Box sets, a staple of the music and film industries. Ultimate collections that satisfy fans old and new. Some are stronger than others. Some are simply extended, multi-disc greatest hits collections. With a few rarities and demos of signature songs. Maybe a couple of live tracks. That always leave you wanting more. Then, there’s one album anniversary collections. Such as Def Leppard’s ‘Hysteria’ box set. Or what Metallica have been doing with their classic albums. And finally, there’s the crazy, entire remastered and remixed catalog. Complete with entire live outings from each era that have been redone for optimal audio excellence. And that’s exactly what Judas Priest have done with their new 50’th anniversary box set.
To say that they nailed it out of the park is an understatement. Every album, remixed and remastered by Alex Wharton. With a massive amount of complete live sets from Priest’s 50 year spanning career. All cleaned up by legendary Judas Priest producer Tom Allom. The 1988 set from New Haven, CT on the ‘Ram it Down/Mercenaries of Metal’ tour is particularly tasty. Almost worth the price of admission alone. However, the albums that really benefit from the remasters however, are the 70’s records. The drums have been brought to the front a little more. Giving the older material a modern punch that Priest still brings on their more recent material. Also, Ian Hill’s bass has been added to the mix much better. Particularly in the 80’s material. When you hear him, you realize just how important to the band he really is. And it’s really really interesting to listen to the albums in chronological order. The evolution of the band becomes crystal clear. The realization of what they’ve contributed and created not just in metal, but in all of popular culture raises arm hairs.
But that’s not all. There’s plenty of goodies added to the mix: Personally signed photos, a tour program from the ‘British Steel’ tour, two full size retro posters, a giant ‘British Steel’ mock razor, a nice little letter on top and one hell of a book. This thing spans the whole catalog. Over 70 pages of rare photos and analysis on each album era. Giving a visual into the bands evolution to accompany all the audio. All put together with high quality binding and cover art. It’s clear that Judas Priest put a lot of time and care into this box set. And are very proud of what they’ve accomplished over the years. This thing is loaded.
It’s that pride that drove the band into putting together what I would consider the greatest box set of all time. What really makes it? All the live material included. Every tour from ‘Killing Machine/Hell Bent For Leather’ onwards is represented in one way or another. Whether it’s an official live album that was released at the time or some of the new live material that’s been cleaned up. And they really cleaned it up. The Hammersmith show from the ‘Point of Entry’ tour ’81 is simply breath taking. You can really hear just how insanely heavy they were for their time. Plus, you get a rare look into Priest closing a set out with ‘Tyrant.’ As opposed to the more common set closers. Very killer stuff indeed.
All in all, it’s the ultimate. If you have the means, I highly recommend ordering a copy on the Judas Priest website before they run out. There’s only 3,000 of these things after all. It’s absolutely worth every penny. For not just fans of Judas Priest, but fans of the heavy metal genre as a whole.
