1984 - Defenders of the faith

Eh, another mixed bag here by Priest.  
The first four tracks (side one on the LP and cassette) brings the METAL.  
Freewheel Burning leads the charge, a scorching metal speedbagger with Halford ably motormouthing the lyrics o’er top.  
A classic Priest tune merging velocity and ferocity with dynamite results!  
Jawbreaker and Rock Hard Ride Free follow in spectatcular fashion, and The Sentinel closes the book on a stellar side one.  
A tasty metal stew.
Side two turns the tide completely however, with the weak sauce of Love Bites and the stupid shit of Eat Me Alive.  
Some Heads Are Gonna Roll and Night Comes Down follow — both languished in middling, uninspired fashion.  
Finally the deplorable Heavy Duty/Defenders Of The Faith closes the album with profound suckage.  
(Side note: Priest were always trying to write their own We Will Rock You-style crowd participation anthem,
beginning with Take On The World in 1978.  
Heavy Duty/Defenders of The Faith was another such attempt.)

Much like Screaming For Vengeance (1982), Priest tried to coddle both the hardcore metal faithful and the casual fan on the same record.  
The difference being that on Defenders Of The Faith, the sequencing was such that all the kick-ass metal tunes were on side one,
while on Screaming For Vengeance they mixed everything up.  
The album shows that Priest were quite calculating in their approach to record making.  
In hindsight, it’s kind of sad that Judas Priest, once renegade metal trailblazers in the ’70s, were so obsessed
with pleasing the fickle U.S. commercial market in the ’80s.

One more thing.  
What’s with the drumming on this record?  
So f*cking stiff!  
I hesitate to blame drummer Dave Holland for the boring performance.  
Could it be that he was only following the instructions of the band or producer Tom Allom?  
(Again, a calculated move to maximize accessibility?)  Or could it be that Holland was a good rock drummer
that just wasn’t well-suited for metal?  
I mean, a song like Jawbreaker is just begging for double bass, ain’t it?