CD Review: Screaming For Vengeance, by Judas Priest (1982)

With their eighth studio album, Judas Priest achieve widespread popular appeal, radio play, and multi-platinum status. They also take several steps away from innovative metal and move towards some non-threatening and fairly boring music. The guitar solos are routine, Rob Halford's vocals generally subdued, the songs simple and often descending into the simplistic. There are few strong melodies and no complex compositions, just straight-ahead songs aiming primarily for popular appeal.

However, Screaming For Vengeance does deliver some gems: Electric Eye introduces a hypnotic riff that carries joyful high speed. Title track Screaming For Vengeance is refreshingly dangerous and equally fast, and finally allows guitarists Tipton and Downing to let rip, radio be damned. Fever provides an interesting and effective slower and more deliberate tempo.

The album has more than its fair share of mediocrity. Bloodstone is somewhat repetitive and boring. (Take These) Chains is much more pop than metal, attempting to reach the mass market. Pain And Pleasure has a strong chorus surrounded by a lazy song. Commercial hit You've Got Another Thing Comin' summarizes all that is poor here: a shallow, simplistic, fist-pumping track aimed at a non-metal audience. The utterly forgettable Devil's Child defines "filler".

The band's typical lack of sound depth is once again evident, with Ian Hill's bass non-existent, while on drums, often Priest's weakness, Dave Holland labours away to no great effect.

The album is sloppily produced by Tom Allom. The sound is neither raw nor polished, just bland and undistinguished.

Screaming For Vengeance has its strong points, but it is more likely to be appreciated by fans of the simple rather than the sublime.

Band:

Glenn Tipton - Guitar
K. K. Downing - Guitar
Rob Halford - Vocals
Ian Hill - Bass
Dave Holland - Drums

Songlist - Rating out of 10:

1. The Hellion - n/a (short instrumental)
2. Electric Eye - 10
3. Riding On The Wind - 8
4. Bloodstone - 7
5. (Take These) Chains - 6
6. Pain And Pleasure - 7
7. Screaming For Vengeance - 9
8. You've Got Another Thing Comin' - 6
9. Fever - 8
10. Devil's Child - 5

Average: 7.33

Produced by Tom Allom.

The Ace Black Blog CD Review No. 67.
All Ace Black Blog CD Reviews are here.

Movie Review: Metal - A Headbanger's Journey (2005)

Anthropology and heavy metal music are two subjects that rarely make it into the same sentence; but this does not deter anthropologist, heavy metal fan and documentary film-maker Sam Dunn. He sets out on a journey to better understand the history, evolution and global reach of his favourite music.

The result is an entertaining, well-made and thoughtful examination of heavy metal.

Dunn, from Victoria, British Columbia, traces metal's origins and its branching out into the numerous sub-genres exemplified by countless bands. Through interviews with band members old and new and fans world-wide, he examines metal's cultural influence, social and gender issues, battles with censorship, and links to satanism and violence. A particular highlight, unfortunately short, is Dunn's exploration of the direct links between classical music and heavy metal.

The first half of Metal - A Headbanger's Journey is crisp, sharp and funny. The second half gets lost in a couple of segments that are too long, in particular an unnecessarily drawn-out journey to Norway to explore criminals linked to extreme metal bands.

The highlights are undoubtedly the elegantly edited interviews with metal icons. The interviews with Dee Snider of Twisted Sister and Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead are both smart and entertaining, and the DVD includes a second disc with extended interviews that did not make it into the documentary.

Dunn is not afraid to insert himself straight into the culture that he's documenting -- his continued obsession with metal forms an endearing thread throughout the movie, to the point that we sympathize with his awkwardness when he sits down to interview Bruce Dickinson, his boyhood idol. We also laugh with him as he reveals his boyhood enthrallment with cartoonish blood-soaked lyrics.

Metal - A Headbanger's Journey is a clever examination of a cultural phenomenon that is as powerful as it is misunderstood.






The Ace Black Blog Movie Review No. 54.
All Ace Black Blog Movie Reviews are here.

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