I wasn’t a fan of Rambo movies for a long time but it wasn’t because I watched one and didn’t like it. It was how they were lampooned by others that turned me off of the character.
Yeah, Weird Al robbed me from approx 20 years of enjoying First Blood. Thanks, Al.
I had Judas Priest in the same boat for a long time. Mostly because of this (The Priest part starts at 22 seconds in):
Understandably, Beavis & Butt-head selectively chose the insane parts of Painkiller for comedic effect, but it had me writing the band off for almost a decade. That singer seemed to be all kinds of crazy!
I can’t remember exactly how I eventually became a fan, but it was in the early 2000’s and it was the song Living After Midnight. Now, this I could get into!
Shortly after that, some pirates left Priest’s complete discography at my doorstep and I got to work. When I finally did listen to Painkiller, I loved it.
Yeah, Painkiller is one ear splitter of an opening track… but the entire song isn’t THAT crazy. It actually has a solid groove in the middle.
As for the rest of the album, it is a bit harsher but not completely removed from what they have done before. I would not blink an eye if they plopped the song Screaming for Vengeance somewhere in the middle.
The biggest change has to be drummer Scott Travis. This was his first Priest album and his double kick base definitely made an impact of the band’s big metal riffs. And he is still their drummer today because he can really freakin’ drum.
So, what I done and did, especially for my buddy SuperDekes who told me his fate with Painkiller may rely on this write up alone (No pressure!), is choose a couple of deep cuts that I think will better speak to those who prefer their late ’70s’-80s era.
One Shot At Glory is a solid rocker. It is a bit of a longer one at almost 7 minutes, but I think it still has one foot planted firmly in the ’80s sound…
…and the big mid-tempo riff of Touch of Evil might appeal to you.
I totally understand if they don’t speak to you. I tend to enjoy it when a band goes balls out on the harder tunes and I know it isn’t for everyone. But, I think this deserves a fresh spin with some 2020 ears. Maybe some of us were just not ready for The Pain in 1990. #MarsApproved
I played Painkiller two weeks ago and was actually surprised how much I still love it. I thought I had outgrown it. I was wrong. You picked good deep cuts. The only tracks that dont resonate for me are Nightcrawler and Metal Meltdown.
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Love Nightcrawler. It makes me think of that guy from the X-Men movies. But I agree with Metal Meltdown. Definitely a weaker track.
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Nightcrawler tired out on me I guess. Have you see the Judas Priest trial documentary?
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I have not…
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Enjoy. I taped this off my TV back in old 91 but it’s on YouTube it seems, and it looks to be the full program.
This will be difficult to watch at times.
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OK, thanks. I’ll give it a watch later today.
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OK. But do be ready for some fairly graphic imagery.
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Holy crap. Painkiller was the exact song that turned me off the band too. It really had a bad effect on me. But I love just about every other song on this album and that was the great surprise of my Priest review series. I love this album (opening track notwithstanding) and The Triple M approves of Mars approving.
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Glad I’m not the only one to get the wrong first impression! At least we eventually got to the party and can enjoy it now! I do like the title track though now. It’s inclusion on Rockband might have allowed me to become accustomed to it.
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If Stained Class is First Blood this is… ummm… the fourth one maybe? The more brutal but not as good one! But still pretty awesome.
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That is a spot on analogy! I wish I had thought of it a few hours ago, lol.
BTW, I love the 4th one! It is my 2nd fav.
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Yeah I think it’s probably mine too. Wasn’t too sure about the latest one. Was a bit soapy and by the numbers. I do love the 2nd and 3rd too but in a more ironic action cheese kinda way. Maybe they are Turbo?
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Could be! It was definitely a slow burn to start and his motivation was cliched. But the movie got to the Home Alone part… not for the faint of heart.
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Cool writeup Kev!
That tune A Touch of Evil could have came off Turbo which for me is a good thing. I like that you pinpointed that certain era of the band that I like best. Great selling point by listening to your fanbase! Lol
I will see what this is going for on Amazon. Speaking of Amazon I have Robbo’s autobiography on preorder from Amazon. Should be a great read!
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Oh, wow! I had no idea he wrote one! I definitely need to flip through that. I’m reading Roger Daltry’s right now. I just started though, so I haven’t got to any of the fights with Pete yet. As for Painkiller, stream the rest before you buy! But I was able to snag if for $25 last week. I see it is back up to $35 now, so hold out if you can!
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Yeah I say that I won’t pay 35 for Painkiller. As I told you last week I bit the bullet and paid $77 bucks for the 2 Cinderella albums as I never come acorss them used.
Than the other day it was another 60 bucks for Weezer and Aerosmith at Sunrise. lol
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Yeah, this hobby can easily make me poor(er)!
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Nice write up. I stuck with early 80’s Priest up to about this one.
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That is the cool thing about Priest. We can choose our favourite era! I personally haven’t dived into much after this album besides Firepower.
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Me either. Firepower I thought was fantastic
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Judas Priest with sweep picking in the leads.
And when I was doing a mix tape back in the day, Painkiller and Touch Of Evil got the tick of approval
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That’s true! They are sweep picks, lol. I never thought of them like that.
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I see what you mean with the lampooning – though UHF, what a film!
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It is a masterpiece.
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