Judas Priest: Rob Halford (vocals); Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing (guitar); Ian Hill (bass); Les Binks (drums).

Principally recorded live at Koseinenkin Hall and Nakano Sunplaza Hall, Tokyo, Japan in 1979. Includes liner notes by Judas Priest.

Digitally remastered by Jon Astley.

Personnel: Rob Halford (vocals); Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing (guitar); Ian Hill (bass guitar); Les Binks (drums).

Audio Mixer: Neil Kernon.

Audio Remasterer: Jon Astley.

Liner Note Author: Judas Priest.

Recording information: Koseinenkin Hall, Tokyo, Japan (1979); Nakano Sunplaza Hall, Tokyo, Japan (1979).

Photographers: Robert Ellis ; Watalu Asanuma; Steve Joester; Fin Costello.

The first real transatlantic breakthrough for Judas Priest came with this most unforgiving of live albums. Playing on their early success in the Far East, Judas Priest recorded a handful of shows in Tokyo on the back of their Hell Bent For Leather album. Their magnanimous success there made for a brutal and excited showing of live favourites that translated as a riotous success with the Japanese. Their inspired cover versions of Joan Baez's "Diamonds And Rust" and Fleetwood Mac's "Green Manalishi," as well as such gruelling standards as "Exciter" and "Ripper" made for a convincing sweatpit of a show. One to raise your hands to.

Judas Priest's first official live recording has always been met with equal amounts of acclaim and controversy: acclaim from those who consider it an excellent summation of the metal legend's 1970s output, and controversy from the critics and industry insiders who criticized what they believed to be a heavily overdubbed and studio-enhanced performance, mockingly naming it Unleashed in the Studio at times. Before delving deeper into this issue, let it be said that except for a few unfortunate omissions ("Hell Bent for Leather," "Better by You, Better Than Me") the track listing here is quite impressive. Along with powerful versions of such storming anthems as "Exciter" and "Running Wild," the band delivers the definitive version of the prog metallic "Sinner," and competent versions of their popular covers tunes, "Diamonds and Rust" and "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)." Interestingly, most of the tracks from the classic Sad Wings of Destiny fall short of their mark, however, perhaps because they forfeit heaviness at the expense of speed. As for the "live" dilemma, in the late '90s estranged singer Rob Halford would claim in interviews that, while the band's playing was indeed recorded entirely live, his vocals had been ruined in the original mix, forcing him to re-record them in one take in a concert-like setting. If this was the case, it would hardly be the first or most severe case of studio interference on a live recording, and fans seeking a concise, nearly flawless collection of Priest's 1970s hits will not be disappointed. [The 2001 reissue offers four previously unreleased live tracks: "Rock Forever," "Delivering the Goods," "Hell Bent for Leather," and "Starbreaker."] ~ Eduardo Rivadavia

Q (12/01, p.159) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...The loudest of all...the obligatory Japanese live album..."