Record (Re)Collection: Ben Weasel (Screeching Weasel) On Judas Priest’s “Unleashed In The East”
Judas Priest’s 1979 live album, Unleashed In The East, was their KISS Alive! Like Kiss, their studio recordings hadn’t come close to matching the band’s live ferocity and, also like Kiss, they remedied the situation by releasing a live album that seemed to have been mostly re-dubbed in the studio.
I have no idea how that approach worked, but it worked like a motherfucker. Originals like “Sinner,” “Ripper,” and “Victim Of Changes” that came off timid in their original form just about rip your head off here. Most impressive is the 1-2 punch of their cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)” followed by a tender, heartfelt and tremendously ballsy version of hippie Joan Baez’s “Diamonds And Rust.” Rob Halford’s vocals on both tracks are stunning, but equally jaw-dropping are the lead guitars of Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing. From the alternating solos on “Green Manalishi” to the lead answering Halford’s vocals on the bridge and final verse of “Diamonds And Rust,” this is some of the best metal guitar playing ever put to tape. But it’s almost pointless to single out the best moments; the whole album absolutely smokes.
After the release of UITE, Priest finally started hiring people to produce their stuff properly, most impressively on 1982’s Screaming For Vengeance, which, while not a perfect production, captured the Tipton/Downing lead guitar tandem brilliantly; note the lead guitar tones and compare them to the lead guitar on the UITE version of “Diamonds And Rust.” You don’t even have to buy the album – just check out the new Honda Odyssey commercial that uses the album’s magnificent instrumental opener “The Hellion” to sell minivans.
The band’s output was less impressive by the mid-eighties and remains frustratingly inconsistent (and sometimes seemingly taken from a reel of Spinal Tap outtakes, as was the case with 2008’s Nostradamus, a laughable – and unforgivably dull – double LP based on the life of the eponymous seer) but Unleashed In The East was a watershed moment for Judas Priest and for what is now rather clumsily referred to as The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. This album must be the centerpiece on the altars of those terrific European bands like Enforcer and Wolf that are leading the revival of the NWOBHM sound.
Unleashed certainly had a mesmerizing and inspirational effect on the 11-year-old me. I spent more hours than I’d ever care to have tallied up listening to it; even now, I pull the album out and crank it up at least once a year. I have no idea what sort of subtle musical influence UITE might have had on me, other than maybe imparting a willingness to embrace over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek goofballery with a completely straight face as a sort of art form, but really, all that matters is that this record absolutely and unequivocally kicks fucking ass just as hard now as it did over 30 years ago.
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Be sure to pick up Screeching Weasel‘s first album in eleven years, First World Manifesto, when it comes out on March 15th via Fat Wreck Chords. Check out the new song “Beginning Vacation” below.
Screeching Weasel “Beginning Vacation”
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