DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH has songs that still rock. "Freewheel Burning" kicks off the album in a similar fashion as "Rapid Fire" from BRITISH STEEL. "Jawbreaker" has great guitar work from Downing that pulls the song into a frenzy. "Rock Hard, Ride Free" is my favorite track with it's mid-paced beat and excellent guitar solo at the bridge. It was actually written for HELL BENT FOR LEATHER (KILLING MACHINE) under a different title, but was re-written and used for this album. "The Sentinal" starts out slow then kicks into a catchy rocker that provides a good follow-up to "Rock Hard, Ride Free." Ironically, this was the first Judas Priest album I bought, and I was rather impressed. DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH may not be as strong as other records by Judas Priest, but it still stands as a hard and solid example of what 80's metal is all about.

Freewheel Burning - Hard rocker with killer riffs and vocal delivery. A

Jawbreaker - Generic but good hard rocker. A-

Rock Hard Ride Free - JP plays some of its best guitar to datein this one. A+

The Sentinel - Hard NWOBHM-inspired rocker resembling The Hellion/Electric Eye. A

Love Bites - Hard rocker with emphasis on vocal delivery. Love may bite, but this song sure doesn't. A+

Eat Me Alive - Hard and heavy rocker with some great vocals. A+

Some Heads Are Gonna Roll - Rocker with emphasis on guitat playing. Vocals are pretty sweet too. A+

Night Comes Down - Mid-tempo hard rocker with melodic chorus. A

Heavy Duty - Generic mid-tempo hard rocker, but not necessarily bad. A-

Defenders Of The Faith - Basically a continuation of Heavy duty, meaning nothing too special. A-

Turn On Your Light - Lighter acoustic track that gets heavier near the end. Not bad. A

Heavy Duty/Defenders Of The Faith (live) - See above for reviews of these tracks. A-

No, this isn't the band's best album. But it proves itself as an excellent one nonetheless, and is certainly worth checking out. No Judas Priest collection is complete without this.

Defenders offers some of the best all-time Priest tracks: "The Sentinel," "Love Bites," and "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll." They have a unique guitar sound that is difficult to explain in words. The sound gives me images of a futuristic gladiator arena where metal gods do battle overlooked by the feared Sentinel. What would that sound like? Listen to this album. My favorite track, however, is the power ballad "Night Comes Down." It is beautiful with, as one would expect, amazing Rob Halford vocals.

The rest of the album is fairly solid. The single "Freewheel Burning" is fast and furious. Although it is not one of my favorite tracks, hearing Halford sing at breakneck speed is incredible! "Jawbreaker" is a Sentinel-style song with that unique guitar sound. "Rock Hard Ride Free" is a catchy rocker. "Eat Me Alive" got the PMRC leaders' pantyhose in a knot with the highly suggestive lyrics (probably giving some guys the creeps now that Halford has officially "come out") and the line "I'm gonna force you at gunpoint." It is not one of their better tracks. "Heavy Duty/Defenders of the Faith" starts out like "Eat Me Alive II" with some risqué lyrics but ends up being a salute to metal. The title track is just a 1:30 chanting of "We are defenders of the faith." I'm not a big fan of songs that celebrate the band, its fans, and what they do (Ram it Down has a lot of self congratulatory songs like "Heavy Metal" and "I'm a Rocker"). It's disappointing that this song was chosen as the live bonus track. The bonus studio track does not seem to wow anyone either. Though it ends on a low note, most of Defenders of the Faith is excellent and one of Priest's best.