Judas Priest : Defenders of The Faith (30th Anniversary Edition)
Rising from darkness
where Hell hath no mercy
and the screams
for vengeance
echo on forever.
Only those who keep the faith
shall escape the wrath
of the Metallian ...
Master of all Metal
is the ninth
studio album by
English
Heavy Metal Band
released on
January,13th 1984
in the US
and on
January,20th 1984
in the UK.
The album was certified
platinum by the RIAA,
and spawned the singles
"Freewheel Burning",
"Some Heads Are Gonna Roll",
and
"Love Bites".
Recording and Release
Defenders of the Faith
was recorded at
Ibiza Sound Studios,
Ibiza, Spain,
and mixed at
DB Recording Studios
and Bayshore Recording Studios
in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida.
The LP and cassette tape
were released on
January,13th 1984,
and the album
appeared on CD in July.
A remastered CD
was released
in May 2001.
Simultaneously with
the album's release,
the band kicked off their
tour in Europe,
with the bulk
of concerts
taking place in
North America
during the
spring and summer.
Stylistically,
Defenders of the Faith
did not greatly depart
from its predecessor
and featured a
similar formula
of short,
up-tempo
metal anthems
with stadium
shout-along choruses,
although progressive elements
returned on some tracks
such as
"The Sentinel".
The track
"Rock Hard Ride Free"
is actually a re-working
of a track entitled
"Fight for Your Life",
recorded during the 1982
Screaming For Vengeance sessions
but not included
on that album.
The album was an
immediate success,
only going one
spot below
Screaming for Vengeance
on the US Billboard
100 Albums Chart.
Some critics nonetheless
objected to the lack
of a standout single
comparable to
"Breaking the Law"
or
"You've Got Another Thing Comin',
and the album's
general similarity to
Screaming for Vengeance.
The 30th-Anniversary release
of the album
(released in March 2015)
came with a
double CD
of a live show
recorded on
May,5th 1984
at the
Long Beach Arena
in Long Beach,
California
on their
Defenders of the Faith Tour
and was
originally recorded
for a
radio broadcast.
TRACKLIST
CD 1
(Remastered)
Freewheel Burning
Jawbreaker
Rock Hard Ride Free
The Sentinel
Love Bites
Eat Me Alive
Some Heads Are Gonna Roll
Night Comes Down
Heavy Duty
Defenders Of The Faith
Turn On Your Light [*]
(Recorded during the 1985 Turbo sessions)
CD 2
(Long Beach, California, 05/05/84)
(Part 1)
Love Bites
(Live)
Jawbreaker
(Live)
Grinder
(Live)
Metal Gods
(Live)
Breaking The Law
(Live)
Sinner
(Live)
Desert Plains
(Live)
Some Heads Are Gonna Roll
(Live)
The Sentinel
(Live)
Rock Hard Ride Free
(Live)
CD 3
(Long Beach, California, 05/05/84)
(Part 2)
Night Comes Down
(Live)
The Hellion
(Live)
Electric Eye
(Live)
Heavy Duty
(Live)
Defenders Of The Faith
(Live)
Freewheel Burning
(Live)
Victim Of Changes
(Live)
The Green Manalishi
(Live)
Living After Midnight
(Live)
Hell Bent For Leather
(Live)
You've Got Another Thing Coming
(Live)
Eat Me Alive
(Live) [*]
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