Stained Class

Stained Class
Studio album by Judas Priest
Released	February 10, 1978
Recorded	October–November 1977, Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire and Utopia Studios, London (track 3)
Genre	Heavy metal[1]
Length	54:10
Label	CBS, Inc. (UK) Columbia Records (US)
Producer	Dennis Mackay, Judas Priest, James Guthrie (track 3)
Judas Priest chronology
Sin After Sin (1977) Stained Class (1978) Killing Machine (1978)

Stained Class is the fourth album by British heavy metal group Judas Priest, released in February 1978.

Overview

Stained Class is the only Judas Priest album to feature songwriting by all five members of the band.

The sleeve artwork, by Rosław Szaybo at CBS Records, introduced the now-classic Judas Priest logo, replacing the Gothic Script logo which appeared on all of the band's prior albums. Stained Class was the first Judas Priest album to dent the Billboard 200 chart and was eventually certified gold in the U.S.

The album was the heaviest the band had released up to that point, with the lyrics often dark and violent. The only instance of progressive rock on this album is "Beyond the Realms of Death", with its shifting dynamics. Hereafter, the progressive rock that characterized the band's first four albums would be completely eliminated.

"Beyond The Realms Of Death" was the only song from Stained Class to become a live staple, with 472 performances through 2012. The title track has been played just twice, in 1978 and 2005, and Exciter disappeared from 1981 until 2005. White Heat, Red Hot was frequently played in 1978-1980 but never since then and Invader, Saints In Hell, and Heroes' End have never been played live. The notorious (see below) Better By You, Better Than Me was played only 11 times, and the obscure "Savage" around 5 times in early 1978.

The album was remastered in 2001, with two bonus tracks added.

Controversy surrounding "Better by You, Better Than Me"

Several years after its release Stained Class was the subject of negative attention due to the infamous 1990 civil action brought against the band by the family of a teenager, James Vance, who entered into a suicide pact with his friend Ray Belknap after allegedly listening to "Better by You, Better Than Me" on December 23, 1985. Belknap succeeded in killing himself, and Vance was left critically injured after surviving a self-inflicted gunshot to the facial area.

The suit alleged that Judas Priest recorded subliminal messages on the song that said "do it." The suit was eventually dismissed. The song was originally written and performed by the band Spooky Tooth.

Three weeks after the lawsuit wrapped up, the band kicked off their Painkiller Tour by playing Better By You, Better Than Me on the first concert in Burbank, California on September 13. It is Judas Priest's only live performance of the song after 1979.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]

In 2005, Stained Class was ranked number 307 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.^[3] The album is widely considered to be highly influential in the speed metal and thrash metal genres. It has also been viewed as an early indication of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement.

Track listing

"Invader" is the latest songwriting credit given to bassist Ian Hill within Judas Priest's catalogue. This album also features the only songwriting credit attributed to a Judas Priest drummer, with Les Binks being credited for "Beyond the Realms of Death". That same song would become a live staple for the band.

Personnel

Judas Priest

• Rob Halford – vocals
• K. K. Downing – guitar
• Glenn Tipton – guitar, vocals
• Ian Hill – bass guitar
• Les Binks – drums

Production

• Produced by Dennis MacKay and Judas Priest, and engineered by Neil Ross, except "Better By You, Better Than Me", produced by James Guthrie and Judas Priest, and engineered by Ken Thomas and Paul Northfield
• Art design by Rosław Szaybo
• Photography by Ronald Kass

Charts

Billboard 200 (U.S.)

References

External links

• Stained Class at the Judas Priest Info Pages site. Accessed July 10, 2005.