From JUDAS PRIEST‘s professional entry into the world of Rock and Roll on through their 19th set issued in 2024, the band has given 50 years of music to a rapt audience. Their first album is ”Rocka Rolla”, a ten-track gem that gave the band little forward momentum upon its debut release on a small label. It wasn’t until their 3rd LP, ‘Sin After Sin’, released on a major label Columbia that music gave the band the audience it needed and quested for.
On November 22, Exciter Records (after a deal made with Gull Records), will reissue ”Rocka Rolla” on CD / LP in a newly Remixed & Remastered form, the like that completely satisfies the original members after decrying the original’s lackluster sound. All was handled by producer Tom Allom, the man behind some of Priest best albums.
The digital download version of ”Rocka Rolla” actually emerged today, and the resulting remix / remaster is amazing.
The seeds of Judas Priest’s world domination were planted on ‘Rocka Rolla’, but listeners had to use their imaginations to envision the Metal Gods’ futures. The band — Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing, bassist Ian Hill and drummer John Hinch — recorded the album during night-shift sessions to save money and had no say in the mixing and mastering processes.
Consequently, the album suffered from subpar production and featured little of Judas Priest’s signature heavy metal thunder.
“I put the needle onto the groove and I sat back. And I just slowly started to deflate,” Halford recalled. “I was so disappointed with the way it was sounding … All of us were — we’d all worked so hard to get to this place. And now this music that we know when we play live is roaring — the heavy metal is roaring even in those early primitive days — none of that was coming out of the speakers.”
For a long time, it seemed like Judas Priest’s inauspicious debut would be doomed to “wasted potential” status. But in 2022, Gull Records — which originally released Rocka Rolla and its successor, Sad Wings of Destiny — sold the masters and publishing rights to Reach Music and Exciter Records in partnership with Judas Priest. Longtime producer Tom Allom helmed the remixing and remastering process.
“I’m just thrilled … because it just goes to show you when you get an expert involved in a project, it’s likely that you have a second chance,” Halford said. “And I think that Tom Allom is giving us a second chance here with the way that a lot of the elements were lost in Rocka Rolla. And it’s also nice, like a really nice feeling, especially to attach it to what will be a 50th anniversary moment. It’s just a beautiful feeling.”
HIGHLY Recommended
Tracklist:
01. One For The Road (4:44)
02. Rocka Rolla (3:25)
03. Winter (2:59)
04. Deep Freeze (2:07)
05. Winter Retreat (1:33)
06. Cheater (3:01)
07. Never Satisfied (4:51)
08. Run of The Mill (8:21)
09. Dying To Meet You (6:17)
10. Caviar And Meths (2:09)
Judas Priest – Rocka Rolla (2024 Reissue/Remastered), MP3+FLAC
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