Stained Class

Infobox Album | Name = Stained Class
Type = Album
Artist = Judas Priest


Released = February 10 1978
Recorded = October-November 1977
Genre = Heavy metal
Length = 54:10
Label = CBS, Inc. (UK) & Columbia Records (US)
Producer = Dennis Mackay Judas Priest James Guthrie (track 3)
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:4k4gtq8ztu46 link]
Last album = "Sin After Sin"
(1977)
This album = "Stained Class"
(1978)
Next album = "Killing Machine"
(1979)|

"Stained Class" is the fourth album by the British heavy metal group Judas Priest, released in 1978.

A popular album in the band's catalogue, "Stained Class" showcased a more streamlined songwriting style while not compromising on the band's trademark heavy metal riffs. The production is crisper, clearer, and cleaner than any of their preceding albums.

The sleeve artwork, by Roslav Szaybo at CBS Records, introduced their classic logo, replacing the Gothic Script logo of earlier releases. Stained Class is considered by many to be the last of the four "classic" Judas Priest albums. It was highly influential in the development of the speed metal subgenre.

An unfortunate legacy of "Stained Class" is the 1990 civil action brought against the band by the family of a teenager, James Vance, who entered a suicide pact with his friend Ray Belknap after listening to "Better By You, Better Than Me" on December 23, 1985. Belknap succeeded in killing himself, and Vance was left horribly disfigured. The suit alleged that the band recorded subliminal messages on the song that said “do it, do it.” The suit was eventually dismissed.

The album was remastered in 2001, with two bonus tracks added. In 2004, UK magazine Metal Hammer named "Stained Class" the heaviest metal album of all time.

This is the only Judas Priest album to feature songwriting by all five members (one of Ian Hill's few contributions to the songwriting process for the band, and the sole contribution thereof by then-drummer Les Binks - the guitar riff for Beyond the Realms of Death). Following this album the band broke its songwriting team down to Rob Halford, K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, with occasional contributions solely by Tipton.

Track listing

All songs written by Rob Halford and Glenn Tipton and Produced by Dennis Mackay except where noted.
#"Exciter" – 5:34
#"White Heat, Red Hot" (Tipton) – 4:20
#"Better By You, Better Than Me" (Gary Wright) – 3:24 (Produced by Judas Priest and James Guthrie)
#"Stained Class" – 5:19
#"Invader" (Halford, Tipton, Ian Hill) – 4:12
#"Saints in Hell" (Halford, K.K. Downing, Tipton) – 5:30
#"Savage" (Halford, Downing) – 3:27
#"Beyond the Realms of Death" (Halford, Les Binks) – 6:53
#"Heroes End" (Tipton) – 5:01

2001 Bonus Tracks

#

"Fire Burns Below" – 6:58
# "Better By You, Better Than Me (Live)" (Wright) – 3:24

Personnel

* Rob Halford: Lead Vocals
* K.K. Downing: Guitars
* Glenn Tipton: Guitars, Backing Vocals
* Ian Hill: Bass Guitar
* Les Binks: Drums

External links

* [http://members.firstinter.net/markster/STAINEDCLASS.html Stained Class at the Judas Priest Info Pages site] , Accessed July 10, 2005.