Customer Reviews

Unleashed in the East (Exp)

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This one is considered Judas Priest's breakthrough classic, and rightfully so. Although too produced to call it a real "live" record, it may be better to think of it as a re-recorded best of their previous efforts (`Sad Wings of Destiny' (1976), `Sin After Sin' (1977), `Stained Class' (1978), and `Hell Bent for Leather' (1978)). That is, all the songs here are performed with an improved more metallic, more up tempo sound than the original versions - the tempo is a little faster on "Exciter", the guitar solo is a little more daring on "Sinner", the chords ring a little harder on "Green Manalishi", the licks are a little edgier on "Diamonds and Rust". But the essential performance here is "The Ripper" - the original of which was drenched with silly sound effects and seemed out-of-place on `Sad Wings of Destiny' (1976) - but the version here is simply incredible. In fact, I challenge anyone to find a metal song with a more impressive vocal performance (including any later Judas Priest records).

The original release contained nine songs with an emphasis on tunes taken from their pre-major label record, `Sad Wings of Destiny' (1976) and only one or two songs each from `Sin After Sin' (1977), `Stained Class' (1978), and `Hell Bent for Leather' (aka `Killing Machine' (1978)). On bootlegs and certain "official" releases, other songs from these concerts/session later emerged, creating a broader representation of their catalog up to that point. The original record probably should have been a double album, but now with the benefit of the extended format of CDs, it is all here, including the infamous live version of "Hell Bent for Leather" (sans the revving Harley), which became the signature encore of subsequent Judas Priest shows.

In my opinion, as important as Judas Priest was to the metal scene, this record surpasses any of their previous five prior releases.

I think perhaps the most telling account of how I feel about this recording is the fact that I'm a grown man who's banished most of his heavy metal discs to the shoe boxes, used CD stores, or even the trash. "Unleashed" is the only heavy metal disc I keep in the regular rotation. This disc not only gets Priest at their best, really capturing the guitar interplay before they have a chance to bury it in six layers in the studio, but it is also a textbook example of the reasons live albums should be made in the first place. It should bring the concert home. That involves not only invigorated performances of the studio material but also solid production values; keep the sound true so you can hear what the musicians sound like without studio wizardry. This is my favorite heavy metal album, and my favorite live album of any genre. I can only assume that if you're reading this, you're at least mildly interested, so I can recommend without reservation that you buy it.

Released in 1979 (it would go Platinum ten years later), Unleashed in the East isn't just the best live album available from Judas Priest, it's one of the best live albums ever recorded. Purists can nitpick all they want on whether this is considered a "live" album or not, but you'll rarely find anything that sounds better than this. Classic Priest songs like "Exciter", "Sinner", "The Ripper", "Green Manalishi", "Diamonds and Rust", "Victim of Changes", "Tyrant", and "Hell Bent for Leather" are re-produced live with faster tempos, edgier riffs, and grinding solos that are pure old metal bliss. Rob Halford's voice booms, and the guitar combo of Downing and Tipton can be heard in their prime here. All in all, any Judas Priest fan most likely owns this disc, but if you don't, consider Unleashed in the East an absolute must own.

On Judas Priest's first live album, Unleashed in the East(1979), they manage to package most of their greatest songs of the period onto one great live album. Every song is a proven winner in the studio, and most sound even better live. The tracks off Sad Wings are greatly aided by Les Binks' fantastic drumming(chekc out that solo in Starbreaker). Glenn and K.K. fire off some sizzling guitar work, while Rob Halford(with some help from the studio) lays down some great vocals. However, Ian Hill begins his descent into mediocrity here, but for the most part his bass lines are effective and well-played. Overall this is one great albums, arguably the best they ever made, and I would STRONGLY recommend you buy this album first if you're new to the band.

If you've heard the original and thought it was outstanding for its time, you'll agree that it left you wanting more. This remastered version is the way it should've been from the start. The original nine core songs sound amazing, and the four extra live tracks (from the same tour) seamlessly make this album complete, finally. After listening to this release from start to end, you won't remember that once upon a time, it was four tracks shorter. The folks at Legacy (Sony Music) have managed to make of the greatest live rock albums of all time even better. This CD is a MUST HAVE for any Judas Priest or heavy metal fan. Even if you're not into metal, but you're a hard rock fan, you will definitely enjoy the power of the performances captured in this recording.

This is an essential classic. As of this release, the line between hard rock and metal was made forever distinct; and the style contained within is the prototype for everything metal which was to follow.

The twin-guitar attack, the essential metal chug, the occasional flirtation with the double-kick (soon to be taken to ridiculous new levels of overexposure), the stratospheric vocal touches (nobody did the falsetto better than Rob Halford primarily because he knew well enough to use it tastefully and in moderation): all these things signal the beginning of everything that followed (and a direct link to thrash and speed metal which would come to dominate 80's hard music), and all of them found their widest audience and finest display on "Undleashed in the East".

The long-burning question as to whether or not this is a genuine "live" album is irrelevant: the end justifies the means. To anyone who disagrees, I offer the following hypothetical scenerio: By 1979, Judas Priest was a markedly different-sounding band than the Peter-Green-era-Fleetwood-Mac-style band which debuted in 1974 with the "Rocka-Rolla" LP. Priest had however retained several of the excellent songs from their second LP "Sad Wings of Destiny" in their live set. Also in their set were tracks from the abyssmally-produced "Sin After Sin". As the band's new style gained them a following, they perhaps addressed the issue of finding the means to get their older material circulated before the public (and their new fans). The solution was to re-record these older tracks in the newer style with modern production resources. A studio recording would be the optimum way of presenting them, but the "live" format would be the best excuse to rework these songs. I believe that the band may have opted to record these tracks in the studio, added crowd noise, had their cake, and ate it too. The perfection and intensity of the resulting work is nearly beyond artistic criticism, despite the elaborate "live" album charade: the band plays brilliantly, and Rob Halford's vocals set a stylistic precedent (displaying at times agression, intensity, charisma, and a unique-and-appropriate dark vulnerability which sets his brilliant performance apart from all but only the very best vocalists--as far as metal goes, the theatrical qualities of his voice place him in a class by himself). Having seen Judas Priest in 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1983, I can confidently state that "Unleashed in the East" established monster tracks such as "Sinner", "The Ripper", "Tyrant", and the show-stopper setpiece "Victim of Changes" as Priest signature material and genre standards.

This most current edition adds welcome bonus tracks (though not as many as it should: missing is "Beyond the Realms of Death" which I have on a European 12" from way back); but in any form, this is an essential masterwork. Priest wrote the book.

When I first listened to Unleashed in the East I thought it was a bit monotonous and similar to other hard rock/heavy metal that I'd heard - probably because the style here has so often been imitated. Then after a few years I found myself listening to it more often and more closely until I realized I was hooked. Now, I consider it one of my favorite albums. Here's a short list of reasons why:

1) The energy and power of the music, which is backed by fantastic riffs and leads that burn a hole in your consciousness. 2) Incredible musicianship. This includes the previously mentioned guitar work as well as the surrealistically talented Rob Halford on lead vocals and the drumming, which far outclasses that on later releases by Priest. 3) Lyrics that match the complexity and force of the music. 4) The quality of the recording. The sound has a depth that captures the feel of a concert hall in the way it fills and expands in your ears.

Like many other great albums, Unleashed in the East transports you into it's own atmosphere and keeps you riveted by it's intensity. In the end, you feel as if you've been on a journey. One that you want to take over and over again. There's a subtlety to it that might take some repeat listenings to notice. This includes various little effects and noises as well as the countless twists and turns in the music. Overall it's a disc that creeps up on you gradually until all the sudden you don't know what hit you. So put this one in your pipe and smoke it. You'll soon wonder what the point of living is without it (to paraphrase Running Wild).

Judas Priest rocks, OK? Rob Halford is a rock God, he has one of the most powerful voices in heavy metal. Glenn Tipton & K.K. Downing are amazing guitar players who can trade leads extremely fast and extremely well. Ian Hill is a great bass player. And Les Binks isn't their best drummer, but he's good.
This is the first Priest "Live" album and it's an early one. So, therefore, most of the songs are from "Hellbent for Leather" or "Stained Class" or anything before that. But, despite it being early stuff; This is one of the best live albums I've ever heard. Yeah, it's overdubbed and overproduced, but it is still technically a live album and they're killer! The only thing you can wish for is a better Set-List, but here are the tracks:

1. Exciter
2. Running Wild
3. Sinner
4. The Ripper
5. The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)
6. Diamonds and Rust
7. Victim of Changes
8. Genocide
9. Tyrant

BONUS TRACKS:
10. Rock Forever
11. Delivering the Goods
12. Hell Bent for Leather
13. Starbreaker

The live version of "Exciter" is ten times better than the studio version. I've never heard the studio version of "Running Wild" but it's great. "Sinner" is obviously overdubbed, but it's one of my favorite Priest songs. "The Ripper" is very simalar to "Sinner" but still cool. "Green Manalishi" is better in the studio, but this one is cool. "Diamonds and Rust" is an old Joan Baez song that I've never heard. Priest does it great though. "Victim of Changes" has some great guitar playing and it's one of my favorite Priest songs although I've never heard the studio version. "Genocide" has a great solo and Les Binks does some of the best drumming he did in Priest. "Tyrant" is the weakest song. The four bonus tracks are some of the best on the Remaster series. "Rock Forever" is ten times better than the studio version, Halford's voice is so great on this track. "Delivering the Goods" is pretty much the same way. "Hell Bent for Leather" is much better in the studio and "Starbreaker" is awesome. This is truly a masterpiece as far as live albums and go and I'm sick of reading reviews by people who diss Rob Halford's voice. Halford can do so many things with his voice and is such a talented vocalist. They're are people better than Halford, but still...Give the man some credit.

GRADE: A+

There's good cheese and bad cheese; at their best, Judas Priest was the former, and this live offering from 1978 in front of a crowd of adoring Japanese shows them at their very best. For those not familiar with the Metal Gods, Unleashed in the East is the best introduction. Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath may have created the framework for Anglo Saxon Heavy Music, but the Priest, by ditching the blues changes for baroque prog structures, adding a second guitar, and playing at blinding velocity, may lay claim to being the first true Metal band, progenitor of speed, thrash, power, and sadly, hair metal, the latter being weird because the lead singer was bald and proud of it. (Halford's willingness to opt for close cropped hair in the mid-'70's when all metal folk had to be hirsuit always seemed to me more courageous than his coming out of the closet years later...)Evidence of why they are not merely kitsch: their inspired choice of covers. JP lay waste to, of all things, Joan Baez's kiss-off to Dylan, "Diamonds and Rust," and turn it into molten metal. Their version of Fleetwood Mac's "Green Manalishi" makes Peter Green's ode to a succubus into the purest Gothic horroshow imaginable, blood-curdling. This disc contains only the fastest and most relentless songs from their early albums, when they seemed to inhabit some sort of Lovecraftian dystopia and before they began writing the mindless MTV party anthems that put them in the Top 40. For pure onslaught, Motorhead was their only competition. Secret weapon: Rob Halford's banshee shriek, he gives Robert Plant a run for his money in the titanium-throated operatic male soprano department. I just found out that Judas Priest is touring with Motorhead this August and will be in my state -- this is one King Kong v. Godzilla show I am not going to pass up.

UNLEASHED IN THE EAST is true JUDAS PRIEST. I first saw JUDAS PRIEST live when they played their first show ever in the U.S. opening for LED ZEPPELIN and RICK DERRINGER at a day on the green in Oakland, Ca. in 1976. I had never heard of them before, but I was blown away by them. I have seen them five times since then, and every show is very memorable. UNLEASHED IN THE EAST is a perfect example of what JUDAS PRIEST is like live. They are true metal gods. UNLEASHED IN THE EAST captures the best of ROB HALFORD, K.K. DOWNING , AND GLEN TIPTON. ROB HALFORDS vocals are in legendary form on this album. This is a must have for any fan of heavy metal, and heavy it is. There are other great live albums in other genres of music, but for heavy metal, this is in my opinion the best. A must have for every metal fan.