If Black Sabbath are the grandfathers of heavy metal, then Judas Priest is the father that outdid them in almost every way. If you ask me to show someone what heavy metal is, I won’t hand them a copy of Paranoid or Master of Reality. I’ll instead hand them a copy of Screaming For Vengeance, British Steel, or Painkiller. That’s what Judas Priest means to the heavy metal community. Without them we wouldn’t have a classic look for heavy metal with studs and leather.
Thin Lizzy and Wishbone Ash might have been the first to use the twin-guitar attack, but Judas Priest was the one that solidified it in the heavy metal sphere. K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton were and still are probably the best twin guitarists for any band. It was set to be the 50th anniversary celebration for Judas Priest this year. To make up for those shows being postponed, it’s high time for Judas Priest-A-Thon. The brother to the album by album reviews, Iron Maiden-A-Thon and the cousin to our series of Rush album reviews. You’re going to be getting a Judas Priest album review, every business day, until we’re all through.
Defenders Of The Faith might have been a “lesser” album to Screaming For Vengeance but it set up a move to mega-popularity for Judas Priest. They would set records for sales and attendance at the band’s concerts. There was nothing that they couldn’t do muscially at this point. The band took a hiatus in 1985 besides playing one concert at the Live Aid festival for AIDS research. That hiatus would set up for a strange year for the band leading up to the release of their next album, Turbo.
Background on Turbo
The band took that hiatus in different ways. Rob Halford sadly went to rehab during this period after a bout of substance abuse and the suicide of his partner. Halford would come back better after these rehab sessions, with his vocal performances on the Fuel For Life tour given great grades. Judas Priest was hot off the success of their previous two albums going at least Platinum in the US and selling millions around the world.
The musical landscape of the metal world was changing. Studs and leather were getting thrown out, and pop, synth, and more colorful clothing were in. The band started work on their new album in June 1985. That album would originally have a more grand and inventive concept. The original title of this double album was Twin Turbos. This idea went as far as the band recorded enough material for this double album.
They also changed up where they recorded. The band took to the Record Plant in Los Angeles instead of the normal Ibiza Studios. From June of 1985 to February of 1986, they recorded the twenty songs for the Twin Turbos album. Somewhere in development though, the idea for Twin Turbos was scrapped. Instead the most commercially viable songs would be put on a single album, Turbo.
More Background On Turbo
The album was released on April 14th, 1986. It was an immediate commercial success. It went gold in June of 1986 and platinum in July of 1987. The album peaked on the Billboard Charts at number 17 and at number 33 in the UK.
The cover was another done by Doug Johnson, who did the previous two album’s covers. During the Fuel For Life tour that supported the album, the band played seven of the nine tracks. The only one to really survive past and deeper into the Judas Priest catalog was “Turbo Lover”. “Out In The Cold” was brought back for the third leg of the Firepower World Tour in 2019.
During this tour, the band fundamentally changed how they looked and the songs that they played. Songs like “Sinner”, “Tyrant”, and “Exciter” were dropped from the setlist. KK Downing had this to say about why those songs were dropped.
People ask why we don’t play Sinner anymore. I tell them it’s because we’ve all repented.
Priest was changing right before our eyes, but the question remains: Is Turbo a bad album? Let’s find out.
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