JUDAS PRIEST – Defenders Of The Faith [The Re-Masters] (Columbia/Legacy)

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Score: 5 out of 5

Posted: 9/5/04

Category: Heavy Metal

Original Release: 1/84

Reissued/Remastered: 5/29/01

With the Judas Priest reunion in full swing, we thought we’d take a look back at the band’s remastered reissues that came out during 2001 and 2002. Some of these we covered in our Metal Dreams print magazine – MD#6, but many of them were missed when we transitioned to the web.

Although it seemed impossible, Priest upped the ante with the recording of Defenders Of The Faith. Defenders built upon the Screaming sound, adding an even heavier edge. The band certainly wasn’t looking for a hit single when they made videos for the two grittiest tracks, “Love Bites” and “Freewheel Burning.” If this had been the late 80s, some record company genius (sarcasm turned on) would have opted for filming one for the dark ballad “Night Comes Down” instead. While these videos never received the appropriate airplay that “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” enjoyed, they became fan favorites nonetheless. Defenders, along with Screaming, are the albums that most Priest fans judge the band by, and by all accounts Priest have yet to match (although Ram It Down (1988) and Painkiller (1990) were very enjoyable).

On Defenders, Halford was in his prime, both vocally and lyrically. However, the wildly sexual “Eat Me Alive” with lyrics like “Bound to deliver as you give and I collect / Squealing in passion as the rod of steel injects” can be viewed a bit differently now, than back in the day. While Screaming was strong throughout, the band does drop the ball here on the very weak “Heavy Duty” and “Defenders of the Faith,” a one line chanter with crowd cheering. Although this was an attempt at another audience participation song like “United,” it just didn’t work.

Like the other reissues, this remaster also includes two bonus tracks, the acoustic ballad “Turn On Your Light,” which doesn’t fit in the context of this thunderous album, and a live version of “Heavy Duty/Defenders Of The Faith,” this time with real crowd participation.

The Bloody Truth: Defenders and Screaming are my favorite Priest albums, and certainly in my Top 10 albums of all time. Despite the weak “Heavy Duty” and title track, I have given this album a 5-axe rating because every other track is beyond reproach. This album is the definition of ‘heavy metal’ and I only wish this album influenced today’s genre. Obviously, something went wrong along the way because if Defenders is heavy metal, what the hell is all this other crap that labels like Metal Blade and Century Media are currently selling as metal.