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List Price: $12.98 | | Label: Sony
Salesrank: 90578
Released: October 25, 1990 |
| Our Price: $12.23 |
| Used Price: $1.74 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Defenders of the Faith Track Listing:
1. Freewheel Burning
2. Jawbreaker
3. Rock Hard Ride Free
4. Sentinel
5. Love Bites
6. Eat Me Alive
7. Some Heads Are Gonna Roll
8. Night Comes Down
9. Heavy Duty
10. Defenders of the Faith
11. Turn on Your Light [*]
12. Heavy Duty/Defenders of the Faith [Live][*]
Defenders of the Faith Reviews:
Greatest Metal CD Ever! 
2008-02-14 - Priest's greatest release ever. There are at least six other Priest releases right behind it. Great, dark, lustful lyrics which are about women for me. Defenders was the last great Priest release until Painkiller. The guitar lead breaks are second to none. Tom Allom's production is perfect. Halford never sounded more intense or better. Simply put, a metal masterpiece of the highest caliber.
Freewheel Burning
The last GOOD Priest album of the '80s... 
2006-10-11 - I remember when this first came out in early 1984. I was in my heavy metal heyday then - mostly with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, but also with Anvil from Canada, Black Sabbath with Ian Gillan on vocals and this new band called Metallica...
From the first track, "Freewheel Burning", it was obvious that Judas Priest had been observing the nascent "speed metal" form. This one really did burn, and to this day, "FB" and "The Sentinel" are among my favourite Priest songs.
"The Sentinel"! Truly epic. Rob Halford shows how good he is as a storyteller, the song is crunching and heavy, and Glenn Tipton and KK Downing trade off solos in trademark fashion. I hope this always remains in their live set.
There's some other good stuff too, but also some weaker material. "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" is a too-obvious calculated attempt to replicate "Living After Midnight" and "You've Got Another Thing Comin'". "Night Comes Down" - well, I just don't like this band showing vulnerability! "Heavy Duty/Defenders Of The Faith" - 22 years on, to this 40 year old, just kind of sounds silly (Halford in his early stages of attempting to write "rock anthems"), but in 1984 to an 18 year old, was pretty cool!
Halford is in fine form vocally, Tipton and Downing are crunchy and almost telepathic in their guitar interplay, you can occasionally hear Ian Hill...but Dave Holland is one of the most bog-awful drummers I've ever heard in the heavy metal genre! Here it's not even his normal "boxy" sound; it's more techy, mid-'80s Simmons drums (remember those?) though not nearly as bad as on the next album "Turbo". They were foolish to lose Les Binks and wise to get Scott Travis.
Not perfect, but still an essential part of the soundtrack to my misspent youth.
Classic Priest(4.5)
2004-10-11 - This is classic music here folks. It's my third favorite Judas Priest album behind "Painkiller" and "Sad wings of Destiny".
This gem is full of many masterpieces. The classic fast rocker "Freewheel Burning. The song that will get any rocker pumped up "Rock Hard Ride Free". The last two tracks Heavy Duty/Defenders of Faith is always sun to listen to also.
Classic album. You must buy!
Pinnacle of 80s heavy metal
2004-08-18 - I could never understand the fuss around "Screaming for Vengeance", this album's predecessor. Surely, it's Judas Priest biggest selling album, and all. But it was so poppy sounding, and had almost no punch at all! Imagine my relief when I heard "Defenders of the Faith" for the 1st time. My Judas Priest, the band that I loved for their hellish energetics, piercing vocals, and relentless riffing attack, was back!
Even now "Defenders" stands strong against any competition, and is doubtlessly one of the best JP albums ever, on par with the groundbreaking "Stained Class" and Rob Halford's goodbye "Painkiller". The band threw away any poppy influence it might had and put out 40+ minutes of heavy metal classics. Right from the start, "Freewheel Burning" and "Jawbreaker" epitomize everything that is great about this music, running at breakneck speed with energy enough to rival an atomic explosion. And the incredible, arguably best JP song ever, "The Sentinel" adds up to the impression. Judas Priest throw in much variety, and alongside the speedy tracks there are a mid-tempo heavy metal anthem "Rock Hard, Ride Free", unexpectedly slow "Love Bites" and "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll", a return to JP's 70s trademark metal-ballad style "When the Night Comes Down", a stadion-stomper medley "Heavy Duty"/"Defenders of the Faith", and a faster "Eat Me Alive" with some dual-faced lyrics, considering Halford's declared homosexuality.
There's no need to mention that throughout the album K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton once again prove themselves as one of the best guitar duo in metal history, Rob Halford's vocals are in top-form, and the rhythm-section does its job remarkably well with some powerful drumming by Dave Holland.
I won't exaggerate much by saying that "Defenders of the Faith" is a mandatory album for any serious heavy metal fan. I'd advise to buy the new remastered edition, because its sound quality is better, and it features a couple of nice bonus-tracks/
"Tempt not the blade all fear the Sentinel"
2004-07-16 - Judas Priest's 1984 release Defenders of the Faith is my third favorite 1980s Priest album behind Screaming for Vengeance and barely behind British Steel. Many of the tracks off Defender are better than British Steel but it is not quite as solid as the 1980 classic.
Defenders offers some of the best all-time Priest tracks: "The Sentinel," "Love Bites," and "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll." They have a unique guitar sound that is difficult to explain in words. The sound gives me images of a futuristic gladiator arena where metal gods do battle overlooked by the feared Sentinel. What would that sound like? Listen to this album. My favorite track, however, is the power ballad "Night Comes Down." It is beautiful with, as one would expect, amazing Rob Halford vocals.
The rest of the album is fairly solid. The single "Freewheel Burning" is fast and furious. Although it is not one of my favorite tracks, hearing Halford sing at breakneck speed is incredible! "Jawbreaker" is a Sentinel-style song with that unique guitar sound. "Rock Hard Ride Free" is a catchy rocker. "Eat Me Alive" got the PMRC leaders' pantyhose in a knot with the highly suggestive lyrics (probably giving some guys the creeps now that Halford has officially "come out") and the line "I'm gonna force you at gunpoint." It is not one of their better tracks. "Heavy Duty/Defenders of the Faith" starts out like "Eat Me Alive II" with some risqué lyrics but ends up being a salute to metal. The title track is just a 1:30 chanting of "We are defenders of the faith." I'm not a big fan of songs that celebrate the band, its fans, and what they do (Ram it Down has a lot of self congratulatory songs like "Heavy Metal" and "I'm a Rocker"). Though it ends on a low note, most of Defenders of the Faith is excellent and one of Priest's best.
