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Rating: Birmingham, 1976.
A group of young workers decides to emerge from the darkness of the British working class, and to do so, they record for a small label, Gull, an album where they unleash all their dreams and frustrations, far removed from the budding punk scene, and instead marking their difference, drawing inspiration from greats like Dylan and Hendrix. The guys won't be rewarded for their success in the slightest and will break their contract with the label, backed by a major (Columbia/CBS) that recognizes their talent and wants them in their stable.
Told this way, it sounds like the screenplay of a movie. In fact, it's much more: it's the first cry of heavy metal, a genre destined to experience moments of great glory and immortal vigor.
Our (Rob Halford, vocals; K.K. Downing, guitar; Glenn Tipton, guitar; Ian Hill, bass) first exclude the inept Alan Moore, responsible for the crimes committed on drums on the previous "Sad Wings Of Destiny"; then they place behind the drums a certain Simon Phillips (later Toto, Oldfield, Beck, Brian Eno, Jagger, The Who, Pete Townshend, Michael Schenker Group): finally, they entrust themselves to a producer, proposed by the new label, with some experience (the Roger Glover of Deep Purple, to be precise).
It is rare in the world for such a fortunate combination of factors to be created. The talent of the Priest (young, yes, but already very experienced) with Glover's knowledge, Phillips' stellar skill, the resources of CBS: success was bound to come.
And indeed it does. Upon the album's release, Sin After Sin reaches the 23rd position in the UK, and sells reasonably well throughout the Anglo-Saxon orbit. But it does more: it creates a myth. These are the years of change for the Priest: they begin with the all-leather and studs look, cloned for decades by thousands of other bands.
A small clarification: in 1977 the height of fidelity was the turntable (as it is today, after all), and albums were recorded for them. If you really want to hear how it sounded back then, put on the record, it's a different story. You will find it at relatively accessible prices at well-stocked markets. You'll just need to play it and compare it with other productions of the time to understand what it meant to play metal in '77.
“Sinner” is fast hard rock, but complex enough to highlight the influence of British progressive rock. The guitar work is superb, both in the accompaniment and the central solo, even more emphasized live. The sound is clearly influenced by Glover, and this is a good thing in the evolution of the Priest sound; our heroes immediately prove to be dark and sharp like never before, never neglecting a love for melody that makes them, overall, accessible and elegant. The almost seven minutes of “Sinner” flow fast and powerful, without a moment of slack, and lead us to a cover of Joan Baez, “Diamonds And Rust”, excellently reinterpreted, which will also achieve great commercial success. “Starbreaker”, which follows, reaffirms the canon of the English quartet: grit, heavy riffs, sharp solos and central exchanges, unmistakable screaming. A remarkable piece, which live – unfortunately for a few years – reveals unheard-of power, driven by an always over-the-top Halford.
The whole album, despite the dark and angry passages, is imbued with a visionary and dreamy romanticism. So it is not surprising to find a ballad like “Last Rose Of Summer”, quite banal and '70s to be honest, nor the opening of “Let Us Prey/Call For The Priest”, very British, which for a moment deceives you into thinking you've put on a Queen record before overwhelming you with its frantic rhythm, a clear source of inspiration for the nascent Motorhead. “Raw Deal” starts as a nice Sabbath-style mid-tempo, heavy and melancholic, then accelerates in the final part and reveals its more explicitly metal soul; “Here Come The Tears”, a new poignant and desperate ballad. But it's with “Dissident Aggressor”, the final track, that the Priest return to strike. What to say about this piece that hasn't already been said by History? A crescendo of drums and distortion culminating in a terrifying scream, then proceeding with a heavy riff and a layer of percussion as usual fast, angry, and sophisticated, for the purely “metal” piece in the sense that the word still holds today. Try comparing the original, perhaps live, with the Slayer cover from '88...
Sin After Sin is not the masterpiece of Judas Priest, nor of metal in general. It is not the most brilliant and innovative album from the English midlands. It is not packed with legendary tracks like the previous “Sad Wings Of Destiny”, nor does it have the charisma of the subsequent “Stained Class”. It is, simply and grandly, a brick of that temple we faithful call Metal and that, with prophetic inspiration, is depicted on the album cover. A brick of a movement that for at least another twenty years will have much to say to music and the entire world, laid by those who did not just design that temple but built it.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Sinner (06:46)
Sinner rider, rides in with the storm
The devil rides beside him,
The devil is his god, God help you mourn
Do you, do you hear it, do you hear the thunder
Deafen every living thing about
Can you, can you see it, can you
See the mountains darken yonder
Black sun rising, time is running out
Sacrifice to vice or die by the hand of the
Sinner!
Sinner!
Sinner!
Sinner!
His steed of fury,
Eyes of fire and mane ablaze
Demonic vultures stalking
Drawn by the smell of war and pain
He roams the starways
Searching for the carcasses of war
But if its hungry then its very presence
Disrupts the calm into the storm
Curse and damn you all, you'll fall by the hand of the
Sinner!
Sinner!
Sinner!
Sinner!
God of the devils, God of the devils
Won't you help them pray?
God of the devils, God of the devils
Is there no other way?
Can't you hear their souls calling out in their plight?
Can't you see their blood is boiling setting them alight?
Thirty years now sleeping, so sound
War raises its head, and looks slowly around
The sinner is near, sensing the fear
And the beast will start movin' around
Can't you see their souls calling out in their brain
Can't you hear their blood is boiling setting them alight
Sinner!
Sinner!
Sinner!
Sinner!
Sinner!
Sacrifice to vice or die by the hand of the
Curse and damn you all, you fall by the hand of the
Sinner!
02 Diamonds and Rust (03:28)
I'll be damned, here comes your ghost again
But that's not unusual
It's just that the moon is full
And you decided to call
And here I sit, hand on the telephone
Hearing the voice I'd known
A couple of light years ago
Headed straight for a fall
But we both know what memories can bring
They bring Diamonds and Rust
Yes we both know what memories can bring
They bring Diamonds and Rust
Now I see you standing with brown leaves all around and snow in your hair
Now we're smiling out the window of the crummy hotel over Washington Square
Our breath comes in white clouds, mingles and hangs in the air
Speaking strictly for me we both could've died then and there
Now you're telling me you're not nostalgic
Then give me another word for it
You were so good with words
And at keeping things vague
Cause I need some of that vagueness now
It's all come back too clearly, yes, I love you dearly
And if you're offering me diamonds and rust, I've already paid
But we both know what memories can bring
They bring Diamonds and Rust
Yes we both know what memories can bring
They bring Diamonds and Rust
Diamonds, Diamonds and Rust
Diamonds, Diamonds and Rust
Diamonds, Diamonds and Rust
Diamonds, Diamonds and Rust
03 Starbreaker (04:52)
Look out, here's Starbreaker
Cruisin' into town
Set his mind to stealin'
Every little heart around
Step out on the sidewalks
If you're feeling game
He comes but once a lifetime
Never seen again
Starbreaker
Glides in from the sky
Starbreaker
Takes you up so high
Paradise is waiting
For the chosen few
Let's hope maybe this time
He picks me and you
Star voyage to a new world
Light-year miles away
Cross your fingers, here he is
Take us now this day
Starbreaker
Glides in from the sky
Starbreaker
Takes you up so high
Starbreaker, take my hand
Starbreaker, understand
Starbreaker, you're the one
Starbreaker, lead us on and on
Look out, here's Starbreaker
Cruisin' into town
Set his mind to stealin'
Every heart around
Step out on the sidewalks
If you're feeling game
He comes but once a lifetime
Never ever seen again, oh
Starbreaker
Glides in from the sky
Starbreaker
Takes you up so high
Starbreaker
Glides in from the sky
Starbreaker
Takes you up so high
Starbreaker
Glides in from the sky
Starbreaker
Takes you up so high
Starbreaker
Glides in from the sky
Starbreaker
Takes you up so high
Starbreaker
Starbreaker
Starbreaker
Starbreaker
Starbreaker, breaker
Starbreaker
07 Here Come the Tears (03:37)
Once I dreamed that love would come and sweep me up away
Now it seems life's passed me by, I'm still alone today
Here come the tears
Looks like it'll always be the same
No one here to comfort me
Here come the tears
All alone, no one cares
So much to give to you all out there
Take me now, in your arms
Let me rest, safe from harm
Oh, I want to be loved
I need to be loved
Won't somebody love me?
Here they come, here come the tears
Here they come, here come the tears
Here come the tears, here come the tears
Here come the tears, here come the tears
Here come the tears, here come the tears
Here come the tears, here come the tears
Here come the tears, here come the tears
08 Dissident Aggressor (02:56)
Grand canyons of space and time universal
My mind is subjected to all
Stab! Bawl! Punch! Crawl!
Hooks to my brain are well in
Stab! Bawl! Punch! Crawl!
I know what I am, I'm Berlin
Through cracked, blackened memories of unit dispersal
I face the impregnable wall
Stab! Bawl! Punch! Crawl!
Hooks to my brain are well in
Stab! Bawl! Punch! Crawl!
I know what I am, I'm Berlin
Exploding, reloading, this quest never ending
Until I give out my last breath
I'm stabbing and bawling, I'm punching and crawling
Hooks to my brain are well in
I'm stabbing and bawling, I'm punching and crawling
I know what I am, I'm Berlin
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