(Still) Screaming For Vengeance: Judas Priest Has a 30th Anniversary Edition Comin'

It might get loud.

Next Tuesday, September 4, is the date for Legacy Recordings’ 30th anniversary CD/DVD edition of Judas Priest’s 1982 metal classic Screaming for Vengeance. Though the 1982 album wasn’t the first platinum-selling album from the British rock legends, it remains one of the most beloved, spawning radio hits “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” and “(Take These) Chains.”

Though the band formed in Birmingham in 1969 and recorded its first album in 1974, its line-up fluctuated throughout the next decade. By the time of Screaming for Vengeance, the band had settled (for the time being) with the powerhouse line-up of Rob Halford (vocals), Glenn Tipton (guitar), K.K. Downing (guitar), Ian Hill (bass) and Dave Holland (drums). Vengeance proved that the band could retain the commercial edge it had only recently acquired on albums like 1978’s Killing Machine/Hell Bent for Leather and 1980’s British Steel without turning its back on its serious, and seriously dark, metal roots. All of its songs were written by the triumvirate of Halford, Tipton and Downing, with Robert Halligan Jr. contributing “Chains.”

Recorded in Ibiza, Spain at Ibiza Sound Studios, Screaming for Vengeance remains the most commercially successful album in the Judas Priest catalogue. It reached No. 11 in the U.K. and No. 17 in the U.S., and led to a successful tour by the band. The twin guitar approach of Tipton and Downing has been often imitated but never equaled, and the LP has spawned many cover versions of its songs over the years. It also continues to inspire a new generation of metal fans; Vengeance was the first full album to be released for the Rock Band and Rock Band 2 interactive video games.

What bonus material has been included this time around? Hit the jump!

The 30th Anniversary Edition includes the band’s U.S. Festival performance from May 29, 1983 in San Bernardino, California, for the first time on DVD. The memorable gig at Steve Wozniak's festival was performed on the so-called Heavy Metal Day, when 375,000 attendees set the highest single-day concert attendance record up to that point. That’s not all, however. The CD includes the original album in remastered form, plus six bonus tracks. Four are previously unreleased live versions (“Electric Eye,” “Riding on the Wind,” “Screaming for Vengeance,” “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’”) of album material, all recorded during the Screaming for Vengeance tour on September 10, 1982 in San Antonio, Texas. The remaining two bonus tracks are both thankfully carried over from the 2001 reissue: “Prisoner of Your Eyes,” from the 1985 sessions for Turbo, and “Devil’s Child,” recorded live at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee on December 12, 1982.

The new booklet contains previously-unseen photos from Mark Weiss and liner notes written by author Eddie Trunk of That Metal Show. You can celebrate the landmark anniversary of Screaming for Vengeance on September 4 from Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings with the pre-order link below!

Judas Priest, Screaming for Vengeance: 30^th Anniversary Edition (Columbia/Legacy, 2012)

CD:

The Hellion
Electric Eye
Riding on the Wind
Bloodstone
(Take These) Chains
Pain and Pleasure
Screaming for Vengeance
You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’
Fever
Devil’s Child
Electric Eye (Live)
Riding on the Wind (Live)
You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ (Live)
Screaming for Vengeance (Live)
Devil’s Child (Live)
Prisoner of Your Eyes (Live)

DVD:

Electric Eye
Riding on the Wind
Heading Out to the Highway
Metal Gods
Breaking the Law
Diamonds and Rust
Victim of Changes
Living After Midnight
The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)
Screaming for Vengeance
You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’
Hell Bent for Leather

CD, Tracks 1-10 from Screaming for Vengeance, Columbia Records LP FC-38160, 1982
CD, Tracks 11-14 previously unreleased, recorded at the San Antonio Civic Center, September 10, 1982
CD, Track 15 from Screaming for Vengeance, Columbia/Legacy CD CK 85435, 2001, recorded at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee, December 12, 1982
CD, Track 16 from Screaming from Vengeance, Columbia/Legacy CD CK 85435, 2001, recorded 1985
DVD, all tracks previously unreleased, recorded at the U.S. Festival, San Bernardino, California, May 29, 1983

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.