Ram It Down [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster] (CD - 1988)

Includes liner notes by Judas Priest.

Digitally remastered by Jon Astley.

Personnel: Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing (guitar); Ian Hill (bass guitar); Dave Holland (drums).

Audio Remasterer: Jon Astley.

Liner Note Author: Judas Priest.

Recording information: Puk Studios, DK (1988).

Photographers: P.G. Brunelli; Ross Halfin; Ray Palmer; Tony Mottram.

Arrangers: Glenn Tipton; K.K. Downing.

Judas Priest attempted to take the mainstream rock world by storm with 1986's TURBO, with its melodic tendencies and polished production. It performed respectably on the charts but wasn't the big crossover smash the band had hoped for. 1988's RAM IT DOWN proves that the real Priest was always lurking just under that high-gloss rock sheen.

Resuming the band's previous straight-ahead heavy metal direction, RAM IT DOWN is not as lethal-sounding as its follow-up, 1990's PAINKILLER, and it has one or two relapses into pop-metal territory, including a cover of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode." However, with highlights such as the title track and "Blood Red Skies," the album shows that Judas Priest was well on the way back to its previous heavy metal glory days.

After the failed experiment of Turbo, Judas Priest toned down the synths and returned to the basics, delivering a straight-ahead, much more typical Priest album with Ram It Down. The band's fan base was still devoted enough to consistently push each new album past the platinum sales mark, and perhaps that's part of the reason Ram It Down generally sounds like it's on autopilot. While there are some well-constructed songs, they tend toward the generic, and the songwriting is pretty lackluster overall, with the up-tempo title track easily standing out as the best tune here. And even though Ram It Down backed away from the territory explored on Turbo, much of the album still has a too-polished, mechanical-sounding production, especially the drums. Lyrically, Ram It Down is firmly entrenched in adolescent theatrics that lack the personality or toughness of Priest's best anthems, which -- coupled with the lack of much truly memorable music -- makes the record sound cynical and insincere, the lowest point in the Rob Halford era. Further debits are given for the cover of "Johnny B. Goode." [The 2002 Columbia/Legacy reissue adds two bonus tracks: live versions of "Night Comes Down" and "Bloodstone."] ~ Steve Huey minimize