Defenders of the Faith

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Blabbermouth.net	10/10 (30th Ann.)^[2]
Blogcritics	favourable (30th Ann.)^[3]
PopMatters	(30th Ann.)^[4]
Martin Popoff	^[5]
Record Collector	(30th Ann.)^[6]
Rolling Stone	^[7]
Sputnikmusic	4.0/5^[8]

Defenders of the Faith is the ninth studio album by British heavy metal band Judas Priest. Three tracks were released as singles: "Freewheel Burning", "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" and "Love Bites". The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA.^[9]

Recording and release

Defenders of the Faith was recorded at Ibiza Sound Studios, Ibiza, Spain, and mixed from September to November 1983 at DB Recording Studios and Bayshore Recording Studios in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida. The LP and cassette tape were released on 4 January 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 contained the same mix of short, up-tempo metal anthems with stadium shoutalong choruses, although progressive elements returned on some tracks such as "The Sentinel" and the album also introduced some hints of speed metal into their sound.

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 5 May 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.

Packaging

The cover art by Doug Johnson (who also designed the Hellion in Screaming for Vengeance) depicts the Metallian, a ram-horned, tiger-like land assault creature with Gatling guns and tank tracks conceptualized by the band. The back cover contains a message:

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.

Controversy

"Eat Me Alive" was listed at number 3 on the Parents Music Resource Center's "Filthy Fifteen", a list of 15 songs the organization found most objectionable.^[10] PMRC co-founder Tipper Gore stated the song was about oral sex at gunpoint.^[11] In response to the allegations, Priest recorded the song "Parental Guidance" on the follow-up album Turbo.

Promotion

In December 1983, the band released the "Freewheel Burning" single and performed the song in a short UK/Germany tour in the same month. In January 1984, the band embarked on the Metal Conqueror Tour across Europe, North America and Japan. On this tour, the band played every song from the album live, with the exception of "Eat Me Alive". During the band's 2008 tour in support of Nostradamus, they played many songs which had never been played live before, one of them being "Eat Me Alive". To date, this made Defenders of the Faith the second Judas Priest album from which every song had been played live (the first being Rocka Rolla), followed by British Steel during the 2009, British Steel 30th anniversary tour.

Legacy

"Jawbreaker" was covered by Rage for the single "Higher than the Sky" and also appeared on the tribute album A Tribute to Judas Priest: Legends of Metal and All G.U.N. Bonustracks CD.
"The Sentinel" was covered by Machine Head for the special edition version of their 2011 album Unto the Locust.
"Night Comes Down" was covered by Katatonia for the Japanese edition of their 2016 album The Fall of Hearts.

Track listing

All tracks written by Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford and K.K. Downing, except where noted.

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Freewheel Burning"	4:22
2.	"Jawbreaker"	3:25
3.	"Rock Hard Ride Free"	5:34
4.	"The Sentinel"	5:04

Side two
No.	Title	Length
5.	"Love Bites"	4:47
6.	"Eat Me Alive"	3:34
7.	"Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" (Robert Halligan, Jr.)	4:05
8.	"Night Comes Down"	3:58
9.	"Heavy Duty"	2:25
10.	"Defenders of the Faith"	1:30

2001 CD edition bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
11.	"Turn On Your Light" (Recorded during the 1985 Turbo sessions)	5:23
12.	"Heavy Duty/Defenders of the Faith" (Live at Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, California; 5 May 1984)	5:26

30th Anniversary Edition - Bonus Live CDs

Disc one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Love Bites"	5:16
2.	"Jawbreaker"	3:57
3.	"Grinder"	4:30
4.	"Metal Gods"	4:20
5.	"Breaking the Law"	2:57
6.	"Sinner"	8:11
7.	"Desert Plains"	5:04
8.	"Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" (Bob Halligan Jr.)	4:30
9.	"The Sentinel"	6:07
10.	"Rock Hard Ride Free"	6:04

Disc two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Night Comes Down"	4:28
2.	"The Hellion"	0:39
3.	"Electric Eye"	3:33
4.	"Heavy Duty"	2:33
5.	"Defenders of the Faith"	2:37
6.	"Freewheel Burning"	4:39
7.	"Victim of Changes" (Al Atkins, Downing, Halford, Tipton)	9:43
8.	"The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)" (Peter Green)	5:46
9.	"Living After Midnight"	4:50
10.	"Hell Bent For Leather" (Tipton)	5:55
11.	"You've Got Another Thing Comin'"	8:51

Personnel

Judas Priest

Production

Produced by Tom Allom
Engineered by Mark Dodson, assisted by Christian Eser, Bruce Hensal, David Roeder, Ben King, and Buddy Thornton
Cover design by Doug Johnson, based on a concept by Judas Priest

Charts

Chart (1984–2015)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[12]	90
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[13]	51
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[14]	85
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[15]	138
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)^[16]	27
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[17]	46
French Albums (SNEP)^[18]	142
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[19]	21
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[20]	17
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[21]	2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[22]	12
UK Albums (OCC)^[23]	19
US Billboard 200^[24]	18

Certifications

Country	Organization	Year	Sales
USA	RIAA	1988	Platinum (+ 1,000,000)^[9]
Canada	CRIA	1985	Platinum (+ 100,000)^[25]

References

↑ "Defenders of the Faith review". AllMusic.
↑ Van Horn jr., Ray. "Hudas Priest - "Defenders of the Faith Special 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition"". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
↑ Doherty, Charlie (16 March 2015). "Music Review: Judas Priest – 'Defenders of the Faith' (Special 30th Anniversary Edition)". Blogcritics. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
↑ Macek III, J. C. (15 April 2015). "Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith: Special 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition". PopMatters. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
↑ Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
↑ Patterson, Dayal (March 2015). "Judas Priest - Defenders Of The Faith: 30th Anniversary Edition". Record Collector (438). Retrieved 27 June 2015.
↑ Connelly, Christopher (12 April 1984). "Album Reviews: Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 18 October 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
↑ Stagno, Mike (14 December 2006). "Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
1 2 "RIAA Searchable Database: search for Judas Priest". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
↑ Daniels, Neil (2010). The Story of Judas Priest: Defenders of the Faith. New York City, USA: Omnibus Press. pp. 107–108. ISBN 978-1-84772-707-7.
↑ Clifford-Napoleone, Amber R. (2015). Queerness in Heavy Metal Music: Metal Bent. New York City: Routledge. p. 132. ISBN 978-0415728317. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
↑ Ryan, Gavin (21 March 2015). "ARIA Albums: Kendrick Lamar Soars, Madonna Stiffs". Noise11. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
↑ "Austriancharts.at – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
↑ "Ultratop.be – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
↑ "Ultratop.be – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
↑ "Judas Priest: Defenders of the Faith" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
↑ "Lescharts.com – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
↑ "Officialcharts.de – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
↑ "Swisscharts.com – Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
↑ "Judas Priest | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 21 March 2015.
↑ "Judas Priest – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Judas Priest. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
↑ "Gold Platinum Search for Whitesnake". Music Canada. Retrieved 27 June 2015.

Judas Priest
Ian Hill Glenn Tipton Rob Halford Scott Travis Richie Faulkner K. K. Downing Tim "Ripper" Owens Dave Holland Les Binks Alan Moore John Hinch Al Atkins
Studio albums	Rocka Rolla Sad Wings of Destiny Sin After Sin Stained Class Killing Machine British Steel Point of Entry Screaming for Vengeance Defenders of the Faith Turbo Ram It Down Painkiller Jugulator Demolition Angel of Retribution Nostradamus Redeemer of Souls
Live albums	Unleashed in the East Priest...Live! Priest, Live and Rare '98 Live Meltdown Live in London A Touch of Evil: Live British Steel: 30th Anniversary Live Battle Cry
Compilations	The Best of Judas Priest Hero, Hero Metal Works '73–'93 The Best of Judas Priest: Living After Midnight Genocide Metalogy The Essential Judas Priest Single Cuts The Chosen Few
Videos	Live in London Electric Eye Rising in the East Live Vengeance '82 Epitaph Battle Cry
Singles	"Rocka Rolla" "The Ripper" "Diamonds and Rust" "Better by You, Better than Me" "Take On the World" "Evening Star" "Rock Forever" "Living After Midnight" "Breaking the Law" "United" "Heading Out to the Highway" "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" "Electric Eye" "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" "Freewheel Burning" "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" "Turbo Lover" "Locked In" "Parental Guidance" "Ram It Down" "Johnny B. Goode" "Painkiller" "A Touch of Evil" "Bullet Train" "Revolution"
Other songs	"Run of the Mill" "Victim of Changes" "Dreamer Deceiver" "Dissident Aggressor" "Exciter" "Beyond the Realms of Death" "Burn in Hell" "Judas Rising"
Tours and concerts	Judas Priest Tour The Return of the Priest Tour Whiskey Woman Tour Rocka Rolla Tour Sad Wings of Destiny Tour Sin After Sin Tour Stained Class Tour X Certificate Tour Hell Bent for Leather Tour British Steel Tour World Wide Blitz Tour World Vengeance Tour Metal Conqueror Tour Fuel for Life Tour Mercenaries of Metal Tour Painkiller Tour Operation Rock & Roll Reunited Tour Retribution Tour Nostradamus World Tour Metal Masters Tour Epitaph World Tour Redeemer of Souls Tour
Related articles	Discography Members A Tribute to Judas Priest: Legends of Metal Hell Bent Forever: A Tribute to Judas Priest A Tribute to the Priest
Book:Judas Priest Category:Judas Priest Portal:Heavy metal

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