The Best Of Judas Priest
Sixteen songs, five decades, one question: who is this for? As an entry into the world of the Metal Gods it is close to ideal — for everyone else it is a radio play about things they already own.
Reviewing a best-of is a thankless business. The songs were settled long ago, the discussion only ever turns on sequencing and selection — which is precisely why such a compilation often says more about its intent than about the band. With "The Best Of Judas Priest", that intent is easy to read: this is not a fan archive, it is a front door.
Sixteen tracks, five decades, from "Rocka Rolla" (1974) to "Crown Of Horns" off 2024's "Invincible Shield". The essentials are covered: "Breaking The Law", "Painkiller", "Electric Eye", "Living After Midnight", "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" — hear those five back to back and twenty minutes is all you need to understand why this band didn't just play heavy metal but invented it. That two covers make the cut — "Diamonds And Rust" (originally Joan Baez) and "Better By You, Better Than Me" (Spooky Tooth) — is no weakness but Priest history: both have long belonged more to them than to their authors.
Where it falters, it falters predictably: a career this size cannot be boiled down to sixteen titles without it hurting. "Victim Of Changes" is missing — for many, the Priest song. "Beyond The Realms Of Death" is here, but the band's epic side stays underexposed overall. And chronology has been sacrificed to impact: anyone wanting to trace how this band developed from "Sad Wings Of Destiny" to "Firepower" will not learn it here. The eighties experiments are all but absent, too — "Turbo Lover" stands rather alone out there.
Which leaves the question of audience. For collectors this is redundant; every one of these songs is already on the shelf. For newcomers, though, it is exactly what it sets out to be: an impeccably sequenced entry point, remastered, with artwork by Mark Wilkinson and timed neatly to the documentary. Not a work, but a calling card — and a damn good one.
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Strengths
- +Almost perfectly sequenced as a gateway drug
- +The essentials land: "Painkiller", "Breaking The Law", "Electric Eye"
- +Genuinely spans the arc from 1974 to 2024
- +Mark Wilkinson's artwork is a highlight in itself
Weaknesses
- −"Victim Of Changes" is missing — for many, the Priest song
- −The band's epic, progressive side stays underexposed
- −The eighties experiments barely feature
- −Entirely redundant for collectors — nothing here isn't already on the shelf
Verdict
Too thin as a career survey, excellent as an entry point. If you don't know Judas Priest yet, this is the best possible first contact — if you do, you don't need this record. The score reflects its usefulness, not the music: that, of course, is timeless.