Judas Priest are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their debut album Rocka Rolla with a newly remixed and remastered edition.
With fresh mixing work from longtime Priest producer Tom Allom (British Steel, Screaming for Vengeance), the reissue is set to release digitally on September 13th and on vinyl and CD on November 22nd.
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Released in 1974, Rocka Rolla pre-dated Judas Priest’s heavy metal sound and saw the young British band playing a brand of bluesy hard rock with elements of psych and prog. It was recorded on a small budget during cheap overnight studio sessions by the group’s then-lineup of singer Rob Halford, guitarist Glenn Tipton, bassist Ian Hill, guitarist KK Downing, and drummer John Hinch.
As Halford explained in the press release for the new reissue, the members of Priest were mostly satisfied with their work in the studio, but upon receiving the first pressing of Rocka Rolla, the final sound of the record left them disappointed.
“I took the record… and I put the needle onto the groove and I sat back. And I just slowly started to deflate, deflate,” Halford recalled. “I was so disappointed with the way it was sounding… All of us were — we’d all worked so hard to get to this place. And now this music that we know when we play live is roaring — the heavy metal is roaring even in those early primitive days — none of that was coming out of the speakers.”
In the passing decades, Rocka Rolla was reissued in its original form — without the band’s input — until a business exchange for the masters and publishing rights took place in 2022. Rocka Rolla and its follow-up, Sad Wings of Destiny, were acquired by Glenn Tipton’s music publisher, Reach Music Publishing, from Gull Records owner David Howells.
Thankfully the original master tapes for Rocka Rolla were stored safely, and Allom was able to begin the process of remixing the album and giving it “the production it deserved,” in the words of Ian Hill.
“What we did with the multitracks is quite unusual, to completely remix an album from that era, from scratch,” Allom elaborated in the press release. “So to clarify what we’re doing, we’re not adding anything musically. We’re not re-recording any of the musical parts… We’re remixing them, rebalancing them using the technology we have, the modern tools we have now, to sonically upgrade them, and make them sound more powerful.”
Halford was overjoyed with the results.
“I’m just thrilled… because it just goes to show you when you get an expert involved in a project, it’s likely that you have a second chance,” Halford said. “And I think that Tom Allom is giving us a second chance here with the way that a lot of the elements were lost in Rocka Rolla. And it’s also nice, like a really nice feeling, especially to attach it to what will be a 50th anniversary moment. It’s just a beautiful feeling.”
Added KK Downing (who is no longer in the band): “At last! This! The first Judas Priest album can be listened to and enjoyed in the way it was always intended to be!”
Fifty years later and Judas Priest are still “rolling,” as the Metal God put it in a recent interview in which he reassured fans he has no plans to retire anytime soon. The band is set to continue its tour supporting Invincible Shield on Friday (September 13th) in Montreal (get tickets here).
You can pre-save the 50th anniversary reissue of Rocka Rolla digitally via this location. Check out the artwork and tracklist below.
Rocka Rolla (50th Anniversary Remixed & Remastered) Artwork:
Rocka Rolla (50th Anniversary Remixed & Remastered) Tracklist:
01. One For The Road
02. Rocka Rolla
03. Winter
04. Deep Freeze
05. Winter Retreat
06. Cheater
07. Never Satisfied
08. Run Of The Mill
09. Dying To Meet You
10. Caviar And Meths