Be it British or overseas produce, heavy metal of the 70s or 80s really is an acquired taste a majority of the time (with the exception of perhaps Iron Maiden who still continue to have such a strange hold on rock circles - but I suppose if your band wrote and produced the whole "Number of the Beast" album with all its hook-laden glory, you'd expect nothing less). In the evolution of heavy metal, "Unleashed in the East", their first live album in the discography, is a cracking example of Judas Priest's helping hand in revolutionising the genre away from the mere thick distorted blues of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath into modern headbanging emphatic anthems and vicious vocals. This album, rising above the debatable studio-enhancing of Rob Halford's vocals, proved to be the start of their mainstream period up until 1988's "Ram It Down" - when the critics were finally directed to how far behind the 'Metal Gods' were lagging behind their thrash/death metal contemporaries they had influenced. Still, this ten year stretch from '79 to '89 proved to be their real golden era - a number of their albums including the legendary "British Steel", "Screaming for Vengeance", "Defenders of the Faith" and even the hideously lavish "Turbo" found a perfect mix of progressive solo sections and radio hooks but still retaining the heavy metal edge (well, maybe not "Turbo" then).
Opening with the now staple "Exciter", its production on this live recording doesn't compare to the studio's more thrashier mix but still provides a good whack for an intro to this release (and even to the band). This leads on to the great but all too brief "Running Wild", wavering up and down the guitar battlefield and the pummeling chants and guitar virtuoso of "Sinner". The ever-building ecstasy-driven distortion and wails of their Fleetwood Mac cover "The Green Manalishi" following this seems like the perfect continuation; but the build-up is all done in vain as it's over-rided prematurely by the unending "Diamonds and Rust". "Victim of Changes" next is a bit of an odd one because, despite being an obvious fan favourite, seems to only be carried by Halford's completely macho vocals, even impressively mastering the 'emotional' breakdown partway through. There's a fantastic chaotic wreck of rattletrap guitar-work as way of reward finishing it off, but the exhausting endurance of the first part of the song needlessly works against these inspired moments.
Not stopping for breath however, "Genocide" and "Tyrant" (the real highlights) airhorn their way to the finishing line - with the former particularly blasting its march with strikingingly raw guitar steam. The instruments screaming louder than life and Halford's war-torn battle theatricals command the listener's attention into an addictive lure of mechanical energy. Reflecting the intense drive of future radio hits "Breaking the Law" and "You've Got Another Thing Comin", these two closers are the perfect way to end what I would consider a great addition to any rock fan's discography. A thundering piece of work, Judas Priest have a proven right to their 'Metal Gods' moniker. In a nutshell: old school British heavy metal arguably at its most charming and enthralling.
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Video footage of "Diamonds and Rust" performed live in Japan in 1978:
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