Painkiller (Judas Priest album)

For other uses, see Painkiller (disambiguation).
Painkiller
Studio album by Judas Priest
Released 3 September 1990 (1990-09-03)
Recorded January–March 1990
Studio Miraval Studios, Correns, France and Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum, Netherlands
Genre Heavy metal,[1][2][3] speed metal[1][4]
Length 46:08
Label Columbia
Producer Judas Priest and Chris Tsangarides
Judas Priest chronology
Ram It Down
(1988)		 Painkiller
(1990)		 Jugulator
(1997)
Singles from Painkiller
  1. "Painkiller" / "United"
    Released: September 1990
  2. "A Touch of Evil" / "Between the Hammer and the Anvil"
    Released: March 1991
  3. "Night Crawler" / "Living After Midnight (live)"
    Released: April 1993
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Sputnikmusic5.0/5.0[1]

Painkiller is the twelfth studio album by British heavy metal band Judas Priest, released in September 1990. It is the last Judas Priest album to feature lead singer Rob Halford until his return for the 2005 album Angel of Retribution and the first to feature drummer Scott Travis.

Recording

Painkiller is the first Judas Priest album to feature drummer Scott Travis, who replaced long-time drummer Dave Holland in 1989. Travis was previously a member of Los Angeles band Racer X. The album was recorded at Miraval Studios, Brignoles, France in early 1990 and mixed at Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum, the Netherlands later that year.

In 1989, Judas Priest had just come off of two of their less successful albums with Turbo, and Ram It Down, both of which attempted to incorporate synthesizers and glam metal elements. The band was then widely dismissed as passe and unable to compete with the younger generation of metal groups such as Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer and Testament. In response, Judas Priest adopted a more contemporary speed metal sound on Painkiller.[4] The effort paid off, with the album becoming one of the band's most successful efforts, and its songs becoming staples of their live setlist.

Lyrical content

Many of the album's songs have a fantasy motif, such as the title track describing a superhero-like character who saves mankind from destruction. "A Touch of Evil" uses themes of possession and magic as metaphors for romance. Rob Halford claimed in an interview that the song "Hell Patrol" is about US Air Force pilots flying missions in the Gulf War which started a few months before the release of the album.

Release

Despite the album being finished in March 1990, the album's release was delayed due to the pending, much-publicized subliminal message trial that began on 16 July 1990. The band was the subject of a civil lawsuit alleging their recording was responsible for the suicide attempts of two young men in Reno, Nevada on 23 December 1985. The case was eventually dismissed on 24 August 1990. With the trial behind them, the band finally released the album on 3 September 1990 on LP, cassette and CD.

The album was certified Gold by RIAA in January 1991. A remastered CD was released in May 2001, including a live recording of "Leather Rebel" and a previously unreleased song, "Living Bad Dreams". The album received a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards, losing to Metallica's cover of the Queen song "Stone Cold Crazy".

Halford's departure

Following the tour for this album, singer Rob Halford left the band in May 1992 and maintained little contact with his former bandmates throughout the 1990s. The reason for this was growing tensions within the band, along with Halford's desire to explore new musical territory by creating a new band of his own, Fight, which forced him to legally leave Judas Priest to allow this creation to be sold. Judas Priest remained inactive for several years after Halford had gone; however, the band would eventually re-vamp, record, and tour, recruiting new singer Tim 'Ripper' Owens in 1996, who would perform on the studio albums Jugulator and Demolition.

Track listing

CD

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

No. Title Length
1. "Painkiller"   6:06
2. "Hell Patrol"   3:35
3. "All Guns Blazing"   3:56
4. "Leather Rebel"   3:34
5. "Metal Meltdown"   4:46
6. "Night Crawler"   5:44
7. "Between the Hammer & the Anvil"   4:47
8. "A Touch of Evil" (Tipton, Halford, Downing, Chris Tsangarides) 5:42
9. "Battle Hymn" (Instrumental) 0:56
10. "One Shot at Glory"   6:46

2010 LP

Side One
No. Title Length
1. "Painkiller"   6:06
2. "Hell Patrol"   3:35
3. "All Guns Blazing"   3:56
Total length:
 13:37
Side Two
No. Title Length
1. "Leather Rebel"   3:34
2. "Metal Meltdown"   4:46
3. "Night Crawler"   5:44
Total length:
 14:07
Side Three
No. Title Length
1. "Between the Hammer & the Anvil"   4:47
2. "A Touch of Evil"   5:42
3. "Battle Hymn"   0:56
Total length:
 11:25
Side Four
No. Title Length
1. "One Shot at Glory"   6:46
2. "Living Bad Dreams"   5:20
3. "Leather Rebel"   3:38
Total length:
 15:44

Personnel

Judas Priest
Additional musician
  • Don Airey - keyboards on "A Touch of Evil" (uncredited)
Production

Charts

Chart (1990) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[5] 60
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[6] 22
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] 7
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[8] 27
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[9] 19
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[10] 19
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 14
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 26
US Billboard 200[13] 26

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[14] Gold 50,000
United States (RIAA)[15] Gold 500,000
Worldwide sales: 2,000,000

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 3 Stagno, Mike (4 August 2006). "Judas Priest – Painkiller". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  2. ↑ Sharpe-Young, Garry (2007). Metal: The Definitive Guide. Jawbone Press. pp. 39–40. ISBN 9781906002015. All in all, Painkiller put Judas Priest back at the top of the heavy metal pile.
  3. ↑ Popoff, Martin (2004). The Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums of All Time. ECW Press. pp. 63–4. ISBN 9781554902453.
  4. 1 2 3 Huey, Steve (4 August 2006). "Judas Priest – Painkiller". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  5. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  6. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Judas Priest – Painkiller" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Judas Priest – Painkiller". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Judas Priest – Painkiller". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Judas Priest – Painkiller". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Judas Priest – Painkiller". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Judas Priest – Painkiller". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Judas Priest | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "Judas Priest – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Judas Priest. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Judas Priest – Screaming for Vengeance". Music Canada.
  15. ↑ "American album certifications – Judas Priest – Screaming for Vengeance". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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