Priest sound along with some new tricks.

Make no mistake, these songs are the heaviest Priest had written up to that time, although the song lyrics are more down and dirty ala Kix or Faster Pussycat as was the scene in '88, and some of Rob Halford's customary forays into fantasy/literary themes are absent here. Still, songs like "Hard As Iron", "I'm A Rocker", "Heavy Metal", and the title track are shining headbangers. You also have the most bizarre version of "Johnny B. Goode" you're likely to hear. The title track also has the distinction of containing what many Priest fans regard as perhaps the greatest extended guitar solo duel in metal (and Priest's) history and marked Glenn Tipton's and K.K. Downing's evolution into the cutting edge of guitar-playing.

The remastered sound is really crisp here and the guitars sound great, although no amount of studio tweaking could do away with the synths and Dave Holland's lame electronic drums (what were you guys thinking?). Unfortunately, the only bonus tracks are two filler live songs, but this album is worth owning for the title track alone.

Be amazed, be very amazed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Underrated, December 3, 2005

By 

Elizabeth L. Chapman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ram It Down (Audio CD)

This album deserves about 3.5 or 4 stars, but I am giving it five because reviewers have been underrating this great album. Ram it Down is definately not their worst album, it is much better than Turbo, Rocka Rolla, and Point of Entry. Plus, many people say that the Title Track is the only good song on the album. "Ram it Down" is a really kickass song, but so is "Heavy Metal" and "Blood Red Skies". I highly suggest this album to any Priest fans that don't already have it.