Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Judas Priest
Label: Columbia Records
Released: 1979
Length: 60:49
Rating: 3.5/5
With five studio albums under their belt, the time had finally come for the band to put out their first live album. This live album is in fact the only truly historic, officially released live document that captures the beating heart of Judas Priest and, like the cherry on top of the sundae, wraps up the band’s creative era and portrait of the seventies. Critics often call it ‘Unleashed in the Studio’ because of its unbelievable sonic perfection, which takes your breath away as you listen and wonder how on earth anyone could pull off a recording this great of their own stage show. Let’s be honest, there was a fair amount of studio polishing on ‘Unleashed in the East’, way too much by today’s standards. But back then that was business as usual, and “Strangers in the Night” (U.F.O.), released the same year, got similar treatment. So that was simply the trend in live album production at the time.
The album crackles and pops from top to bottom with all that raw electricity and energetic fire. The wild Exciter opens it with a straight right hook to the nose. The guys take a tiny ‘breather’ with the short, loosening-up-but-no-less-wound-up Running Wild, then raise hell again with Sinner and carry us into the arms of drama with the naughty The Ripper and Green Manalishi (With The The Two-Pronged Crown). The version of Diamonds And Rust on ‘Unleashed in the East’ is still, out of all the possible ones, probably the best version of that song, and it’s the point where Priest discharge the tension in the air and carry on their metal march toward the epic peak of the record, Victim Of Changes. Next comes a ballsy rush across six tracks in total (counting all the bonuses). They push the rawness, the wildness, the incredible power, the uncompromising stage eruptiveness and, once again, the indestructible heart of the band to the absolute max. The massive sound of the riffing guitars, the white-hot solos, the ballsy transitions (especially the intros and the fade outs) radiate the utter ease of both guitarists. Judas Priest upgraded older songs like Sinner, The Ripper, Victim Of Changes, Tyrant, Starbreaker and Genocide ‘live’, so that on this live recording they really sound not just much more alive, but also way livelier, more atmospheric, fully metalized and relentless.
Everything live is much faster than in the studio, fuller and more melodic, precisely thanks to that heightened contrast between the instruments and Halford’s screeching vocals, which improved unbelievably in the five years since the debut and now round off the verses even more beautifully and fully. Just how convincing his ‘screams’ sound, especially on the older cuts Sinner, Tyrannt, Victim Of Changes or Starbreaker! The record is graced throughout by the exceptional tightness of the Binks / Hill rhythm section. Which begs the question: why the hell did Leslie Binks leave the band after the tour? His fantastic drumming in this period surely left an indelible mark on the music of Judas Priest.
The original European release has a little over 40 minutes of music, while the new remaster runs almost 61 minutes. This time around Judas Priest added the tracks Rock Forever, Delivering The Goods, Hell Bent For Leather and Starbreaker to the reissue, which had previously appeared only on the original Japanese release of the album. Despite the excessive studio polish, “Unleashed in the East” is an excellent live album, with stage explosiveness that was downright shocking for the time and the venomous sound of increasingly popular metal chopping, whose pioneers were now stepping into their most fruitful creative period. The eighties.
Lineup
Rob Halford – vocals
Glenn Tipton – guitar
K.K. Downing – guitar
Ian Hill – bass
Les Binks – drums
Tracklist
1. Exciter (5:38)
2. Running Wild (2:52)
3. Sinner (7:33)
4. The Ripper (2:41)
5. The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown) (3:18)
6. Diamonds And Rust (3:34)
7. Victim Of Changes (7:11)
8. Genocide (7:21)
9. Tyrant (4:41)
Album length: 44:49
BONUS TRACKS ON THE 2001 REMASTERED EDITION:
10.Rock Forever
11.Delivering the Goods
12.Hell Bent for Leather
13.Starbreaker
