Metal Works '73–'93
| Metal Works | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Greatest hits album by Judas Priest | ||||
| Released | 18 May 1993 | |||
| Recorded | 1977–1990 | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer |
Judas Priest Roger Glover Tom Allom Chris Tsangarides | |||
| Judas Priest chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Metal Works is a compilation album by Judas Priest, released in 1993. A remastered edition was released in 2001, with the same track listing. All material was previously available. All albums to that date are represented with the exception of their debut, Rocka Rolla, although a live version of "Victim of Changes" (from Unleashed in the East, with what appears to be an American sounding audience dubbed on at the end, instead of the familiar Japanese one from the album version) is used rather than the studio version on Sad Wings of Destiny. This is because the band no longer owns the rights to their first two albums.
The band selected the tracks themselves, and made comments in the sleeve-notes.
As an album it showcases versatility of their musical career. This album also brought Rob Halford back into the fold for a short while following his departure from the band due to internal tensions.
The album cover by Mark Wilkinson (who had done the band's cover art from Ram It Down to Nostradamus) combines elements from the band's previous releases. In the foreground are the Hellion from Screaming for Vengeance and the Painkiller from its eponymous 1990 album. Under the Hellion's body is a razor blade, a reference to the album British Steel. The lower left shows the female hand holding a gear shift knob from Turbo and a mannequin wearing sunglasses and a studded leather headband representing Killing Machine/Hell Bent for Leather. The lower right corner features the door and columns from Sin After Sin, the metallic head from Stained Class enveloped in smoke, and the Metallian from Defenders of the Faith. At the end of the trail of flames in front of the Metallian is the shaft of light from Point of Entry. Additionally, one of the chimneys on the factory in the lower right corner is the band's familiar trident logo. The only studio album represented on this compilation, but not in the cover art, is Ram It Down.
Track listing
| Disc one | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
| 1. | "The Hellion" | Rob Halford, K.K. Downing, Glenn Tipton | Screaming for Vengeance (1982) | 0:41 |
| 2. | "Electric Eye" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Screaming for Vengeance (1982) | 3:39 |
| 3. | "Victim of Changes" (live) | Al Atkins, Halford, Downing, Tipton | Unleashed in the East (1979) | 7:12 |
| 4. | "Painkiller" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Painkiller (1990) | 6:06 |
| 5. | "Eat Me Alive" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Defenders of the Faith (1984) | 3:34 |
| 6. | "Devil's Child" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Screaming for Vengeance (1982) | 4:48 |
| 7. | "Dissident Aggressor" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Sin After Sin (1977) | 3:07 |
| 8. | "Delivering the Goods" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Killing Machine (1978) | 4:16 |
| 9. | "Exciter" | Halford, Tipton | Stained Class (1978) | 5:04 |
| 10. | "Breaking the Law" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | British Steel (1980) | 2:35 |
| 11. | "Hell Bent for Leather" | Tipton | Killing Machine (1978) | 2:41 |
| 12. | "Blood Red Skies" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Ram It Down (1988) | 7:50 |
| 13. | "Metal Gods" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | British Steel (1980) | 4:08 |
| 14. | "Before the Dawn" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Killing Machine (1978) | 3:23 |
| 15. | "Turbo Lover" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Turbo (1986) | 5:33 |
| 16. | "Ram It Down" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Ram It Down (1988) | 4:48 |
| 17. | "Metal Meltdown" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Painkiller (1990) | 4:14 |
| Disc two | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
| 1. | "Screaming for Vengeance" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Screaming for Vengeance (1982) | 4:43 |
| 2. | "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Screaming for Vengeance (1982) | 5:09 |
| 3. | "Beyond the Realms of Death" | Halford, Les Binks | Stained Class (1978) | 6:53 |
| 4. | "Solar Angels" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Point of Entry (1981) | 4:04 |
| 5. | "Bloodstone" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Screaming for Vengeance (1982) | 3:51 |
| 6. | "Desert Plains" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Point of Entry (1981) | 4:30 |
| 7. | "Wild Nights, Hot & Crazy Days" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Turbo (1986) | 4:39 |
| 8. | "Heading Out to the Highway" (live) | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Priest...Live! (1987) | 4:40 |
| 9. | "Living After Midnight" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | British Steel (1980) | 3:26 |
| 10. | "A Touch of Evil" | Halford, Downing, Tipton, Chris Tsangarides | Painkiller (1990) | 5:45 |
| 11. | "The Rage" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | British Steel (1980) | 4:44 |
| 12. | "Night Comes Down" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Defenders of the Faith (1984) | 3:58 |
| 13. | "Sinner" | Halford, Tipton | Sin After Sin (1977) | 6:43 |
| 14. | "Freewheel Burning" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Defenders of the Faith (1984) | 4:22 |
| 15. | "Night Crawler" | Halford, Downing, Tipton | Painkiller (1990) | 5:45 |
