(by Velina of “My Rock Mixtapes”)
It’s been over a month since I saw the mighty Judas Priest in my hometown during “Hills of Rock 2018” Festival but I can still hear the voice of the Metal God, Rob Halford and still get those goosebumps when I think of how awesome the whole experience was. During the festival I had the chance to finally listen to “Painkiller” live – one of my favorite Judas Priest songs from my second favorite album of theirs. The moment I heard that iconic, instantly-recognizable opening drum solo, my heart jumped right off my chest and just fell on that stage. This was a moment I will forever remember and cherish.
Now, we are celebrating the anniversary of arguably one of Judas Priest’s finest albums in their career and what many fans consider as their greatest comeback. When “Firepower” hit the shelves this year, critics referred to it as Priest’s best album since “Painkiller”. The albums after “Painkiller” also suffered from the constant “Painkiller” comparison curse. Whatever those guys do, it seems like this 1990 release is always in the talks. There’s a reason why and I don’t think you need a long essay to convince you of the magnitude and influence of this album on the heavy metal scene.
Before I continue, here’s one of the songs I love the most from the album:
I know the dedicated fans are quite familiar with the story behind it but let’s just remember a few important details that I believe should be known about this release by every rock/metal fan out there. First of all, “Painkiller” is the last album to feature Rob Halford – that’s of course until he comes back in 2005. It’s also drummer Scott Travis’ debut and by the way – he is one of the best drummers I’ve seen live ever! The sounds itself was way more aggressive and with a reason – the band had to take something back and that was their redemption. The credibility was surely retrieved after the release of “Painkiller”. The band put back the “heavy” in “heavy metal” with that 1990 release and the critics acknowledged it. Fans, too! Tours, millions of copies sold and a newly-found fame was surrounding the band but as you know, Halford wanted to do his own thing for a while. That’s why they parted ways for some time and vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens stepped as the band’s new frontman in 1996. Still, Rob came back and the band was once again together.
Let’s celebrate the album by playing some of the most iconic songs from it. As I mentioned already, “A Touch of Evil” is my favorite song, though the title track is a close-second.
Let me know what you think of this album and what is your favorite song on the comment section below!
![[Song of the Week] Judas Priest – New Beginnings](https://thatmixtapewillrock.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/judas-priest-nostradamus.jpg?w=825&h=510&crop=1)
![[’80s Rock Album Focus] Judas Priest – Turbo](https://thatmixtapewillrock.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/judas-priest-turbo.jpg?w=700&h=510&crop=1)
Anyone who knows me is quite aware of the fact that I ADORE Survivor and Jimi Jamison is one of my favorite male vocalists of all time. “Vital Signs” happens to be the first album with him as their frontman and as a bonus we can find some awesome classics, such as “I Can’t Hold Back”, “High on You” and “First Night”. I think this is my favorite Survivor album in general and I am particularly fond of the song “Popular Girl” which is very catchy and has such captivating lyrics… “When she’s breaking your heart, she’s the state of the art… with license to take what she wants…”
The follow up of AC/DC’s highly successful album “Back in Black” turned out to be equally important for their career and as perfect as one can imagine. I also consider “For Those About to Rock We Salute You” as their greatest album in terms of technicality, vocal delivery and quality of production. The title song is also one of my favorite 80s tunes – the lyrics and the energy of it are out of this world. Songs such as “Let’s Lit It Up” and “Spellbound” are also among my favorite tracks of the era. The album is the third and final collaboration between AC/DC and famous producer Mutt Lange.
The first solo album of Steve Perry turned out to be a phenomenal project and of course it’s going to be in my favorite rock albums from the 80s! The title track of “Street Talk” – “Oh Sherrie” is beyond impressive and I can’t have my day going without listening to it at least once. In addition to this massive hit, songs such as “Foolish Heart” and “She’s Mine” are also among my ultimate favorite tracks from the album (and from the 80s as well). Steve Perry is an incredible talent and I am so happy he released this album – it’s the golden egg of my collection!
I have a whole publication dedicated to the greatness of this album – you can read it here: 
Till today, “Invisible Touch” remains Genesis’ best-selling album and one of the most loved records of the era. I love Phil Collins and I’ve always preferred him as their frontman in comparison with Peter Gabriel. The record has so many beautiful and quite famous tracks – “Invisible Touch”, “Land of Confusion” and of course my personal favorite – “In Too Deep”. The overall sound of the album may be too soft for some people, but to me it sounds perfect. I particularly enjoy the electronic drums.
I love Dire Straits and this is absolutely my favorite album of theirs. With awesome tracks such as “Money for Nothing”, “So Far Away” and “Walk of Life”, the album was destined for success. It occupied top chart positions for months! “Money for Nothing” was also one of the most played music videos in the history of MTV. It’s an awesome track – probably one of THE tracks of the 80s and the MV is also quite memorable and era-defining – let’s just watch it…
Of course you will find yet another album of Def Leppard in here, on this list…you know now much I love all of their work! “High ‘n’ Dry” was the album that signaled that something strong and powerful was coming and it was going to change to course of rock music – that thing was called Def Leppard! “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak”, “Lady Strange” and “On through the Night” are just a few of the songs I love from this album. The 80s belonged to Def Leppard and this album is indeed one of their finest projects. Interesting fact – it’s their final album with guitarist and original member Pete Willis.
This has to be my favorite Judas Priest album of all time. “Turbo” marked the band’s first use of guitar synthesizers and as a result, a very unique and interesting sound was crafted. Songs such as “Turbo Lover”, “Locked In” and “Rock You All around the World” are ultimate classics and I do really enjoy listening to them on a daily basis. The reason why this album in particular is here, on this list is because it’s somehow different from all of their works – the theme of love and romance is heavily emphasized and I absolutely like it!
But of course Foreigner’s ultimate hit record “Agent Provocateur” is going to be on my list!! I love Foreigner and this album is so special and important to me. It was a bit criticized for being too commercial and ordinary; however to me this album is everything! It contains the band’s biggest hit single, “I Want to Know What Love Is” and my most favorite Foreigner song of all time – “That Was Yesterday”. Also, I have a very special bond with “Reaction to Action” and I can’t have my day without listening to this song at least a few times…
Rainbow with Joe Lynn Turner was the most amazing combination ever! During his time as their frontman, they released some awesome albums and “Bent out of Shape” has to be my favorite one among all. “Can’t Let You Go” and “Street of Dreams” are classics which will always be remembered, played and performed – they will forever remain some of the most appreciated anthems of the 80s!![[Mixtape] This Week in Classic Rock Songs](https://thatmixtapewillrock.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/rock-nroll-vector-2.png?w=450&h=416&crop=1)
Let’s start with the fab five! The story begun in 1957, when young John Lennon assembled his skiffle group, first calling it the Black Jacks and eventually changing it into the Quarry Men. Throughout the years, they had a few name changes, such as Johnny and the Moondogs, the Beatals, the Silver Beetles, the Silver Beats, and the Silver Beatles, before they finally settled on 
Now I can’t talk about the Beatles and not talk about The Rolling Stones now can I? The story of how they decided to call themselves like that is pretty short and simple as well. The band was heavily influences by Chess Records artists, such as Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Howlin’ Wolf and many other blues musicians. In June 1962, the band’s line up consisted of Jagger, Jones, Richards, Stewart, Taylor, and drummer Tony Chapman. According to Keith Richards, Brian Jones saw a Muddy Waters LP lying on the floor, while he was talking to
Why did choose to call themselves the Doors? It’s very philosophical and poetical but what else did we expect from the most intense and progressive rock bands of the 60s? Jim Morrison came up with the name which was derived from a passage in William Blake’s “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” – 
The details behind the origin of their band name vary, however the story goes like this: At first, the band was playing under multiple names, including “Tea Set”. However, imagine their surprise when they turned up at a gig and found up that another band on the lineup was also called “Tea Set”. Syd Barret, under pressure, had to quickly come up with a new name. The alternative he settled on was The Pink Floyd Sound, after two blues musicians – Pink Anderson and Floyd Council – two of his favorite artists. Barret took the names from his record collection – perhaps he saw the sleeves side by side and had a sudden inspiration – we don’t know for sure. There’s no evidence that those two bluesmen have ever worked or recorder together, despite the fact that some people wishfully believe that Anderson and Council actually made a recording together. 
Queen were originally called “Smile” – quite nice and lovely, right? Singer Freddie Mercury was the one who came up with the new name and this is what he said about it, 
When you heard the name “KISS” for the first time you thought about lovely kisses and smooches, right? Well, you may be so close and yet so far… There have been a few speculations about the name of the band. According to a rumor, going around in the 1980s, their name as an acronym for (K)ids (I)n (S)atan’s (S)ervice. Well, KISS did piss a lot of people off with their image and music, so naturally you have no idea how many of them thought of KISS as a “devil band”. Some people even believed that their records included Satanic messages when played backwards. 
It’s time for YES to make their official debut on my blog! I have to say, the band can’t really brag about their name since honestly it’s not so clever or that original. However, that’s the magic of it! The details behind the origin story of the name once again vary. What we know so far is that the band members were having a hard time coming up with a good name but their first gig was coming so they had to think of something quite fast. For their debut gig, they chose the name YES, suggested by Banks as being “short, positive, direct, and memorable”. It was supposed to be a temporary solution but obviously, the name stuck.
I decided to include Guns N’ Roses because to my surprise, a lot of people are not so familiar with the origin story of the band name, which by the way is so short and simple. 
Coming from Birmingham, England, Judas Priest is probably the heavy metal band that matters the most, judging by the nickname they got – The Metal Gods. 