Coming off an era which saw several Judas Priest albums that have gone down as some of the greatest in the entire history of heavy metal (namely, 1980's British Steel and 1982's Screaming For Vengeance), the band from Birmingham knew that their next release had to 'deliver the goods', to cement their standing as the leaders of metal. And deliver they did, with their platinum-certified 1984 release, Defenders Of The Faith, which spawned such headbanging classics as "Freewheel Burning", "Jawbreaker", "The Sentinel", "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll", and "Love Bites".

And on March 10th, a newly expanded three-CD version of the album will be unleashed via Columbia/Legacy, which includes the original ten-track album remastered by producer Tom Allom, and a complete live recording from the Defenders tour, recorded at the Long Beach Arena in California, on May 5th, 1984.

Singer Rob Halford, bassist Ian Hill and guitarist Glenn Tipton discuss Defenders Of Te Faith and the album track, “Love Bites”, in the new video footage below:

The 21-track concert (split up over two discs) perfectly balances the then-new material from the group's ninth studio offering overall, including such classics as "Metal Gods", "Breaking The Law", "Sinner", "Electric Eye", "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)", "Victim Of Changes", and "You’ve Got Another Thing Coming", among many others.

 

 

As the band states in the liner notes to the reissue, "It's 30 years since we released Defenders Of The Faith - we're very proud to say it has become a classic that's beloved by Priest fans throughout the world"

Judas Priest continues to 'defend the faith' to this day, as the group recently issued their seventeenth studio album, Redeemer Of Souls, which sees the band's popularity amongst metalheads remain as strong as ever, as it debuted higher than any other previous Priest release (at #6 on the Billboard 200). And on the group's current tour, quite a few classics from 'Defenders' are being performed for the first time in years.

And soon, fans will get a chance to re-experience vintage Judas Priest, with the Defenders Of The Faith reissue.

 

 

Tracklisting:

CD1 - Defenders Of The Faith 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"

CD2 - Live at Long Beach Arena, California - May 5th, 1984

"Love Bites"
"Jawbreaker"
"Grinder"
"Metal Gods"
"Breaking The Law"
"Sinner"
"Desert Plains"
"Some Heads Are Gonna Roll"
"The Sentinel "
"Rock Hard Ride Free"

CD3 - Live at Long Beach Arena, California - May 5th, 1984

"Night Comes Down"
"The Hellion"
"Electric Eye"
"Heavy Duty"
"Defenders Of The Faith"
"Freewheel Burning "
"Victim Of Changes"
"The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)"
"Living After Midnight"
"Hell Bent For Leather"
"You’ve Got Another Thing Coming"

 

 

“Metal” Tim Henderson recently had a lengthy chat with legendary Judas Priest singer Rob Halford as part of of BraveWords’ ongoing 20th anniversary celebrations. During the retrospect chinwag, they talked about how the Metal God affected Canada’s longest running hard rock/heavy metal magazine, leaving the band after the Operation Rock N' Roll show in Toronto, his solo career including Fight, performing with Pantera, rejoining Judas Priest, Redeemer Of Souls and who HE is starstruck by! When asked him if he can remember the moment he embraced the Metal God name he responded as follows:

 

 

“Oh no, I can't do that! (laughs). Now, I go 'I am the fucking metal god!' (laughs). It's because I'm old and I've become entitled to say that about myself (laughs). But, honestly, I've never really looked at myself in the mirror and said 'Oh! You are the metal god!' (laughs). It might have come about from some of my friends in the press, or whether it was somebody in the band, or a producer - I don't really know. But, it went out into the world and it stuck. It's a wonderful title, well, not really a title, more of a moniker. Either way, I embrace it and it's something I don't take lightly. I actually have a lot of fun with it, and it's a wonderful compliment that's been bestowed upon me. So, yeah, I use it but I don't abuse it. In fact, if I'm on the stage and my voice isn't cooperating, I say to myself 'you are the fucking metal god!', and I get on with it (laughs). It's a very powerful and useful tool to have in my head.”

BraveWords’ entire conversation with The Metal God will be online soon!

(Photo - Mark Gromen)