Defenders of the Faith

Last updated

Defenders of the Faith
Defenders of the Faith.jpg
Cover art by Doug Johnson
Studio album by
Judas Priest
Released13 January 1984 (1984-01-13)
Recorded1983
StudioIbiza Sound (Ibiza)
Genre Heavy metal [1]
Length39:45
Label Columbia
Producer Tom Allom
Judas Priest chronology
Screaming for Vengeance
(1982)		Defenders of the Faith
(1984)		 Turbo
(1986)
Singles from Defenders of the Faith
  1. "Freewheel Burning"
    Released: 13 January 1984 [2]
  2. "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll"
    Released: March 1984 [3]
  3. "Love Bites"
    Released: April 1984 (US) [4]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Blabbermouth.net 10/10 (30th Ann.) [6]
Blogcritics (favourable) (30th Ann.) [7]
PopMatters 7/10(30th Ann.) [8]
Martin Popoff 8/10 [9]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg(30th Ann.) [10]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Sputnikmusic4.0/5 [12]

Defenders of the Faith is the ninth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 13 January 1984 in the US [13] and on 20 January 1984 in the UK. [2] The album was certified platinum by the RIAA, [13] and spawned the singles "Freewheel Burning", "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll", and "Love Bites".

Contents

Recording and release

Defenders of the Faith was recorded at Ibiza Sound Studios, Ibiza, Spain, and mixed at DB Recording Studios and Bayshore Recording Studios in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida. The LP and cassette tape were released on 13 January 1984, and the album appeared on CD in July. A remastered CD was released in May 2001. Simultaneously with the album's release, the band kicked off their tour in Europe, with the bulk of concerts taking place in North America during the spring and summer.

Stylistically, Defenders of the Faith did not greatly depart from its predecessor and featured a similar formula of short, up-tempo metal anthems with stadium shout-along choruses, although progressive elements returned on some tracks such as "The Sentinel". The track "Rock Hard Ride Free" is actually a re-working of a track entitled "Fight for Your Life", recorded during the 1982 Screaming For Vengeance sessions but not included on that album.

The album was an immediate success, only going one spot below Screaming for Vengeance on the US Billboard 100 Albums Chart. Some critics nonetheless objected to the lack of a standout single comparable to "Breaking the Law" or "You've Got Another Thing Comin', and the album's general similarity to Screaming for Vengeance.

The 30th-anniversary release of the album (released in March 2015) came with a double CD of a live show recorded on 5 May 1984 at the Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California on their Defenders of the Faith Tour and was originally recorded for a radio broadcast.

Packaging

The cover art by Doug Johnson (who also designed the Hellion in Screaming for Vengeance ) depicts the Metallian, a horned, tiger-like land assault creature with Gatling guns and tank tracks conceptualized by the band. The back cover contains a message:

Rising from darkness where Hell hath no mercy and the screams for vengeance echo on forever. Only those who keep the faith shall escape the wrath of the Metallian ... Master of all metal.

Controversy

"Eat Me Alive" was listed at number 3 on the Parents Music Resource Center's "Filthy Fifteen", a list of 15 songs the organization found most objectionable. [14] PMRC co-founder Tipper Gore stated the song was about oral sex at gunpoint. [15] In response to the allegations, Priest recorded the song "Parental Guidance" on the follow-up album Turbo .

In a uniquely British way, Rob's S&M lyrics were intended to be tongue in cheek—and certainly not "corrupting", as Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) took them to be. They certainly didn't warrant being included on the PMRC's "Filthy 15" list a few months after the album was released. For us, the song was a bit of fun—but I won’t deny that we included it with full knowledge that it would get media attention. Little did we know at that time that its inclusion on the "Filthy 15" would be the precursor to a far more disturbing predicament for us. [16]

— K.K. Downing (guitarist)

Promotion

In December 1983, the band did a short tour playing dates in the UK and Germany introducing new single "Freewheel Burning" in the set. In January 1984, the band embarked on the Metal Conqueror Tour across Europe, North America and Japan. On this tour, the band played every song from the album live, with the exception of "Eat Me Alive". During the band's 2008 tour in support of Nostradamus , they played many songs which had never been played live before, one of them being "Eat Me Alive". To date, this made Defenders of the Faith the second Judas Priest album from which every song had been played live (the first being Rocka Rolla), followed by British Steel during the 2009, British Steel 30th anniversary tour.

Legacy

Track listing

All tracks are written by Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford and K. K. Downing, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Freewheel Burning"4:22
2."Jawbreaker"3:26
3."Rock Hard Ride Free"5:34
4."The Sentinel"5:04
Side two
No.TitleLength
5."Love Bites"4:47
6."Eat Me Alive"3:34
7."Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" (Bob Halligan, Jr.)4:05
8."Night Comes Down"3:59
9."Heavy Duty"2:25
10."Defenders of the Faith"1:30
2001 CD edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Turn On Your Light" (Recorded during the 1985 Turbo sessions)5:23
12."Heavy Duty/Defenders of the Faith" (Live at Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, California; 5 May 1984)5:26

30th Anniversary Edition – Bonus Live CDs

Disc one
No.TitleLength
1."Love Bites"5:16
2."Jawbreaker"3:57
3."Grinder"4:30
4."Metal Gods"4:20
5."Breaking the Law"2:57
6."Sinner"8:11
7."Desert Plains"5:04
8."Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" (Bob Halligan Jr.)4:30
9."The Sentinel"6:07
10."Rock Hard Ride Free"6:04
Disc two
No.TitleLength
1."Night Comes Down"4:28
2."The Hellion"0:39
3."Electric Eye"3:33
4."Heavy Duty"2:33
5."Defenders of the Faith"2:37
6."Freewheel Burning"4:39
7."Victim of Changes" (Al Atkins, Downing, Halford, Tipton)9:43
8."The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)" (Peter Green)5:46
9."Living After Midnight"4:50
10."Hell Bent For Leather" (Tipton)5:55
11."You've Got Another Thing Comin'"8:51

Personnel

Judas Priest
Production

Charts

Chart (1984-1985)Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [17] 17
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [18] 27
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) [19] 10
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [20] 21
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [21] 18
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [22] 17
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [23] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [24] 12
UK Albums (OCC) [25] 19
US Billboard 200 [26] 18
Chart (2014-2015)Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [27] 51
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [28] 138
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [29] 85
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [30] 46
Italian Albums (FIMI) [31] 90
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [32] 66
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [33] 13

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [34] 2× Platinum200,000^
Japan (RIAJ) [35] Gold100,000^
United States (RIAA) [13] Platinum1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judas Priest</span> British heavy metal band

Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in the latter half of the 1970s, the band struggled with indifferent record production and a lack of major commercial success until 1980, when the album British Steel brought them notable mainstream attention.

<i>Reinventing the Steel</i> 2000 studio album by Pantera

Reinventing the Steel is the ninth and most recent studio album by American heavy metal band Pantera, released on March 21, 2000 through Elektra Records and East West Records. This was the last studio album Pantera released before their nineteen-year breakup from November 2003 to July 2022, and it is the band's final album to feature the Abbott brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul, before their deaths in 2004 and 2018, respectively.

<i>Screaming for Vengeance</i> 1982 studio album by Judas Priest

Screaming for Vengeance is the eighth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released in July 1982 by Columbia Records. Considered the band's commercial breakthrough, it has been certified double platinum in the United States and platinum in Canada. Screaming for Vengeance spawned the hit "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" and Electric Eyes, which became one of the band's signature songs and a perennial radio favourite.

<i>Turbo</i> (Judas Priest album) 1986 studio album by Judas Priest

Turbo is the tenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 21 March 1986 by Columbia Records. The album is notable for the band's change to a commercial glam metal sound, that had them using synthesizers for the first time.

<i>Painkiller</i> (Judas Priest album) 1990 studio album by Judas Priest

Painkiller is the twelfth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 14 September 1990. It was the last Judas Priest album to feature long-time lead singer Rob Halford until his return for the 2005 album Angel of Retribution and the first to feature drummer Scott Travis.

<i>Point of Entry</i> 1981 studio album by Judas Priest

Point of Entry is the seventh studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 27 February 1981 by Columbia Records. Following the commercial success of their previous album British Steel (1980), Priest pursued a more radio-friendly direction on Point of Entry. The album's name reflects its intended purpose as an accessible introduction to the band's music and the heavy metal genre in general. Following the conclusion of the British Steel Tour, the band began work on their next project. By this time, the band possessed sufficient funds to fly all their equipment to the state-of-the-art Ibiza Studios in Spain. This gave Point of Entry a louder, stronger, more "live" sound than previous Judas Priest albums.

<i>Angel of Retribution</i> 2005 studio album by Judas Priest

Angel of Retribution is the fifteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released in 2005. It is the band's first album since 1990's Painkiller to feature Rob Halford. The album debuted at No. 13 on the US Billboard 200 chart, which makes it the fourth highest charting Judas Priest album in the US. The album was produced by Roy Z, who co-wrote the song "Deal with the Devil". It won a 2005 Metal Hammer award for Best Album. In the 2005 Burrn! magazine Readers' Pop Poll, it was voted Best Album of the Year and Best Album Cover.

<i>Ram It Down</i> 1988 studio album by Judas Priest

Ram It Down is the eleventh studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 13 May 1988 by Columbia Records. It was the band's last album to feature longtime drummer Dave Holland, and was promoted in Europe and North America with the Mercenaries of Metal Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freewheel Burning</span> 1984 single by Judas Priest

"Freewheel Burning" is a song by the English heavy metal band Judas Priest, appearing on their 1984 album Defenders of the Faith, and released as the first single off that album. The 12" version of the single contained an extended guitar intro that was omitted on the full-length release.

<i>British Steel</i> (album) 1980 studio album by Judas Priest

British Steel is the sixth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 11 April 1980 by Columbia Records. It was the band's first album to feature Dave Holland on drums.

<i>Priest...Live!</i> 1987 live album by Judas Priest

Priest...Live! is the second live album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, recorded at The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia on 15 June 1986 and the Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas on 27 June 1986.

<i>Metal Works 73–93</i> 1993 greatest hits album by Judas Priest

Metal Works is a compilation album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released in April 1993. A remastered edition was released in 2001, with the same track listing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You've Got Another Thing Comin'</span> 1982 single by Judas Priest

"You've Got Another Thing Comin'" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was originally released on their 1982 album Screaming for Vengeance and released as a single later that year. In May 2006, VH1 ranked it fifth on their list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs. It became one of Judas Priest's signature songs along with "Breaking the Law", "Painkiller", ''Living After Midnight", "Electric Eyes" and "Turbo Lover" in addition to being a staple of the band's live performances. "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" was first performed on the opening concert of the Vengeance World Tour at the Stabler Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on 26 August 1982 and had been played a total of 673 times through the 2012 Epitaph Tour.

<i>Nostradamus</i> (album) 2008 studio album by Judas Priest

Nostradamus is the sixteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, focusing on the 16th-century writer Nostradamus. It is a double album and the band's first concept album. It was originally intended to be released in late 2006 before being pushed back to a 2007 release, and was finally released on 17 June 2008 on Epic Records. It is the last Judas Priest studio album to feature the Painkiller-era lineup with guitarist and founding member K. K. Downing retiring in April 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Some Heads Are Gonna Roll</span> 1984 single by Judas Priest

"Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" is a song by the English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was originally released on their 1984 studio album, Defenders of the Faith, and issued as a single later that year.

<i>Redeemer of Souls</i> 2014 studio album by Judas Priest

Redeemer of Souls is the seventeenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, which was released in the US on 8 July 2014, in Europe on 11 July, and in the UK on 14 July. It is their first album without founding guitarist K. K. Downing, who quit the band in 2011 and was replaced by new guitarist Richie Faulkner. It also marks the band's last album to be produced by Glenn Tipton. The album sold around 32,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to peak at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart, marking the band's first top 10 album debut in the US. It has sold 110,000 copies in the US as of February 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redeemer of Souls Tour</span> 2014–15 concert tour by Judas Priest

The Redeemer of Souls Tour was a worldwide concert tour by English heavy metal band, Judas Priest, which was in support of Redeemer of Souls. It was their first tour since the conclusion of the Epitaph World Tour in 2012, which was originally dubbed as a farewell tour; the band has since retracted that statement.

The World Vengeance Tour was a 1982 concert tour by English heavy metal band Judas Priest where they toured throughout North America from 26 August 1982 until 21 February 1983 in support of the 1982 album Screaming for Vengeance.

The Metal Conqueror Tour was a concert tour by English heavy metal band Judas Priest in support of the album Defenders of the Faith. It ran from 20 January until 13 September 1984.

<i>Firepower</i> (album) 2018 studio album by Judas Priest

Firepower is the eighteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. Released in 2018, it was the band's first studio album since 1988's Ram It Down to be produced by Tom Allom and the first one with Andy Sneap as co-producer. The album sold around 49,000 copies in the United States within its first week of release, debuting at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the band's highest-charting album in the US. The album also reached No. 5 in the UK, making it their first top-ten album in the UK since British Steel. Music videos were made for "Lightning Strike", "Spectre" and "No Surrender". A lyric video was made for "Never the Heroes". The record also produced three singles.

References

  1. ↑ Travers, Paul (4 January 2021). "The 10 Best Judas Priest Albums - ranked". Kerrang! . Wasted Talent. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 "News" (PDF). Record Mirror . 7 January 1984. p. 5. Retrieved 18 December 2023– via World Radio History.
  3. ↑ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 447. ISBN   9780862415419.
  4. ↑ "Judas Priest singles".
  5. ↑ "Defenders of the Faith review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2 September 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  6. ↑ Van Horn jr., Ray. "Hudas Priest – "Defenders of the Faith Special 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition"". Blabbermouth.net . Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  7. ↑ Doherty, Charlie (16 March 2015). "Music Review: Judas Priest – 'Defenders of the Faith' (Special 30th Anniversary Edition)". Blogcritics . Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  8. ↑ Macek III, J. C. (15 April 2015). "Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith: Special 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition". PopMatters . Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  9. ↑ Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. ISBN   978-1-894959-31-5.
  10. ↑ Patterson, Dayal (March 2015). "Judas Priest – Defenders Of The Faith: 30th Anniversary Edition". Record Collector (438). Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  11. ↑ Connelly, Christopher (12 April 1984). "Album Reviews: Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 18 October 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  12. ↑ Stagno, Mike (14 December 2006). "Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith". Sputnikmusic. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  13. 1 2 3 "American album certifications – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith". Recording Industry Association of America.
  14. ↑ Daniels, Neil (2010). The Story of Judas Priest: Defenders of the Faith. New York City, US: Omnibus Press. pp. 107–108. ISBN   978-1-84772-707-7.
  15. ↑ Clifford-Napoleone, Amber R. (2015). Queerness in Heavy Metal Music: Metal Bent. New York City: Routledge. p. 132. ISBN   978-0-415-72831-7 . Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  16. ↑ Downing, K. K. (20 September 2018). Heavy Duty: Days and Nights in Judas Priest. Constable. ISBN   978-1-4721-2867-6.
  17. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4456a". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  19. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN   978-951-1-21053-5.
  20. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  21. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN   4-87131-077-9.
  22. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Judas Priest Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  29. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  30. ↑ "Judas Priest: Defenders of the Faith" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  32. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  33. ↑ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  34. ↑ "Bonhams:Judas Priest/K.K. Downing: A Sony/BMG Canadian 'Platinum' award for the albums Killing Machine, Unleashed In The East, British Steel and Defenders Of The Faith". 7 March 2023.
  35. ↑ "Eastern Defense" (PDF). Billboard . 13 October 1984. p. 9. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.