Back catalogue: Metal

Review: RECOMMENDED
Let's face the truth, Judas Priest were and are either great or shite depending on which side of the heavy metal fence you fall. Those who actually appreciate the barroom-takes-on-stadia vibe will no doubt unanimously vote for tracks like 'Fever', with its dirty undertow and intimidatingly unapologetic march. Others might be too blinded by the riffs of 'Eat Me Alive'. Whichever Side of the fence you fall, at the end of the day, just like Tia Carrere, they wail.

50 Years of Heavy Metal Music really does emphasise that point. There's a pride and lack of repentance that comes with the formative-era heavy metal bands you don't see so much in the majority of other rock groups. One that simply says "this will bang", swills from a beer bottle, then resides itself to sweaty, heads down rhythms. This album may or may not define that for you, but that's besides the point. It's Judas Priest.