Mr_D's Full Review: Metal Works '73-'93 by Judas Priest
This compilation is a little misleading - While it is true that Judas Priest existed from those years, (1973-1993) this album covers music from their prime and a little after their prime. 1977-1990. It's a 2-CD set, of what is supposed to be the definitive collection of Judas Priest.
When you think about metal pioneers, people mention Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, but Judas Priest is rarely remembered these days. In truth, Judas Priest was more of a trend follower than a setter, but they were able to take the music boundries of the time and expand on them just a bit at all times throughout their career, covering the hard biker rock of the late 70's, through some of the more musical metal of the early 80's, into the glam of the late 80's, and 1990's Painkiller was a hard rocker, an example of the times. The music was always sound - The musicianship or Rob Halford's voice were never in question.
So, you may ask - If Judas Priest was a band that followed instead of lead, why would I listen to them? Because, they did whatever they did very well. Musically, they could be very sound - Lyrically, they could be as anti-establishment as Rage Against the Machine in their time. And some of their songs, are essential hard rock classics. This CD set packs many of the most popular - "Delivering the Goods", "Breaking the Law", "Hell Bent for Leather", "Ram it Down", "Turbo Lover", "Screaming for Vengeance", "You've got another thing coming", and "Living after Midnight".
But many of Priest's less known works are some of their best, and several of these are included too - "The Hellion/Electric Eye", "Painkiller", "Exciter", "Sinner", and "Victim of Changes" which is probably one of their best songs ever.
So, does this album succeed in being the definitive collection? The answer, unfortunately, is no. It comes close - But it includes too many of the weaker tracks (especially from their later Glam Rock days). This 2-CD set may have been better serves as a 1-CD set with some editing and finer tuning. In fact, most of the second CD of the set is disposable. If this were a 1 CD set with only the "best of the best" - It would garner a 5 star rating. But it does not - The excess filler brings it down to a 4 star.
While Judas Priest did rock out for many years and probably was the backbone behind many British metal acts (including, Iron Maiden, one of my favorite) and their playing (both live and in the studio) was technically sound - this does not justify including some of what could be considered "Filler" into a "best of" collection. Not narrow enough to be definitive, but it does include many great songs. And Judas Priest is a too-often overlooked popular metal band of the past. "Turbo Lover", "Victim of Changes", "Electric Eye", "Night Crawler", and "Painkiller" are all great metal songs, worthy to be in any fans' collection.
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