Wiki
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Release Date
10 February 1978
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Length
9 tracks
Stained Class is the fourth album by the British heavy metal group Judas Priest, released in February 1978. A popular album in the band's catalogue, Stained Class showcased a more streamlined songwriting style while not compromising on the band's trademark heavy metal riffs. The production is crisper, clearer, and cleaner than any of their preceding albums. This is the only Judas Priest album to feature songwriting by all five members (one of Ian Hill's few contributions to the songwriting process for the band, and the sole contribution thereof by then-drummer Les Binks - the guitar riff for Beyond the Realms of Death). Following this album the band broke its songwriting team down to Rob Halford, K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, with occasional contributions solely by Tipton. Released only a year after their previous album, Stained Class is Priest`s last album before adopting the leather and studs look (and sound). Priest recorded this with drummer Les Binks ,who was an official band member (unlike previous two albums, which were recorded with session drummers). The songs were shorter and full of screaming vocals and guitars. The album`s lyrics are considerably better than on any of their other albums (songs like Saints In Hell and Beyond The Realms Of Death for example). Priest gained more popularity on the supporting tour, especially in Japan, where the band was already huge at the time.
Even though the album failed to chart higher than 170 on Billborad, it remains a classic heavy metal album.
The sleeve artwork, by Roslav Szaybo at CBS Records, introduced their classic logo, replacing the Gothic Script logo of earlier releases. Stained Class is considered by many to be the last of the four "classic" Judas Priest albums. It was highly influential in the development of the speed metal subgenre and was the first Judas Priest album to dent the Billboard 200. The album was remastered in 2001, with two bonus tracks added. In 2004, UK magazine Metal Hammer named Stained Class the heaviest metal album of all time.
An unfortunate legacy of Stained Class is the 1990 civil action brought against the band by the family of a teenager, James Vance, who entered a suicide pact with his friend Ray Belknap after listening to "Better By You, Better Than Me" on December 23, 1985. Belknap succeeded in killing himself, and Vance was left horribly disfigured. The suit alleged that the band recorded subliminal messages on the song that said "do it". The suit was eventually dismissed.
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