Week 3: Judas Priest - Run of the Mill

The artist: Every fan of metal should know these guys and like Black Sabbath, they shouldn't need an introduction. Just like Black Sabbath, however, there are many underrated songs in Priest's library. They have sixteen albums released and you can expect there's a dozen or two songs that need some good recognition. Recently, Judas Priest have announced retirement and are having a farewell tour before they call it a day for the band. To those that have never seen Priest live, your chances are very limited!

The album: Rocka Rolla is the debut album of Judas Priest released in 1974. Unfortunately, it's not a strong metal debut effort like Iron Maiden's self-titled or Holy Diver and the one thing that may be most remembered about this album is the album cover. This is because of the similarity of the Coca-Cola logo. There was an alternative album artwork which was either due to Coca-Coca passing legal charges or the band wasn't really happy with the original album cover. As for the songs themselves, the band's style wasn't fully developed so don't expect anything along the lines of Breaking the Law, The Hellion/Electric Eye or Painkiller. This is a time well before they even stormed the radio with such classics.

The song: Run of the Mill stands as the longest and most certainly a highlight in Rocka Rolla. One of the slowest songs Judas Priest have to offer but with the time they took to play this song, the outcome was worth it for an emotional and adventurous number. The main riff for Run of the Mill certainly has a spice of metal which is where Judas Priest must have gone from to work on heavier tunes for the following album Sad Wings of Destiny. The more adventurous part of the song is the mid-section when a slow solo is played and Ian Hill on bass is heard clear as day. To contribute to the depressing feel of the song, the lyrics question about one's failure and how as an old person you've failed all your life. Quite harsh but damn, they take those lengths just to make an outstanding song from the very beginning.