1981 - Point of entry

I would be hard pressed to convince myself that Point Of Entry is anything other than a wild swing and miss by Judas Priest.  
Though the band have never admitted it, their intentions seem undeniably clear with this album:
to sell out to what they perceived American audiences wanted to hear.  
Riding high from the somewhat surprising success they achieved with the commercial-sounding songs Breaking The Law
and Living After Midnight from 1980’s British Steel, Priest decided to make an album full of similarly accessible rockers,
and in the process dumbed-down their sound to a more streamlined (and decidedly non-metal) approach.  
Apparently, lobodomizing their sound was what Priest felt they need to do to garner mass appeal in the States.  
I’m not sure what that says about we as Americans, but its a sad testimony indeed.  
Point Of Entry finds Priest consciously moving away from their strengths, sucking the metal out of their bones,
and shedding their innovative skin.  
Overall the album is just too simple and dumb for a band like Judas Priest, and is their worst album since their debut.  
That being said, Point Of Entry is not a monstrosity.  
After all, any album with Heading Out To The Highway and Desert Plains makes for a worthwhile listen.  
Only in the context of Judas Priest’s previous works is it a disappointment.  
But in comparison to some of the competition out there at the time, Point Of Entry ain’t all too bad.