Judas Black Sabbath invented heavy metal, but Judas Priest drove it forward, rapidly accelerating the genre’s development. The limited-edition 50 Heavy Metal Years of Music isn’t their first rodeo at the box-set ranch, but in comparison with 2004’s 4-disc Metalogy and The Complete Albums’ (2012) vanilla round-up and omission of the Ripper Owens period, this 42-CD behemoth hits the motherlode.
All 18 studio albums and six live long-players are here, including their previously deleted Ripper-fronted output. For die-hards, there are eight newly mastered live shows (five previously unreleased) recorded between 1979 and 1991, offering full-throttle classics, a theme continued on Beyond Live And Rare’s collection of buried gems (including unreleased epic Mother Sun).

4.9 GB  320 ** FLAC

Rocka Rolla (1974) lacks the edge of later albums, though doomy showstopper Run Of The Mill telegraphs what’s to come. Sad Wings Of Destiny (1976) finds their classic sound crystallising (pre-figuring the NWOBHM) as Rob Halford’s uncanny lungpower blends with KK Downing and Glenn Tipton’s bone-crushing guitars, displaying an aggression rare for the time on Victim Of Changes.

Session drummer Simon Phillips adds double-bass drumming to Sin After Sin (1977), the band sowing the seeds of thrash on Call For The Priest, refined on Stained Class’s (1978) Exciter. The same year’s Killing Machine distils melody and ferocity into concise neck-snappers, a format refined with hitmaking flair (Living After Midnight) on British Steel (1980).

Point Of Entry (1981) alternates experimental tracks with brooding metal, before Screaming For Vengeance (1982) and Defenders Of The Faith (1984) hit a platinum-selling balance between sharp songwriting and blunt force trauma. Turbo’s (1986) lighter sound and guitar synths polarised fans, Ram It Down (1988) is uneven, but Painkiller (1990) is essential, face-melting Priest.

During Halford’s absence, Owens acquitted himself admirably on the brutal Jugulator (1997) and Demolition (2001), before the metal god’s return for the sterling Angel Of Retribution (2005) and rewarding concept album Nostradamus (2008). Redeemer Of Souls (2014) was a solid start for guitarist Richie Faulkner, this incarnation hitting its stride on the masterful Firepower (2018). An exhaustive summation of Priest’s intense studio creativity and onstage vibrancy.

CD1 – Rocka Rolla
CD2 – Sad Wings of Destiny
CD3 – Sin After Sin (1977)
CD4 – Stained Glass (1978)
CD5 – Killing Machine – (1978)
CD6 – Unleashed In the East (Live in Japan 1979)
CD7 – British Steel
CD8 – Point Of Entry
CD9 – Screaming for Vengeance
CD10 – Defenders of the Faith
CD11 – Turbo
CD12 & CD13 – Priest… Live! CD14 – Ram It Down
CD15 – Painkiller
CD16 – Jugulator
CD17 & CD18 – ’98 Live Meltdown
CD19 – Demolition
CD20 & CD21 – Live in London
CD22 – Angel of Retribution
CD23 – Nostradamus (Act 1) & CD24 – Nostradamus (Act 2)
CD25 – A Touch Of Evil Live
CD26 & CD27 – Redeemer of Souls
CD29 – Firepower
CD30 & CD31 – Live In Atlanta ’82 (Previously Unreleased)
CD32 – Live at the Mud Club ’79 (Previously Unreleased)
CD33 & CD34 – Live In Houston ’86 (Previously Unreleased)
CD35 & CD36- Live In New Haven ’88 (Previously Unreleased)
CD37 – Los Angeles ’90 (Previously Unreleased)
CD38 – London ’81(Previously Unreleased)
CD39 – Denver ’80 (Previously Unreleased)
CD40 – Irvine ’91 (Previously Unreleased)
CD41 & CD42- Beyond Live & Rare (Previously Unreleased)

Previously unreleased stereo recordings from the archives
Restored and edited by Tom Allom at La Cucina W8
Mastered by Alex Wharton at Abbey Road Studios, London

CD41

Epitaph (Studio Demo) Demo from 1976’s Sad Wings Of Destiny
Solar Angels (Live) July 22, 1981 – New York, NY – The Palladium
Sinner (Live) July 22, 1981 – New York, NY – The Palladium
Desert Plains (Live) July 22, 1981 – New York, NY – The Palladium
You Don’t Have To Be Old To Be Wise (Live) July 22, 1981 – New York, NY – The Palladium
Genocide (Live) May 09, 1978 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre
Victim Of Changes (Live) May 09, 1978 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre
Ripper (Live) May 09, 1978 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre
Screaming For Vengeance (Live) November 24, 1982 – Tucson, AZ – Tucson Convention Center
The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown) (Live) June 07, 1981 – Odessa, TX – Ector County Coliseum
Victim of Changes (Live) June 07, 1981 – Odessa, TX – Ector County Coliseum

CD42

Tyrant (Live) June 07, 1981 – Odessa, TX – Ector County Coliseum
Diamonds and Rust (Live) February 14, 1981 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Jaap Edenhal
White Heat Red Hot (Live) July 29, 1978 – Tokyo, Japan – Yuubin Chokin Hall
Better By You Better Than Me (Live) July 29, 1978 – Tokyo, Japan – Yuubin Chokin Hall
Starbreaker (Live) July 29, 1978 – Tokyo, Japan – Yuubin Chokin Hall
Rock Forever (Live) Killing Machine Tour – February 09, 1979 – Tokyo, Japan – Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan
Evil Fantasies (Live) Killing Machine Tour – February 09, 1979 – Tokyo, Japan – Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan
Troubleshooter (Live) World Wide Blitz Tour – February 29, 1981 – Wiesbaden, Germany – Rhein-Main-Halle
Grinder (Live) World Wide Blitz Tour – February 29, 1981 – Wiesbaden, Germany – Rhein-Main-Halle
The Sentinel (Live) May 02, 1984 – Albuquerque, NM – Tingley Coliseum
Freewheel Burning (Live) May 02, 1984 – Albuquerque, NM – Tingley Coliseum
All Guns Blazing (Live) August 17, 1991 – Montreal, QC, Canada – Forum de Montreal
Painkiller (Live) March 26, 1991 – Sheffield, England – Sheffield City Hall
Mother Sun (Live) October 11, 1975 – Slough, England – Slough College

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