11. Jawbreaker (***/****) - Yet another song from Defenders of the Faith that starts awesome and then falters at the end. But this song is better than Love Bites for the mere fact that it's over a minute shorter which is nice and lessens the faltering a bit. The guitars are tight and controlled as they follow the vocals perfectly during the verses. Then it all explodes into fury during the chorus before it calms down into a seething rage. Then the solo comes which is showy and at times a bit sloppy before the vocals come back but the damage has been done. And for a side note, you may think that the song is about a guy on the brink of going insane with rage but you'd be wrong. According to Rob Halford, it's all about the cock so you don't need metal to break someone's jaw, just a giant cock and hope that guy whose jaw is going to be broken is gay and likes to suck cock.
12. A Touch of Evil (****/****) - A good compilation album should be like a giant commercial for the other albums. In this case, I want to buy the Painkiller album from which this song is from because this and the other Painkiller songs on the album are the best songs Priest has ever done. This is a pretty dark song and the leisurely pace that this song has makes it even more gloomier and darker. Sure it opens with a keyboard riff that may bring back memories of Turbo but then the guitars take over that riff in a manner that makes the hairs on your arm to stand on end. Halford's vocal delivery is just plain awesome especially the last verse where he just screams in a chilling manner about possession and fire...also, keep in mind that this supposed to be a love song. Yeah, it may not have the anthem-hooks of Breaking the Law or the sheer energy of Painkiller but it's still a classic Priest track.
13. Delivering the Goods (1/2*/****) - And you thought Beyond the Realms of Death was bad, here comes without question the worst song on the album and I hope to hell the worst song on thier discography. Yes, it may have an alright bluesly-intro but it quickly degrades into something horrible and boring. Then if you survive that it ends with the most prentitious of all 70's rock, a drum solo from that blight Les Binks. It's 15 seconds but it's the longest 15 seconds you will ever live. Skip it! For the love of God skip!
14. United (***/****) - This song may be less-liked than others especially considering that this is from British Steel which also has Breaking the Law and Living After Midnight, the ultra-classics but I do like this. Granted, the song is minimalistic and it tries too hard at being a pop song but there's a very awesome groove to it. The drums are what sells the song in a good pattern of bass, snare, bass, snare, snare repeat while the guitar work is all based off of one riff. It may be a weaker song but it's still an entertaining one.
15. Turbo Lover (***1/2/****) - Another song that also gets a lot of flack and yes, this song is cheesy...very cheesy. This is a song that thinks it's clever for making cars and engines metaphors of sex but it's not for it's all been done to death. There's also that video that delirously makes no sense whatsoever with stop-motion things chasing after the band and there's a woman there for some reason that I don't know. She's not even that hot. So why do I like it so much? For exactly the reasons I described. This song is good for the lyrics are good for a laugh and yet, I do like the music of it. It grooves and pounds and there's good use of the synths for the music before the solo. But yes, the lyrics do overpower the music and will always bring a smile to my face, if for the wrong reasons.
16. Painkiller (****/****) - Before I heard this song, all I thought Priest did was mid-paced metal that occasionally got heavy. Then I heard this...needless to say, I was cowering in fear like a little girl when the song came on for it hit me like a bitchslap. The song immediately kicks in with intense drumming that sends a message that this isn't your father's Priest songs. Then the guitars enter and it's all speed-metaly but that isn't the worst of it. Halford starts to sing...or should I say scare everyone with that ungodly screeching falsetto. Now I have usually criticize some of the songs here for unnecessarily long solos. Not here, in fact they're not long enough. For one, there's awesome soloing work but the most important reason is that Halford isn't screaming which is awesome for we need a break. So if you learn one thing from a song such as this, never underestimate Priest or they will scare you with something unexpected.
17. Metal Gods (***1/2/****) - Now this is a song that was tailor-made to be in parades or it would if this song would fit in into any parade's theme. This song is just a marching song even if the lyrics are about robots enslaving the human race with their robot scythes. The guitars are very forceful and single-minded making it sound like a robot march. Now, everything else all fades in the background to the marching beats but it still makes a pretty good song.
Disc II coming up...
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