20 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time
13. Judas Priest - Painkiller (1990)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM__lPTWThUJudas Priest was scaring the hell out of people before they even heard the music. With a name like Judas Priest, you just know it's going to be pure evil€ the sort of demonic sludge that will send you off straight to hell without any dinner. Pop an album like 1990s Painkiller onto your gramophone and things aren't nearly as devilish as we imagined, but rather a masterclass in power metal rife with deadly guitar thrills splashing around Rob Halford's incredible operatic vocal delivery.
Screaming For Vengeance scored hordes of passionate fans for this British metal triumph, but it was Painkiller which best exhibited the bands technical brilliance and infectious power metal songwriting - this wasn't pretentious falsetto glam pop, it was an album loaded with punishing riff-acrobatics and Halford's most consistent performance in years.
The title track alone is enough to have karaoke hopefuls unconscious with sheer effort, while Metal Meltdown is still a face-melting beast of a song - no question, this is an album which put Priest at the forefront of supersonic anthemic metal.