What if… Judas Priest Had a Top Ten Best Songs of All Time?
Greetings all. It’s been more than a trip or two around the sun since we last met. Wasn’t sure if I would return here or not, and as I type this, I am calling this a special event, reunion, with no long-term commitments. That said, though, I welcome you back to Symptom of the Metalverse. Allow me to take this time to thank Alison, as always, for giving me the opportunity to stimulate your minds with a few words.
What prompted me to get back on the keyboard and write again? I never really stopped writing, just took a public break. Over the past year, I have missed it, and you can not avoid what you are passionate about (unless it’s illegal… then avoid it). And then there was an article sent to me by Cooter Brown guitarist, Grant Masson. Somebody wrote a Top Ten Best Judas Priest songs of all time. Upon reading the list, I found only one song worthy of the such a list, with all the other songs being Priest's biggest radio played/commercial hits. However, this motivated me to think about what a Top Ten Judas Priest songs list could actually look like to a legitimate fan, and not just somebody who knows “Breaking the Law”, “Turbo Lover”, and “Living After Midnight.”
Now, any true Judas Priest fan knows there is no such thing as the Top Ten Judas Priest songs. You can come up with so many variations of such a list and Priest just has far too many songs that are great to make a Top Ten. As a journalist I found this a challenge though, how to narrow down Priest's extensive catalog to just ten best songs. After some weeks of consideration and Priest pounding through my speakers, I came up with my Top Ten Best Judas Priest songs of all time. This is definitely open for debate, but for me this is a solid list.
Of course since a true top ten is just not possible, honorable mentions must go to the following Judas Priest classics:
-“Starbreaker”- Album: Sin After Sin, release 1977- Just a killer Priest tune that embodies the bands musical “Asskickery”.
-“The Ripper”- Album: Sad Wings of Destiny, release 1976- A haunting tribute to Jack the Ripper, with spooky riffs and Rob Halford showing his ability to throw himself vocally into the character of a song.
-“Metal Gods”- Album: British Steel, release 1980- Kick ass, catchy metal tune off what is one of Priest's top three albums of all time. “Painkiller”, “British Steel”, and “Screaming for Vengeance.”- fight me!! (Editor’s note: I would fight myself here, because “Stained Glass” is a viable candidate and I dare say is my favorite Priest album.)
-“Victim of Changes”- Album: Sad Wings of Destiny, release 1976- What?! How is this not a top three song on your list of ten? Frankly, this song could replace any of the songs I listed between three through ten on my list. It just came down to personal preference here. “Victim of Changes” is one of the most iconic Priest tunes of all time and last I checked is a constant in their setlist.
With those honorable mentions, we can free wheel burn our through the metal meltdown into the point of entry for:
JUDAS PRIEST TOP TEN BEST SONGS OF ALL TIME:
10- “Rocka Rolla”- Album:: Rocka Rolla- 1974. The first Priest album of all time has gone overlooked by many for the fifty-years it has been available for “Eargasmic” consumption. The 2024 remix and release brought a fresh touch to the classic Priest album, which sports several classics like, “One for the Road,” “Never Satisfied,” and the number ten entry to my list, “Rocka Rolla.” The title track is a head snapping riff that makes the list because it’s a cool tune and the root of Judas Priest.
9- “Dreamer Deceiver/Deceiver”-Album: Sad Wings of Destiny- 1976. Technically, this is two different songs, but they are combined to create one overall tale of trickery. Melodically, this is a great Priest song, with a young Rob Halford showing his vocal range before he became more of a screamer.
8- “Sinner”- Album: Sin After Sin- 1977. For me, this is the Priest album where the band starts to dig themselves into the Heavy Metal trenches, and this tune is a perfect example of the bands growth through their first three years. Without Sinner, would we have a Exciter, Grinder, Nightcrawler, or Painkiller? With the possible exception of Tyrant, Sinner is the beginning of Priest bringing metal monsters to life through their musical tale telling.
7- “Free Wheel Burnin”- Album: Defenders of the Faith. When it’s time to put together a fast car road trip mix tape, this song is going to be the kickoff tune for that can’t drive 55 road trip. The music video for the song is trip down Pole Position ‘80’s nostalgia for me too.
6- “Rapid Fire”- Album: British Steel- 1980. Birmingham England produced what I consider the two founding fathers of what would become mainstreamed heavy metal music. Black Sabbath, the pioneers of metal music, and Judas Priest, the evolution of metal music. Priest evolved with each album throughout the years of their prime, with an exception or two in the records, but overall Priest was key in the evolution of metal music. “Rapid Fire,” is one of the hardest pounding riffs from the Tipton/Downing “Riffactory.” Great tune.
5- “Grinder”- Album: British Steel-1980. Back to the Steel again, for essentially the same reason as the previous entry, Rapid Fire. Cut and paste what I said about Rapid Fire here for Grinder. You can switch the two songs around in placement, but again this just falls to personal preference for me.
4- “Exciter”- Album: Stained Glass- 1978. Off of what is my favorite Priest album, we have Exciter. Again, one of the earliest Priest creature musical creations. Great song from start to finish, a mosh pit slammer, head banger and song the ignites all the fires of metal.
3- “Hellion/Electric Eye”- Album: Screaming for Vengeance- 1982. This is two songs that Priest brought together as one and is probably Priest's best song of all time on many other fans’ list. There is nothing to say about this song, it is so bad ass. You just drop the needle on the record player, crank the volume and listen in awe at the metal mastery.
2 - “Beyond the Realms of Death”- Album: Stained Glass- 1978. If I were asked to choose the best ballad in metal history off the top of my head, this song would pop right into my mind. Priest lays down a great acoustic riff, marrying it with a heavy, gritty metal riff for the chorus. Rob Halford’s best vocal performance in his Priest prime is quite possibly this song. The lyrics resonate with how many of us feel about society throughout the years, and man the solo work. If you can find something wrong with this metal perfection, you are not long for the world of metal and shall be cast out into the world of Timberlakes and Swifts.
1- “Painkiller”- Album: Painkiller- 1990. This was Priest's last great album. They have not put anything out since this record that is as awesome, with all killer-no filler tunes. Ironically, it was the album that ended Halford’s initial run with Priest, but that is a story for another time. Coming off what is Priest’s “Heaviest album”, the title track, Painkiller, is a showcase of the band's evolution in metal music. Rob Halford’s throaty growling to ear piercing vocal pitches is the definition of what a metal vocalist can be. Tipton’s solo work is simply blazing as he reinvented himself with sweep picking and finger work that just sets the fretboard ablaze. If you have never heard Judas Priest before, if you want to turn a friend on to the band, and needed to do it in one song, Painkiller is the song I suggest for the newbie Priest Padwan.
What are your top ten Judas Priest songs of all time? Can you put together a top ten Priest list? It’s not a simple task. When a band has spanned over 50 years of music, with little faltering in creative concepts, it is hard pressed to find just ten best songs. (Why not just do a top 20?- I wanted to keep it within the self-imposed challenge limitations.)
With the closing of this article, I sit here reflecting on what Symptom of the Metalverse was for me. It was warming to look back on who and what I wrote about, and to see my strengths, accept my mistakes, and learn from it all. I can see what I want to improve on as a writer. With that, I thank you all. The avid reader, for coming out and raising your horns to a fellow Metalheads’ opinions once again. Funny, I was asked if I could come up with a top ten Dio songs of all time, stretching his entire career, and if I could do one for Black Sabbath too. Perhaps those will take center stage in the future.
Thank you to my tattoo dude Jim Stah for the Judas Priest art contributions to this article. Jim has been tattooing for over twenty-years, is one the most talented people I know, whose art is simply extraordinary. Check his work out on the following links and hit him up at Just Deadly Tattoo, if you are looking for some insane tattoo work.
Boris Lee is an American author best known for his work in horror fiction and as a columnist covering music and other arts. His anthology of short horror stories, The Shadows of Insanity, was a Best Thriller Top Ten Finalist. Musically Lee is the front Monster for the band, Boris & The Horribles, whose music can be found on all streaming services in early 2025. Currently, Lee lives in California where he is creating new horrors for readers everywhere.
For more about Boris Lee, check out his website here: Boris Lee
#metalbabemayhem #judaspriest #borisleeauthor #heavymetal #robhalford #metalhead #musicmeetsfashion