Stained Class

Stained Class is the fourth studio album by British heavy metal band Judas Priest, released in February 1978 under the Columbia Records label, after the release of two singles, Exciter and Better By You, Better Than Me.
In 1977, after recording sessions for Sin After Sin with drummer Simon Phillips, Priest set out to find a permanent drummer who would venture with them on their first US tour. They hired Les Binks, a British drummer. Binks shaped the classic Priest percussive sound with his techinical style.
Priest began writing songs as soon as they finished touring. The recording sessions were held in October to November 1977 in a London studio.
The album has a dark and heavy sound, and was very death-oriented. Almost all the songs on the album speak of death, destruction or pain. The music was a key base for speed metal, evident by songs like "Exciter" and "Invader". It also has the slower "Beyond the Realms of Death", the only song ever co-written by a Judas Priest drummer, and would become one of Priest's classics, critically acclaimed for Halford's vocals, the fitting lyrics and the guitar solos.
== Songs ==
# Exciter
# White Heat, Red Hot
# Better By You, Better Than Me (Spooky Tooth cover)
# Stained Class
# Invader
# Saints in Hell
# Savage
# Beyond the Realms of Death
# Heroes End
# Fire Burns Below (recorded during Ram It Down sessions; 2001 bonus track)
# Better By You, Better Than Me (live Los Angeles, California, September 3rd 1990; 2001 bonus track)
Category:Albums
Category:Judas Priest