Music / Painkiller

"He! Is! The Painkiller!
THIS! IS! THE PAINKILLER!"

"Faster than a bullet, terrifying scream,
Enraged and full of anger, he's half man and half machine!
Rides the Metal Monster, breathing smoke and fire,
Closing in with vengeance soaring high!"

— "Painkiller"

Painkiller is the twelfth studio album by British Heavy Metal band Judas Priest, released on 3 September 1990 through Columbia Records. It was the final album with Rob Halford at lead vocals until his return for 2005's Angel of Retribution, and the first album where Scott Travis replaced longtime drummer Dave Holland. After hitting a slump with their prior two albums, as well as having to delay release to resolve a court case over two Reno, NV teenagers attempting suicide over a supposed subliminal message (which ultimately got dismissed on 24 August), Painkiller was released to highly positive reviews and high sales, and was seen as a return to form for the band.

Not related to the video game series.

Tracklist

Side one

1. "Painkiller" (6:06)
2. "Hell Patrol" (3:35)
3. "All Guns Blazing" (3:56)
4. "Leather Rebel" (3:34)
5. "Metal Meltdown" (4:46)

Side two

1. "Night Crawler" (5:44)
2. "Between the Hammer & the Anvil" (4:47)
3. "A Touch of Evil" (5:42)
4. "Battle Hymn" (0:56)
5. "One Shot at Glory" (6:46)

Principal members

• K. K. Downing - guitars
• Rob Halford - vocals
• Ian Hill - bass
• Glenn Tipton - guitars
• Scott Travis - drums

All! Tropes! All tropes blazing:

• Careful with That Axe: Rob Halford has a notable screeching vocal to begin with, and this is where he's at among his most intense.
• Chrome Champion: The Painkiller, as portrayed on the album cover.
• Darker and Edgier: Past Judas Priest albums are largely within power metal standards, but Painkiller really amped up the darkness in the instrumentations and subject matter.
• Epic Rocking: Both "Painkiller" and "One Shot at Glory" are above six minutes, bookending the album.
• Gunship Rescue: "Hell Patrol" was written as a tribute to the US Air Force during The Gulf War.
• Instrumental: "Battle Hymn"
• Intercourse with You: A darker variation; according to Rob Halford, "Touch of Evil" is about the narrator being tempted and falling into an unhealthy love.
  "You mesmerize slowly,
  Until I can't believe my eyes.
  Ecstasy controls me,
  What you give just serves me right."
• Longest Song Goes Last: "One Shot at Glory" is the longest song at 6:46, though including "Battle Hymn" would make it around 7:42.
• Lyrical Cold Open: "All Guns Blazing" opens with Rob singing the first two line a capella before the instruments kick in.
• Lyrical Dissonance: "Painkiller", an intense metal song about the savior of mankind.
• Messianic Archetype: The titular Painkiller is quite possibly the single most metal interpretation of this trope in human history, being a Winged Humanoid made of chrome that rides a motorcycle with buzzsaws for wheels who comes from the skies to battle an unnamed evil that had bought the planet and mankind to ruin.
• Miniscule Rocking: "Battle Hymn" is just under a minute, and is just an instrumental that leads up to a much longer "One Shot at Glory".
• Nothing Is Scarier: The giant carnivorous worm in "Night Crawler" is never seen by its victims, only heard.
• Perfectly Cromulent Word: "Hell Patrol" coins the terms "vaporapize" and "paratamize".
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: The chorus of "Painkiller" consists of this:
  "HE! IS! THE! PAINKILLER!
  THIS! IS! THE! PAINKILLER!
  WINGS! OF! STEEL! PAINKILLER!
  DEAD... LY! WHEELS! PAINKILLER!"
• Siamese Twin Songs: "Battle Hymn" and "One Shot at Glory".
• Winged Humanoid: The Painkiller, as portrayed on the album cover.

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