The Double Doghouse

this week for the weekly review, it’s time to check out Judas Priest’s 8th studio record, Screaming For Vengeance, released in 1982.

The Hellion is a p good intro track – it’s got those soaring electric guitars that plot a slow build up, leading right into Electric Eye, which…. pretty much immediately got it’s hooks in me. the dual vocal style approach on the verses helps to build back into those choruses, where the mix feels JUST off enough, with the processing on the vocals. plus those guitars fucking kill it over the whole song! phenomenal track about a surveillance state. massive fan of this one. Riding On the Wind has just a relentless feeling to it. it’s not complicated, lyrically, but it doesn’t have to be, with the guitar doing some phenomenal solo work and the drums maintaining that forward momentum. Bloodstone is the first track that’s just aight here, to me. (Take These) Chains is a strange shift in tone and style – they still bring some of those heaving, forward drums and the powerful electric guitars, but the tone of the track feels like a pretty sharp contrast after what we’ve got so far. and it’s really good! this track kicks ass in a different kind of way, haha. Pain and Pleasure is another… well not subtle track but a less consistently bombastic track, and it’s got a very nice hook to it. Screaming For Vengeance begins picking the pace back up, rising into an absolutely phenomenal solo section. not huge on the vocal choices on the choruses, but you cannot deny that solo. You’ve Got Another Thing Coming is a tight package – extremely fun and with an excellent attitude to it. Fever’s got a slower, more methodical progress to it, but this one really hooked me in the first listen to it when it comes around to the first chorus. that “FEVER” hiss is just so good. Devil’s Child closed out the original vinyl tracklist for the record – definitely a nice closer, with an appropriate amount of bombast.

faves – Electric Eye, (Take These) Chains, You’ve Got Another Thing Coming
dislikes –

this record felt really genuine – not a lot of pretense, just excellent guitar work over great percussions, and some extremely strong hooks. i mentioned it a little above – but they do some fun stuff in the structure of the mix for this record, throwing the guitar and drums WAY forward and kinda burying the vocals, playing with the processing and effects, making it synthetic on a track like Electric Eye or giving it a bit of space in Pain and Pleasure. i really enjoyed this record a lot more than i expected i would!

Screaming For Vengeance – 8/10

next week, i’ll be back again checking out the final album in the review queue at the moment – Iggy Pop’s Lust For Life. i’ll be back next Friday, June 23rd with that review. since this is closing out what’s in the queue at the moment, i’m actually going to take the week after, June 26th – June 30th, to cover a few recent releases i’d like to spend some time with (namely, new releases from KGLW, AJJ, and Janelle Monae) – afterward, i’ll pick another weekly record, and in the meantime, i’d love for folks to fill that queue back up. let me know what album you’d like me to review! (i pool all suggestions in one place, and draw a person, then one pick from that person, so feel free to drop as many as you’d like! if you leave an email or username i’ll contact you when i’ve gotten through all your suggestions.)