Disco de Judas Priest: “Sin After Sin [Remaster]”

WOW! Let me first start off by saying that each Judas Priest studio effort is a distinguishable classic. The Judas Priest Remaster series is both good and bad. Good because each studio release sounds sonically superior to the old versions. All of them sound clean, crisp sounding from Sin After Sin through Painkiller. Also good on some of the reissues are the studio bonus tracks. I will review each bonus track as I review each reissue, some are better than others. The bad part about the studio ablum remasters series is the live bonus tracks (do not be confused, the live bonus tracks on both live reissues are great, and I include those bonus tracks in the reviews). ALL the live bonus tracks are lousy. The sound quality is good, just the performances are uninspried, and lame. From Sin After Sin's Jawbreaker (Halford sounds weak here) to Painkiller's Leather Rebel (which is made worse because it's rpobably the weakest song on Painkiller). If you are a fan who has all the studio albums already and are looking to wet your ears with the live tracks, forget about it, they will let you down. Seriously, the songs off of the Halford-less 98 Live Meltdown are more inspirational than these live bonus songs. Well that sums up the Remaster Series as a whole,

now on with the individual review...

Sin After Sin is Judas Priest's debut in a sense. And in alot of ways. The major one being for a major label, CBS. The other being produced by (at the time) former-DP bassist Roger Glover.

This album pretty much sounds like no other in the Priest cannon.

A solid example of a major label debut, 1977's Sin After Sin, while unnoticed at the time, stands as a foundation to the mighty heights that Judas Priest would soon exceed. Not as dark and morbid as what Sad Wings Of Destiny was or what Stained Class would become, this release occupies a still-powerful middle ground between those two landmarks. Highlights include "Sinner" (easily one of the best driving songs ever), "Let Us Prey/ Call For The Priest", "Starbreaker", "Raw Deal" & (on the 2001 remaster only) "Race With The Devil".

Sin After Sin is often received with mixed emotions. Firstly, it isn't a commercial music product at all, which makes it fascinating. A masterpiece to be slowly digested. This album is one of Priest's most intriguing, yet brilliant productions. It touches many musical ranges... it is heavy (ie. the Sinner), brutally heavy (Dissident Aggressor), furious (Call for the Priest), soft and moody (Last Rose of Summer), atmospheric (Raw Deal) and soulful (Here Come the Tears), et all.

Rob Halford's vocals and lyrics are at their peak here. Glenn and KK's guitars are imaginative, skillful and impressive. Ian Hill's bass is... hmmm, let's better skip that with Simon Phillip's (then still an teenager!!!) incredible drumming. Until this day I still can't believe some of the prodigious and intricate drums parts he laid down for those sessions (unfortunately, he only acted as a session player). Simon started a whole thrashy drum movement with his dexterity in Sin After Sin.

Roger Glover's production here is frequently critized for not achieving a heavier sound, but I disagree with that, as the end result is just what was needed musically.

The real beauty of Sin After Sin is that one can actually listen to many new subtle things each time one listens to it, no matter how many times played back... and that simply doesn't happen often these days. IT HAS MAGIC ALL OVER IT. This is a must item in any rock CD collection. A timeless classic and my favorite Priest album!

Sin After Sin is a great metal album. Fantastic composition and musical execution. I like to think of it as Part 2 of Sad Wings of Destiny. The production has a 70s tone to it but the songs do not sound dated in any way. The songwriting on Sin After Sin is true to classic heavy metal. The songs sound much heavier when played live using more modern sound technology. For proof look at Slayer's South of Heaven where they included a cover of Dissident Aggressor. If it's heavy enough for Slayer, you aren't going to mistake it for generic 1970s arena rock. The remaster has improved the sound a lot compared to the original version I had on tape. The studio bonus track is also decent. Better than the ones included on the other remasters. The live track of Jawbreaker is run of the mill.

To sum up. None of the original tracks is weak. The composition avoids all rock songwriting cliches. The guitar work is masterful. Simply stated - Sin after Sin was years ahead of its time.

Sin After Sin is eternal. One of my favorite albums ever.

Contemporary and far beyond its time. Maybe because they had just left Gull Records and may have acknowledged the fact that they were starting to write history as they were engulfed by history itself, helping invent this thing that gave shape to our world as we know it, this thing called Heavy Metal.

Am I exaggerating? Nope.

Roger Glover of Deep Purple fame produces this artwork, but the Universe conspired with the making of this album in many ways.

A young 19 year-old guy is responsible for the drums and percussion of Sin After Sin. You know his name? Yep, I'm talking about Simon Phillips, my friends. He was freaking 19. I, myself a brazilian percussionist and drummer, can't say how awesome the drumming in this album is. Call For The Priest/Raw Deal simply gives you such an impressive beat: hammering but classy, heavy but stylish, constrained and yet explosive. Pure genius, along with virtuose.

70's virtuose. And the energy of a 19 year-old.

Enough said?

I don't think so. But I don't want to leave a song by song description of this album. This IS a MASTERPIECE that has to be on your shelf, period! From the cover, designed by Bob Carlos-Clark, nowadays one of the world's best known photographers of women (look for Shooting Sex, his book on the subject) to the last song, it's all pure classic.

One of my favorites album ever.

The band actually started to make some money after this one, so this is the point where you can call them pros. This is the band that helped these Birmingham guys to become one of the greatest Heavy Metal bands ever.

Oh yes, legend has it that Sin After Sin was recorded in a week...

Pure Classic!

Enough?