Not wanting to give up on their new-found momentum after the superb, fast and hard-hitting SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE, Judas Priest released DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH in March of 1984. Sporting a darker, more violent side than SCREAMING, it nevertheless continued the same tradition of fast, rat-a-tat-tat drumming from Dave Holland, K.K. Downing/Glenn Tipton twin-Stratocaster guitar solos that intertwined with each other at blistering speeds, and high-pitched screeching courtesy of Rob Halford, the greatest heavy metal singer alive both then and now. I became a die-hard fan when I first saw their video for the speed-metal opener "Freewheel Burning". The song is fast, furious, yet still very melodic. It's also my favorite on this CD. Even at their fastest, Priest always retained their melodic sensibilites; they were never just noise. "Jawbreaker" continues this dark speed-metal sound nicely; although not great like "Freewheel Burning", it keeps the momentum going. "Rock Hard, Ride Free" is a great racing-as-metaphor-for-life song like "Heading Out To The Highway" and "Freewheel Burning", but is mid-tempo in rhythm with a high-pitched tandem guitar tune that sounds like the perfect theme of a teenage life-story. "The Sentinel" burns up the air; it's a fast, burning, and violent song which could have been made into a movie. It's about a supernatural (and apparently immortal) sentinel who takes out an entire army with his scabbard of 200 daggers, which "fly out like bullets, upon their deadly course." Quite gory, but nonetheless an excellent Priest song with a memorable bridge.

The second half of DEFENDERS also rocks, although not quite as hard. "Love Bites" is Priest's metallic take on vampirism; it begins memorably with some slow, forboding bass guitar chords from Ian Hill before kicking in with Halford growling "When you feel safe/When you feel warm/That's when I rise/That's when I crawl". It was the perfect song to open all of Priest's live shows on the "Defenders" tour--I know, I saw them twice on that tour--although it's not quite as great of a song to hear whilst lounging in the comfort of your living room. "Eat Me Alive" is pretty self-explanatory ; its true meaning not fully revealed until Rob courageously came out of the closet in 1998. It's an okay speed-metal track, a bit too repetitious; it's probably the weakest song on the CD. But then we get to my second-favorite track on here, "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll", which became widely played on FM hard-rock stations. It's about "the power-mad freaks who are ruling the earth" and gives us a great lead guitar solo trade-off between Glenn & K.K. The next track is a haunting power-ballad called "Night Comes Down". It's dark, emotional, and fits the mood of this CD perfectly. Closing out the original DEFENDERS set is "Heavy Duty/Defenders Of The Faith", a slow-paced but pounding two-part heavy metal anthem that serves as a tribute to the legions of Priest fans everywhere, and for all those who want to be rocked till their "Metal Hunger's fed". That's a fake audience cheering on this studio version, but it reminds me of when I saw them do it live, and I was part of a REAL screaming crowd!

But wait; there's more! With this Remastered version, we now get a studio bonus track called "Turn On Your Light". It was written "during the early years of our career". Like most of the bonus tracks on Priest's Remastered CDs, it was recorded in 1985 during the sessions for TURBO. It's an unusually slow song, with both acoustic guitar and keyboards (very unusual for a Priest song), although it does contain a fuzzy lead guitar solo and does get pretty heavy towards the end. It's not a great, standout track such as "Prisoner Of Your Eyes" (from the Remastered SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE), but it's not bad either, and it is good to *occasionally* hear Rob Halford sing without screaming. Finally, the CD closes with an appropriately live version of "Heavy Duty/Defenders Of The Faith." It's rendered faithfully, and extended to five-and-a-half minutes with Rob leading the real screaming crowd on a minute-long "We are Defenders of the Faith" chant.

DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH still remains one of Judas Priest's strongest albums ever. It's earned a special place in my heart, and it still rocks me till my Metal Hunger's fed! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Judas Priest had just finished touring for there highly acclaimed (sometimes) over-rated "Screaming for Vengeance". I know that if you're reading this, you probably think I'm crazy for thinking that, but I believe that it was there follow-up to that classic album that surpassed that on all levels. Defenders of the Faith, I believe took the foundations that were layed down on "Screaming For Vengeance" and Raised them to "11" on all levels. They took that sound and cranked it up by making it much heavier, louder, meaner, scarier, a little Gothic, Dark, Gritty, and a lot more intense.

If you don't know what I mean, just listen to every song on this album and you'll see how they tear down anything that was on "Screaming for Vengeance". While that album had a couple of good ballads ("(Take These)Chains", "Fever", "Pain and Pleasure"). Rob Halford shows more intensity and fury in his voice.

The album blasts the gates open with "Freewheel Burning", which really showcases what I'm talking about when I say that they sound a lot meaner, heavier, and intense.

"Jawbreaker" continues that sound with greatness. "Rock Hard, Ride Free" is very anthemic, but still kick-ass. "The Sentinel" is epic all on levels. "Love Bites" is Haunting, Scary, Gothic, But Very Heavy and Kick-Ass (They would normally start there shows in support for this album with this song, and it makes for a awesome opener!)

"Eat Me Alive" is creepy, fast paced, intense (kinda like "Freewheel Burning") but with a overall darker tone.

"Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" is a mid-paced, stalking, dark, song and probably my personal favorite on the album.

"Night Comes Down" follows in a great way, and even though it is a slower song, it's not a wimpy ballad in no way, it's quite epic and Rob Halford's delivery in this song makes the hairs on the back of my neck stick up.

"Heavy Duty/Defenders of the Faith" both these songs are separate, but i consider them one song due to "Heavy Duty" going right into the title track, and it's a great ending to not just a Perfect Priest album, but a Perfect metal album all in all.

Judas Priest followed this with "Turbo" which sonically went into the glam metal that Priest had no right to be in (although that album was good in it's own light), as they belong with Just Heavy Straight Forward Metal. The Priest eventually went back to there true roots with the return to form: "Painkiller" in 1990, which I believe is the sequel to "Defenders of the Faith".

Here it is. Defenders Of The Faith. With tracks like 'Freewheel Burning', 'Rock Hard Ride Free', 'The Sentinel', and 'Love Bites', this is quite possibly one of the greatest metal albums of all time. I don't agree at all that it's a "sell-out" as a reviewer below put it. The instramentation is all perfect, with it's melodic crunching guitars, thumping heavy drum beats, and Halford's easily distinguishible screaming vocals.

However, it's the remastering itself that I can't help but notice problems. It doesn't sound as crystal clear as it used to, and the hissing is still ever present. Although it's a bit muddy sounding, at least they had the decency to crank up the volume a bit so that it can be played louder.

When it comes to the extra tracks, this album is the worst of the four. The live version of "Heavy Duty/Defenders of the Faith' is great, but there are other better songs that they could have done instead that haven't been played on a live album. I would've liked to hear a live 'Rock Hard Ride Free' instead. The Studio track 'Turn On Your Light' is also the worst of the four new songs. Here's how my evaluation of the four current remasters is:

My Favorite Album-> Defenders Of The Faith

Best Remaster Extra Tracks-> Point Of Entry

Go Figure. Still, it's an excellent album that everyone should check out. No metal head should be without this fine piece of history.

Judas Priest was a bit before my time, as I didn't really get into "metal" until the late '80s with Metallica, Anthrax, and Megadeth. Recently I acquired the "Metalogy" four disc set by Judas Priest and was immediately blown away by the disc that spanned "Screaming for Vengeance" and "Defenders of the Faith."

Yesterday I bought "Defenders of the Faith" even though the majority of the songs are on the "Metalogy" disc set. I had to. Man, that CD is just brutal (in a good way). Halfords vocals sound his strongest to me during this period and the music is almost flawless. I'm kind of sad I didn't discover this album when I was younger because it would have been a great album to puke-and-rally to.

If you consider yourself a "metal" fan, you need to own this CD. I can't think of anything out at that time that even touches it.

I've exceeded my use of quotation marks for one review.

~Slick

I have been a Priest fan since high school. Being a guitarist myself I listen to music more than lyrics. I prefer Priest due to their sharp, clear and melodic sound. Glenn Tipton is a phenomenal songwriter who has written most Priest material since the mid-70's. He is also the finest metal guitarist, besides Dave Murray of Iron Maiden. Every song on this album is outstanding. It is must for every metal collector!