To come up with a list of the Top 10 JUDAS PRIEST Songs was extremely difficult. Hell, to come up with a list of the Top 10 JUDAS PRIEST Albums would have been just as hard if not harder. I hope that all of you enjoy the list and your feedback is always welcome… So, here we go!
10. “Freewheel Burning” from 1984’s ‘Defenders of the Faith’
If you are a JUDAS PRIEST fan and you do not get excited and goose bumps on the opening riffs of this song something is wrong. When people said Rob and the band were getting soft and commercial, this was his response. Just the powder keg of licks from Tipton and KK make this song incredible, and Rob doing that nod to thrash metal vocal delivery just makes this song such a classic.
9. “The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown” from 1978’s ‘Hell Bent for Leather’
What an underrated song! When people talk about ‘Hell Bent for Leather’, it is always the title track, “Hell Bent for Leather” or the classics “Burnin’ Up”, “Before the Dawn” and “Killing Machine”… people forget about “The Green Manalishi”. While the other songs are incredible, and could be easily in a top ten list, this won out because this is just such an incredible underrated classic that showcases Rob’s vocal abilities. This has all the classic JUDAS PRIEST trademarks from the riffs and Rob just complimenting the instruments with his delivery. GOD! This upsets me because I love all these songs the same, and that this won out. It was hard!
8. “Jugulator” from 1997’s ‘Jugulator’
I know to JUDAS PRIEST fans this is sacrilege, “that was not really a JUDAS PRIEST cd, or a series of cds”. How many of us, bought ‘Jugulator’ just out of curiosity to see how this would play out? I was all for Sebastian Bach or Devin Townsend being the lead singer and to know they both were not the pick that some unknown from a JUDAS PRIEST tribute band was, made me very curious to see what this would sound like and I was not letdown. And, to all the Ripper haters, I liked this cd a lot. Listen to the band energy mixed with Ripper’s passion, how can you not get behind this album? This cd seemed to me that Priest was hungry, and that they were playing to re-establish themselves and wanting to get this young unknown some spotlight. “Jugulator” to me is a showcase of what brought Ripper to the band’s attention. He gives his best vocal performance of his career on this cd and this song. I know people will want more traditional JUDAS PRIEST songs in this list, but I cannot deny how awesome this song is.
7. “Turbo Lover” from 1986’s ‘Turbo Lover’
‘Turbo Lover’ was in the time when JUDAS PRIEST and IRON MAIDEN decided to use synths and keyboards. Another sacrilege cd to those so called JUDAS PRIEST fans, but I liked ‘Turbo’. Talk about a band that went from one extreme to the other in the series of three albums. From ‘Screaming for Vengeance’ which fans thought was too commercial, to ‘Defenders’ that put them back in the good graces of the head bangers, to ‘Turbo’ that went into a completely different direction all together. Whereas most of the songs on this list I can praise the riffs and the energy, this song has neither. It just is such a different song for Priest that I really dug it for what it was. For me, an album like ‘Turbo’, if it was released today they would be smeared all over every internet metal site by those so called “diehards” who refuse to let their favorite bands change, but will bitch when they put out the same shit album to album. I am glad that JUDAS PRIEST has always done things their way and couldn’t care less what people thought.
6. “Breaking the Law” from 1980’s ‘British Steel’
Now we are into those staple songs. This to metal fans is like the Star Spangled Banner. I have seen live shows that Rob did not even have to sing the song; the whole crowd did it for him. If there was a top 100 metal classics ever, you know this would be pretty high on that list. Even non fans know this song; I bet if you played just a lick of the song in a group of assorted personalities and ages, that 9 out of 10 would know this song and tell you they are not metal fans. To do a 10 list of metal and most importantly Priest and not have this song in it, is like having a top ten most important events in history and not naming when man first walked on the moon. This is that one song that no matter who you are, you have to know this song and be a fan.
5. “Grinder” from 1980’s ‘British Steel’
‘British Steel’ to me is the heavy metal bible. If I ever did a top ten metal albums or most influential albums ever, this would be a top contender on both lists. “Grinder” with Rob putting those metal god vocals on display and the powerful guitar riffs, this song, to me, is that song that no matter what you are doing when it comes on you stop everything, turn it up and just head bang!
4. “Rapid Fire” from 1980’s ‘British Steel’
“Rapid Fire” and for that matter the whole ‘British Steel’ album has made a huge impact on my life. When you are a young kid who has long hair and does not fit in at an all redneck school, and you go to a store and see this album with a razor blade on it, telling you that it is the heaviest album of the year. You take it home, and close your door and put on the headphones to the family turntable and this song hits, with that drum to guitar fury and the vocals then kick in, you realize you are not alone! From that 13 year old kid in 1981 who just discovered JUDAS PRIEST for the first time, I say thank you for putting this album out, you made my teen years so much more fun. I cannot remember half of the girls I dated or friends I had back then. One thing I can sure remember is putting the needle on this album for the first time and getting to the end of “Breaking the Law” and thinking to myself “holy fuck, is this an awesome record so far”! Then, “Rapid Fire” starting and feeling a rush go through my body like nothing I had ever felt in my life.
3. “Painkiller” from 1990’s ‘Painkiller’
After ‘Ram it Down’ did anyone see the fury and energy from this album coming? I was not the biggest fan of ‘Ram it Down’; while it was ok in some songs, I felt it was a sign that maybe JUDAS PRIEST was slipping. Then, came ‘Painkiller’ and they had to be aware of bands changing the metal scene, like PANTERA and BIOHAZARD at that time, and decided to show people they had some tricks of their own. I feel that this album, fans do not give it the respect it deserves and will always be considered second to this album by them or that album. If this was a top 20 list, “All Guns Blazing” and “Metal Meltdown” would have been included as well. I think ‘Painkiller’ showcases a band that even though they were around for almost twenty years at this time, felt like they had something to prove. What an angry and furious album. ‘Painkiller’ is all about the drum blasts, the infusion of new blood in the band with Scott playing drums and that Rob wanted to give the new blood in the genre a run for its money. A criminally underrated album and song.
2. “Bloodstone” from 1982’s ‘Screaming for Vengeance’
I will be honest; the whole ‘Screaming for Vengeance’ album could tie for number two. I know this is a touch of the metal god going sort of commercial, but I thought the songs on this album proved to people that JUDAS PRIEST were more than just a metal band, that they could write songs and get on to Top 40 radio stations. I remember as a kid listening to Casey Kasem doing the Top 40 and JUDAS PRIEST’s “You got Another Thing Coming” debuting on the countdown. Think about this, metal at this time was still the red headed step child of the music industry, beside QUIET RIOT’s ‘Metal Health’ going to number one on Billboard album charts, in this era metal was starting to get more widespread appeal. For me ‘Screaming for Vengeance’ can be considered as a sell out, as fans will accuse them of being, it is still a strong album today. Oh yeah, “Bloodstone”, I really am a fan of this song, and to me from the guitar riffs that open the song, to Rob just giving a great vocal delivery, this is the best song on ‘Screaming for Vengeance’. I love the chorus and just the infectious guitar riffs and almost sing-a-long lyrics. This is what makes JUDAS PRIEST so special! I feel no other band could pull this song off.
1. “Love Bites” from 1984’s ‘Defenders of the Faith’
Anyone who knows me, knows this… it is not a shock. ‘Defenders of the Faith’ could have been my whole top ten. In 1984, my very first concert and this is the song they opened the show with. To see Rob appear in the mouth when the Metallian opened and start singing, it was just a moment in time that will forever be etched into my mind and a moment that I would never trade in my life. I remember the girl I was dating at the time, holding my hand and we were all in amazement and that no matter what else could happen, our lives at that moment were forever changed. When Rob starts screaming on the top of the Metallian, “Love- Love” and Tipton and KK are in front of the stage doing the signature guitar poses, it was magic! This is what music was made for, an escape, a memory of that moment in your life when you felt alive, or the first time you heard this song. I would love to tell Rob face to face or on a podcast, “do you know what your music means to me?” JUDAS PRIEST is one of the bands I can forgive for anything they do and will support them in everything. Rob solo, the Two albums, and all the “Fight” stuff, and the Tipton solo record. This is to me the greatest JUDAS PRIEST album ever, and this is the only song that could have been number one!
