Revisiting: Judas Priest's Turbo

 

Turbo by Judas Priest

Release Date: 1986

Last Time I Listened to It: It's been a while. Though Judas Priest is one of my top three favorite bands, Turbo isn't an album I spend a lot of time with anymore. I'll still listen to "Out in the Cold" every now and then. I fuckin' love that song.

Turbo was the second JP album I ever bought, after Defenders of the Faith. As a kid whose musical sensibilities were still developing, I loved it. I loved shouting along as Rob "The Metal God" Halford sang "We don't need no, no, no, no, no parental guidance here!!" "Private Property" and "Reckless" kept my head banging and "Out in the Cold" provided a little heartbreak.

As time ground on and I got into more guitar-centric music like thrash, Turbo fell out of favor. It didn't go for the jugular like other Priest albums like Painkiller and Screaming for Vengeance dead. Worse, Turbo's songs were caked in a wash of synthesizers. Sythns? Fuck that!! Synths are less metal than smiling! As a result, Turbo was an album that I kept around more for nostalgia than because I actually wanted to hear it.

The Verdict: This album isn't nearly as bad as I remember. It's not up there with Defenders, Killing Machine (AKA Hellbent for Leather) and Painkiller. But it's pretty damn solid front to back. 

First, let's address the synthesizers. I'm still not a big fan of synths in metal but they can work. I love how they add atmosphere to Children of Bodom's sound. And in re-listening to Turbo, I've decided that I kinda like the sci-fi cheesy feel they give to the songs. It's like Priest found a way to combine everything that was cool in the 80s and put it all on one album.

As far as the tempos and the songwriting, they don't immolate your speakers like other Priest records do. The music is a touch more conventional and, dare I say, poppy.  Halford isn't stretching out to his full vocal capability, but that means Turbo is a slightly easier album to sing along with. The riffs aren't the slicing katana-like shards of past JP offerings. But they're super catchy. Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing still dish out killer guitar solos, especially when they trade off leads. Glenn and K.K. always were the best guitar tag team in metal.

The songs here aren't going for the goal of being the most metal. They're going for being towering anthems that get arenas full of Priest fans to make a fuck-ton of noise. And you know what? Some of these songs really work. "Turbo Lover" was originally supposed to be on the Top Gun soundtrack instead of "Danger Zone" and it totally sounds like the kind of tune Tom Cruise would run around shirtless to in a movie. "Rock You All Around the World" has one of those choruses to infect you to the point where you'll sound yourself humming them even when not listening to the album.

If Turbo has a weakness, it's the second half. After the masterpiece that is "Out in the Cold," the record veers sharply into hair metal territory with "Wild Nights, Hot & Crazy Days," a tune that sounds like it was rejected from a Bon Jovi recording session. The album really bottoms out with the completely forgettable "Hot for Love" before steering out of the skid with the album-closing "Reckless." But two relative clunkers out of nine tracks ain't too bad.

Overall, Turbo is a decent listen with some really good high points and a couple of bum tracks that kill the buzz a little but don't completely ruin the experience. Turn this record on, turn it up and give your next party a Turbo-charged kick in the ass. (You see what I did there?)

Best Songs: "Locked In," "Rock You All Around the World," "Out in the Cold," "Reckless"