Every Judas Priest Albums Ranked Worst To Best
7. Painkiller
Painkiller was Priest’s twelfth studio album overall and is perhaps most famous for being Rob Halford’s last album before his controversial hiatus from the band. Despite the album being completed in early 1990, the record was delayed for release due to a civil lawsuit that claimed the band was responsible for two tragic suicide attempts due to “subliminal messaging”.
Finally released in September of 1990, the work carried over a lot of the electronic elements present on Priest’s work in the '80s, with many of the basslines being doubled over by synthesizers. This imparted a distinct but pleasant sound for the album that played very well with the band’s new drummer Scott Travis, who was known for his heavy ‘double-kick’ technique.
A total monster of an album, standout tracks like Metal Meltdown, All Guns Blazing and A Touch Of Evil remain fan favourites over 30 years later. Painkiller set an excellent blueprint for the band going forward that was unfortunately never properly realised due to Halford’s departure. It would have been incredible to see a direct follow-up with this lineup and the momentum of the Painkiller record