Album Review: "Stained Class" by Judas Priest
Was This Album by Judas Priest Released Ahead of Its Time?
Stained Class is the 1978 studio album by British heavy metal band Judas Priest and it also happens to be the first ever Judas Priest album that I have a visual memory of seeing on cassette tape. You could even say that this is an album that may have been ahead of its time in terms of the vocals, complexity of the riffs and songwriting that puts this album in a class of its own for the decade of the 1970s.
"Stained Class" the Album Has Interesting Riffs
What we have here is towering vocals by Rob Halford, interesting riffs especially in the song White Heat, Red Hot and a classic song called Beyond the Realms of Death. That song starts with memorable acoustic guitar as the song builds up and Rob’s voice reaches a climax. The song is a story of a man who withdrew mentally and emotionally from the world. After the wind blows in his face, he dies because he had just about had enough of the world. This song can be classified as a power ballad because it starts out soft and then the guitar playing gets slightly heavier however in the 1970’s the heaviness was different than the decades that would follow. Depression is an ugly mental illness that this song covers and discusses. If you suffer from this affliction, get help as soon as possible.
More Detailed Analysis of the Songs In "Stained Class" Including the Title Track
The lead guitar playing in the second song is similar to the lead guitar work in this time period and those of you that listen to early Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden will hear those two bands use a similar lead guitar style. The song Stained Class has riffing that represents what heavy metal eventually evolved into as it was growing and maturing. The riffing gave way to countless thrash metal albums such as Metallica’s debut album in 1983. The song’s main message is that one day long ago when man was king of his world and domain, he had a clean heart. But since humans have sinned and turned to killing and other violent acts, they have become in the words of the band “stained class kings.” The song called Saints in Hell lyrically and musically is similar to what you will hear in the 1984 album Don’t Break the Oath. However, Rob’s voice is not as high and operatic as that of King Diamond. The song Savage lyrically tells the historical narrative of how the colonists in Colonial America came to a new set of lands where the Indians were living peacefully among themselves when their way of life was disrupted. These other people tried to bring progress but instead brought with them disease which wiped out countless Indians. The song Heroes End discusses famous celebrities who die tragically after reaching the peak of their popularity. As the song asks the question why you have to die to be a hero, it makes you wonder why these celebrities have so much difficulty handling their fame.
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The Album "Stained Class" May Be Best Known for the Song "Exciter"
However, to begin the album is another well-known song called Exciter. Salvation is the goal for this exciter and those that want to repent for their sins have a chance to do so. Near the song’s end Rob Halford sings the words “Stand fight for Exciter” four times in succession. There is also a really melodic and memorable interlude in this song that makes it an early classic. Each repetition sees him increase the loudness and tone of his voice as he really shows his range. There is an impressive fills section by drummer Les Binks.
"White Heat, Red Hot"
Strongest Song On the Album Stained Class
Rate Judas Priest's 1978 Album Stained Class
"Beyond the Realms of Death"
Final Thoughts About Judas Priest's "Stained Class"
Musically, Stained Class was easily Judas Priest’s best album of the 1970’s when I first reviewed and analyzed this album quite a few years ago and it is right up there among their best albums. Is it better than 1990’s Painkiller album? At this rate hearing this album more than 40 years after it was released, you could certainly make a case for that. This type of sentiment of course depends on your musical tastes to a large degree. Stained Class is also a very influential album for the fact that it would help to influence certain albums that would be released in the decade to follow. In fact, one commenter on video website YouTube commented that this album is considered “the blueprint” for the career of Mercyful Fate. Such a sentiment is actually very accurate. Listening to Stained Class at the end of 2022 makes me think that if you chose either of the last three or four Judas Priest’s albums released in the 1970s as their best one of the decade, you would have a valid point for doing so.
This content reflects the personal opinions of the author. It is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and should not be substituted for impartial fact or advice in legal, political, or personal matters.
© 2022 Ara Vahanian
