Stained Class

Stained Class
Studio album by Judas Priest
Released	February 10 1978
Recorded	October-November 1977
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	54:10
Label	CBS, Inc. (UK) & Columbia Records (US)
Producer	James Guthrie & Judas Priest
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Judas Priest chronology
Sin After Sin (1977) Stained Class (1978) Killing Machine (1978)

Stained Class is the fourth album by the British heavy metal group Judas Priest, released in 1978. Considered by most fans to be one of the high points of Judas Priest's catalogue and even their best by a large minority, Stained Class showcased a more streamlined songwriting style while not compromising on the band's trademark heavy metal riffs. The music and lyrics are savage, elegant, and dark. The writing, especially the lyrics, shows more skill than any other record in their catalogue. The production is crisper, clearer, and cleaner than any of their preceding albums. The cover 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 subgenere. An unfortunate legacy of Stained Class is the 1990 civil action brought against the band by the family of a teenager who tried to kill himself after listening to "Better By You, Better Than Me" (along with a companion, who succeeded in his suicide attempt). The suit alleged that the band recorded messages on the song that, when played backwards, said “do it, do it.” The suit was eventually dismissed. Ironically, "Better..."" is not even a Judas Priest original, but a cover of a 1969 track by Spooky Tooth (written by that band's keyboardist Gary Wright). 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 except where noted.

1. "Exciter" – 5:34
2. "White Heat, Red Hot" (Tipton) – 4:20
3. "Better By You, Better Than Me" (Gary Wright) – 3:24
4. "Stained Class" – 5:19
5. "Invader" (Halford, Tipton, Ian Hill) – 4:12
6. "Saints in Hell" (Halford, K.K. Downing, Tipton) – 5:30
7. "Savage" (Halford, Downing) – 3:27
8. "Beyond the Realms of Death" (Halford, Les Binks) – 6:53
9. "Heroes End" (Tipton) – 5:01

2001 Bonus Tracks

10. "Fire Burns Below" – 6:58
11. "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

with

• Simon Phillips: Drums on Exciter

External links

• Stained Class at the Judas Priest Info Pages site, Accessed July 10, 2005.
• The Judas Priest Trial - 15 Years Later, Accessed on July 10, 2005