Defenders of the Faith, goes down as one of my favorite Judas Priest records ever. I have to say, Screaming for Vengeance is my top record from the band, but Defenders is not far behind. Don't get me wrong, I love the predecessors as well, but these two records, were so solid, that it is hard to deny their greatness. That being said, Defenders just celebrated it's 30th birthday. (Damn I'm getting old!) Hard to believe this masterpiece came out 30 years ago.
In line with, what the band did with the anniversary release of Screaming, they have also decided to give Defenders the royal treatment, by re-releasing the disk in an expanded format. The deluxe edition comes with three disks. The first disk is the re-mastered edition, of the original record. The next 2 disks are a live show, that the band recorded in 84' on the Defenders tour, in Long Beach, CA. (Man, Long Beach got recorded a lot in the 80's).
It is a classic set list, featuring most of the Defenders record, as well as some classics. It it pretty similar to the Screaming tour, but real heavy on Defenders material. The show sounds amazing, with the exception of Desert Plains. Man, they sped that one up for some reason. If I had this one on vinyl, I would have had to check to see if my turntable had switched speeds on me.
All in all, this is a solid package, and a must for Priest fans. The only thing missing was a live DVD. I know I sound greedy, but I am. The audio was so good, from the live show, that I wanted to see it as well. Listen to the disk and you'll know what I mean.
Bottom Line: A classic record re-masterd and given the royal treatment. The main reason to buy it though, is for the live disks.
-Ragman is wanting to know where the video of this show is. Release it already!