Defenders of the Faith

This article is about the album. For the title, see Fidei defensor. For the Dungeons & Dragons optional rule book, see Defenders of the Faith: A Guidebook to Clerics and Paladins. For the Christian denomination, see Defenders of the Faith (Puerto Rico).

Defenders of the Faith
Studio album by Judas Priest
Released	4 January 1984
Recorded	September – November 1983, Ibiza Sound Studios, Spain
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	39:43
Label	Columbia
Producer	Tom Allom
Judas Priest chronology
Screaming for Vengeance (1982) Defenders of the Faith (1984) Turbo (1986)

Defenders of the Faith is the ninth studio album by British heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was recorded at Ibiza Sound Studios, Ibiza, Spain and mixed from September to November 1983 at DB Recording Studios and Bayshore Recording Studios in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida. The LP and cassette tape were released on 4 January 1984 and later appeared on CD in July. A remastered CD was released in May 2001. Three tracks were released as singles: "Freewheel Burning", "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" and "Love Bites".

"Rising from darkness where Hell hath no mercy and the screams for vengeance echo on forever. Only those who keep the faith shall escape the wrath of the Metallian... Master of all metal."

-- Album back cover

The cover art by Doug Johnson (who also designed the Hellion in Screaming for Vengeance) depicts the Metallian, a ram-horned, tiger-like land assault creature with Gatling guns and tank tracks conceptualized by the band.

"Eat Me Alive" was listed at #3 on the Parents Music Resource Center's "Filthy Fifteen", a list of 15 songs the organization found most objectionable. PMRC co-founder Tipper Gore stated the song was about oral sex at gunpoint. In response to the allegations, Priest recorded the song "Parental Guidance" on the follow-up album Turbo. Defenders of the Faith is a guitar-related section in Guitar World Magazine in which Guitar World readers are shown along with personal information. This is referred to as "Defending the Faith".

On the tour for this album, the band had played every song live, with the exception of "Eat Me Alive". On the tour for the Nostradamus album, in 2008, the band played many songs which had never been played live before, one of them being "Eat Me Alive". This made Defenders of the Faith the only Judas Priest album from which every song had been played live (other than the first LP Rocka Rolla), until the 2009 tour where British Steel was performed in full, in order.

'The Sentinel' was covered by Machine Head for the special edition version of their 2011 album 'Unto the Locust'.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Sputnik Music	link

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford and K.K. Downing, except where noted. 

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Freewheel Burning"		4:22
2.	"Jawbreaker"		3:25
3.	"Rock Hard Ride Free"		5:34
4.	"The Sentinel"		5:04
5.	"Love Bites"		4:47
6.	"Eat Me Alive"		3:34
7.	"Some Heads Are Gonna Roll"	Robert Halligan, Jr.	4:05
8.	"Night Comes Down"		3:58
9.	"Heavy Duty"		2:25
10.	"Defenders of the Faith"		1:30

2001 Bonus Tracks
No.	Title	Length
11.	"Turn On Your Light" (Recorded during the 1985 Turbo sessions)	5:23
12.	"Heavy Duty/Defenders of the Faith" (Live at Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, California; 5 May 1984)	5:26

Personnel

Judas Priest

• Rob Halford: Lead Vocals
• Glenn Tipton: Lead Guitars
• K.K. Downing: Lead Guitars
• Ian Hill: Bass Guitar
• Dave Holland: Drums

External links

• Extensive album info