Painkiller (Album)
Vorlage:Album infobox Painkiller is a 1990 gold-certifed album of British heavy metal band Judas Priest. The album was recorded at Miraval Studios, Brignoles, France in early 1990, and mixed at Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum, the Netherlands later that year. The original LP, cassette and CD versions were released on September 3, 1990. A re-mastered CD was released in May 2001. The album received a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance at the February 20, 1991 33rd Annual Grammy Awards.
Following the poor sales of the album Ram it Down which was itself an attempt at reconciling with the public over the perceived sellout, Turbo, Judas Priest returned to their classic 70s style while borrowing contemporary speed metal techniques resulting in their most critically acclaimed album in a decade. The album is viewed by some as the quintessential speed metal album and the style proved highly influential to European power metal bands such as Gamma Ray and Primal Fear.
The Painkiller
The Painkiller itself is one of a series of fictional messiahs created by Judas Priest. The Painkiller is described as a metal messiah sent to the world to purge it from those who are deemed untrue to the metal cause. The Painkiller is believed to be inspired by the fallen angel from the Sad Wings of Destiny album cover that Judas Priest recorded early in their musical years.
The most noticeable feature of the Painkiller, besides his metal body is that he rides the metal monster; a motorcycle with a dragon for the chassis and two circular saws for wheels.
Track listing
The tracks from the original LP:
- "Painkiller" - 6:06
- "Hell Patrol" - 3:37
- "All Guns Blazing" - 3:58
- "Leather Rebel" - 3:35
- "Metal Meltdown" - 4:49
- "Night Crawler" - 5:45
- "Between the Hammer & the Anvil" - 4:49
- "A Touch of Evil" - 5:45
- "Battle Hymn" - 0:58
- "One Shot at Glory" - 6:49
Tracks added for the 2001 Remastered Edition:
- "Living Bad Dreams" - 5:21
- "Leather Rebel" (Live) - 3:39
All songs by Tipton, Halford and Downing (except "A Touch of Evil", by Tipton, Halford, Downing and producer Chris Tsangarides)
Most popular songs are : "Painkiller", "All Guns Blazing" and "Night Crawler".
The song "Painkiller" was covered by the American death metal band Death on their album The Sound of Perseverance, along with Angra and Spanish band Saratoga.
Personnel
- Rob Halford - Vocals
- K.K. Downing - Guitars
- Glenn Tipton - Guitars
- Ian Hill - Bass Guitar
- Scott Travis - drums
with
- Don Airey - Keyboards