10 Best Rock Songs For Working Out

It is somewhat crazy to think that Painkiller, the title track of the 1990 album of the same name, was part of Judas Priest's 12th full-length offering. Especially given that it has, historically, been one of the band's best-received offerings.

It's also the last album to feature lead singer Rob Halford until a full 15 years later.

While Halford was on his way out (to pursue solo efforts), Painkiller was the first album to feature drummer Scott Travis— and his work absolutely stands out on the title track. The heavy skin-pounding and fast-paced tempo of the song are pretty much perfect to work out to, if you want to go at it at a break-neck pace right out of the gate.

Painkiller was essentially something of a concept album. The title character was a cyborg superhero, sent to Earth to destroy evil and save mankind. So basically The Terminator (T2) then. Musically, the song is a little more thrash than Priest fans might have been used to, and that was intentional. Bands like Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer had emerged with huge followings. Speaking to Hammer in 1990, Priest's Glenn Tipton said “We’re into thrash… We’re very aware of all the young bands and guitar players.”