| Stained Class | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 10 February 1978 (1978-02-10)[1] | |||
| Recorded | October–November 1977[2] | |||
| Studio | Chipping Norton,Oxfordshire andUtopia, London | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 43:40 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Dennis Mackay, Judas Priest,James Guthrie | |||
| Judas Priest chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Stained Class | ||||
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Stained Class is the fourth studio album by Englishheavy metal bandJudas Priest, released on 10 February 1978 byColumbia Records. It is the first of three Judas Priest albums recorded with drummerLes Binks, as well as the first to feature the band's now well-known logo in the artwork. Musically,Stained Class is considered the album on which the band honed many of the elements of their hard-edged signature sound, dispensing with most of theprogressive andblues rock overtones and softer ballads of previous efforts.[5]
The album features a cover version of "Better by You Better than Me" bySpooky Tooth, which became the subject of an infamous civil suit in 1990 which alleged the songsubliminally influenced two teenaged boys to make asuicide pact. Other notable tracks include "Exciter", considered an early precursor tospeed metal andthrash metal,[6] and “Beyond the Realms of Death”, which is considered one of the band’s greatest songs by many fans and frequently included in the band’s live setlists.
Upon release,Stained Class was a modest commercial success, reaching number 27 on theUK Albums Chart and becoming the band's first LP to enter the USBillboard 200; it was eventually certified gold in the latter country. Retrospectively, it is regarded by some as one of the most important and influential albums in the development of heavy metal and one of Judas Priest's best records, as well as one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time.[7][5]
Stained Class is the only Judas Priest album to feature songwriting by all five members of the band. Newly added drummerLes Binks earned a songwriting credit for "Beyond the Realms of Death",[8] and bassistIan Hill received his first songwriting credit since their debut album, co-writing "Invader" with vocalistRob Halford and lead guitaristGlenn Tipton.
ArtistRosław Szaybo's cover artwork introduced the now-classic Judas Priest logo, replacing theGothic Script logo which appeared on all of the band's previous albums.Stained Class was the first Judas Priest album to crack theBillboard 200 chart and was eventually certified gold in the US.
Dennis MacKay was brought in by CBS Records to produce the album. His resume at the time consisted mainly ofjazz fusion artists and more progressive rock artists such asDavid Bowie andSupertramp. The recording sessions forStained Class took place in October and November 1977 at Chipping Norton Recording Studios inOxfordshire.
"Better by You Better than Me" was a last-minute addition to the album when CBS Records insisted on including something with commercial potential to liven up an album they felt had a very dark and sinister tone. The song was recorded with producerJames Guthrie separately from the rest of the album, as MacKay had moved on to other projects and was no longer available. The band was reportedly so impressed with Guthrie's production on "Better by You Better than Me" that they asked him to produce their next album,Killing Machine.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [9] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [10] |
Steve Huey ofAllMusic describedStained Class as "Judas Priest's greatest achievement", commenting, "This is the point where Priest put it all together, embracing their identity as the heaviest band on the planet and taking the genre to new heights of power, speed, musicality, and malevolence."[5] In 2005,Stained Class was ranked number 307 inRock Hard magazine's book ofThe 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[11] In 2017, it was ranked 43rd inRolling Stone's "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".[12]
After the success of subsequent Judas Priest albums in the US,Stained Class would eventually be certified Gold.[13]
The song "Invader" was finally added to the band's setlists in 2021, making "Heroes End" the only song off the album that has never been performed live.[14]
Twelve years after its release,Stained Class was the subject of a1990 civil action brought against the band by the family of a teenager, James Vance, who entered into asuicide pact with his friend Ray Belknap after allegedly listening to "Better by You Better than Me" on 23 December 1985. Belknap succeeded in killing himself, and Vance was left critically injured after surviving a self-inflicted gunshot to the face, eventually dying of amethadone overdose three years later. The suit alleged that Judas Priest recorded subliminal messages on the song that said "do it". The suit was eventually dismissed. The song was originally written and performed by the bandSpooky Tooth.
Three weeks after the lawsuit wrapped up, the band kicked off their Painkiller Tour by playing "Better by You Better than Me" on the first concert inBurbank, California on 13 September. It is Judas Priest's only live performance of the song since 1979.
ComedianBill Hicks ridiculed the lawsuit as part of his act, pointing out (as many others have also done) the absurdity of the notion that a successful band would wish to kill off their purchasing fanbase.[15] ComicDenis Leary (who was later accused of plagiarizing Hicks' material) also referenced the case in his 1993 stand-up specialNo Cure For Cancer.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Exciter" | Rob Halford,Glenn Tipton | 5:34 |
| 2. | "White Heat, Red Hot" | Tipton | 4:20 |
| 3. | "Better by You Better than Me" (Spooky Tooth cover) | Gary Wright | 3:24 |
| 4. | "Stained Class" | Halford, Tipton | 5:19 |
| 5. | "Invader" | Halford, Tipton,Ian Hill | 4:12 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Total length: | 43:40 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Fire Burns Below" (Recorded during the 1988Ram It Down sessions) | Halford, Tipton | 6:58 |
| 11. | "Better by You Better Than Me" (Live atFoundations Forum, Los Angeles, California; 13 September 1990) | Wright | 3:40 |
| Total length: | 54:18 | ||
| Chart (1978) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[16] | 49 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[17] | 27 |
| USBillboard 200[18] | 173 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[19] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Studio albums | |
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| Live albums | |
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| Other songs | |
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| Related articles | |
