Judas Priest have announced the 50th anniversary "remixed and remastered" edition of their Rocka Rolla album. The release will be available digitally on Friday, September 13 in the US and Canada (pre save here). CD and vinyl will be available in North America on Friday, November 22.
“It’s great to look back and see our future unfurl - from little metal acorns mighty metal oaks do grow. One small step for metal, one giant leap for metalkind - a lifelong metal journey began with these songs. This album lit the eternal metal flame - as real and fresh as ever five decades on.” - Rob Halford
In 1974 before the eternal metal flame was ever lit - Judas Priest were simply five young musicians in their 20’s - Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill, KK Downing and John Hinch - from the Black Country an area of working-class towns in England - excited to have signed a record deal.
With limited funds, the band recorded during the less expensive night shift hours. The album Rocka Rolla was born during these sessions, under the guidance of producer Roger Bain who was brought in by the label and who had previously produced Black Sabbath.
Judas Priest learnt over time how to record an album - and the experience of working in a professional recording studio helped prepare them for the next album to come - one of the most definitive and foundational heavy metal albums of all time - Sad Wings Of Destiny
But with Rocka Rolla the band was not there for the mixing, the mastering process or any final approvals - they didn’t have a say when it was finished or how it ultimately sounded. Although the band felt positive about how the songs sounded in the studio, they were particularly disappointed when they received a finished copy of the album in the mail to listen to for the first
“I took the record… and I put the needle onto the groove and I sat back. And I just slowly started to deflate, deflate,” said Rob Halford. “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.”
The band never had a future say in Rocka Rolla in the intervening decades - the re-releases and early-era compilations… but that was about to change.
During Judas Priest’s 50 Heavy Metal Years tour in 2022, something remarkable was happening behind the scenes. The label that originally signed Judas Priest in 1974, Gull Records and its owner David Howells, decided to sell the masters and publishing rights for the two albums the label owned, Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings Of Destiny - and he contacted Glenn Tipton’s music publisher, Michael Closter of Reach Music Publishing.
After discussing this opportunity and collaborating with Judas Priest’s manager Jayne Andrews, a compelling offer from Reach Music was made to Gull Records. Terms were accepted. An acquisition agreement was prepared, and after almost 50 years from the release of these albums, Reach Music and its label Exciter Records - in partnership with Judas Priest, was now the owner of Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings of Destiny.
The first order of business was to retrieve the original multitrack tapes from storage (which miraculously still existed and kept in usable condition for all these decades) - and to begin the process of resurrecting Rocka Rolla from these multitrack recordings.
With the task of delving back into time and putting the tapes of Rocka Rolla back on the recording studio console, Judas Priest put their full faith in Tom Allom - known in the Judas Priest world for producing the iconic British Steel and Screaming For Vengeance albums among many others.
As Tom Allom stated, “What we did with the multitracks is quite unusual, to completely remix an album from that era, from scratch. 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.”
The results of this remixed version are now available for posterity - the artist-approved version of Rocka Rolla is finally here for fans to add to their Judas Priest collection.
Rob Halford: “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. 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.”
Glenn Tipton: “This is where it all started for us and 50 years later, we have a great re-mixed and re-mastered version of the original...and the band are still going strong!”
Ian Hill: “Recorded during nighttime sessions to save costs, over a few weeks in June and July 1974, on a shoestring budget, Rocka Rolla was always going to have its flaws! But walking into my local record store and seeing it on a shelf amongst all your idol’s records was the proudest feeling in the world, and I thought, ‘Whatever happens now, nothing can change that!’ Now re-mixed by Tom Allom and re-mastered, Rocka Rolla has finally got the production it deserved!”
K.K. Downing: “At last! This! The first Judas Priest album can be listened to and enjoyed in the way it was always intended to be!”
Rocka Rolla (50th Anniversary Remixed & Remastered) tracklisting:
"One For The Road"
"Rocka Rolla"
"Winter"
"Deep Freeze"
"Winter Retreat"
"Cheater"
"Never Satisfied"
"Run Of The Mill"
"Dying To Meet You"
"Caviar And Meths"
(Top photo, L to R: KK Downing, John Hinch, Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill - 1974)
