Unleashed In The East

What would this blog be without another classic Live album tossed in the mix? Don't answer that. Time to go back to Japan for some Live Judas Priest. 'Unleashed In The East' was Priest's first Live record. Released in '79 and recorded in Japan on February 10th and 15th 1979, this is Priest on the cusp of greatness. Released just a year before the classic 'British Steel' album, this is Priest in top form, like there's any other. Since the original issue, there's been many versions of this record floating around. US got a nine track release, while Japan got a 13 track release. And somehow the UK got a bonus 7' vinyl with it. CBS for ya folks. In any case you get the remastered US release which features the bonus tracks, "Rock Forever", "Delivering The Goods", "Hell Bent For Leather" and "Starbreaker". Priest would of course go on to release a few more Live albums, even a couple with Ripper Owens when he was handling vocals. However 'Unleashed In The East' remains the best of the Live material.

I got to see Priest a few years back now with Thin Lizzy and Black Label Society opening for them. And I gotta say for a back whose roots go back to the late 60's, the band can still bring it. Halford still has a pretty good range and hell can even take a few songs off and let the crowd sing, as was the case with "Breaking The Law". While the band is still active, they've scaled the touring back a bit, but they're still worth catching Live if you can.

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