1980 had been a huge year for Judas Priest. After years and six albums, Priest were finally a headlining commercial act. ‘British Steel’ had been a bigger success than expected. And the world seemed ready to take on the future of heavy metal with Judas Priest. So the band decided to produce an even more commercially appealing album with 1981’s ‘Point of Entry.’
Other than ‘Turbo,’ ‘Point of Entry’ remains Judas Priest’s most ‘mainstream’ sounding record. And frankly, it’s their most boring. There are some great moments with ‘Solar Angels,’ ‘Heading Out To The Highway’ and the most excellent ‘Desert Plains.’ Which would become a concert staple for the rest of Priest’s career. It’s easy to see why. The song is tailor made for big arenas and massive audiences. As well as ‘Heading Out To The Highway.’ The music video for ‘Hot Rockin” is just…well…I’ll post it below.
Many of the other tracks are a consistent bunch of above average rockers. Very mid tempo. Middle of the road. However, that doesn’t mean they’re bad songs. ‘You Say Yes’ actually has a pretty killer throw down chorus. And a fun, bouncy verse riff to boot. ‘Troubleshooter’ is about one step away from AC/DC. But solid enough. While ‘All The Way’ and ‘Turning Circles’ explores the more popcorn side of Priest. ‘On The Run’ closes the album out with a typical blues rock swing. Similar to ‘Troubleshooter.’ But that doesn’t mean that it’s not devoid of Rob Halford’s epic vocals during the chorus.
When released, ‘Point of Entry’ underperformed. Which no one in the band saw coming. Rob Halford is even on record saying, ‘We thought it was best thing we’d ever done at the time.’ Still, it’s an interesting and short lived era of the band. Audiences clearly wanted a more aggressive album. But the tour was one of Judas Priests most unique. With the band donning denim in favor of their newly found leather look. Fortunately, it’s chronicled in the new 50th anniversary box set with the ‘Live In London ’81’ disc. Recorded at the legendary Hammersmith auditorium. Judas Priest would have to wait another album before megastardom took over. But for the time being it would have to settle. So crank it, live it, love it.
