Sin After Sin

Sin After Sin is the third album on which Judas Priest binds sharp guitar riffs, Rob Halford’s wide-ranging singing and aggressive rhythm, further clarifying the outline of heavy metal. The guitars of Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing constantly raise the tension while intricately intertwining. Welcoming producer Roger Glover, its sonic precision rose a further step. The weighty drive of the opener “Sinner,” the vividness of “Diamonds and Rust,” a bold reinterpretation of a Joan Baez song, and the sharp speed of the ultra-fast “Dissident Aggressor” show the album’s breadth, while cuts like “Starbreaker” and “Raw Deal” fully convey the band’s aggression. Its appeal is that, while keeping a roughness, playing that foreshadows the speed and precision of later speed metal shines throughout. “Dissident Aggressor” in particular gave great influence to later thrash-metal acts. Conveying the fullness of early Judas Priest and the coming future of metal at once, it is an important record.