Ram It Down

Ram It Down is Judas Priest's 11th studio effort, released in 1988, and generally seems to get the reaction of 'it's okay'. Not an awful JP album, but far from the best. So it's criminally underrated, in my opinion. I agree there's only three or four songs which really stand out; but in general, Ram It Down is not a bad record. The titular opener, 'Ram It Down' is a decent, classic rock track, with 'Heavy Metal' proving one of the album's highlights. 'Come And Get It' is another, with fast-paced guitar and some of Halford's best vocals yet. There's a playful, lowdown attitude to it that works so well. 'Blood Red Skies' is a poetic, 7-minute power house, and 'I'm A Rocker' isn't all that bad either. 'Love You To Death' is as sleazy as Priest go, and 'Monsters of Rock' has that grand, open sound to it which closes the CD off nicely. The two live bonus tracks are pretty decent, too. But where Ram It Down really shines is Judas Priest's stomping cover of timeless 'Johnny B. Goode'. It's better than the original in my opinion, with blistering solos, crashing drumwork and Halford giving his best falsetto yet. No, Ram It Down is not some amazing hidden gem. But it's definitely worth a listen, and provides a number of tracks to get acquainted with. The CD itself looks nice; though I've always found the 'The Remasters' text on the CD's spine a bit distracting from the actual cover. Still, I definitely recommend checking this out if you love the Priest, or just the metal.

I really like this album. I actually don't like the title track which is always included on best of compilations as there are much better songs on this album. By far and away the best song on here is Come and Get it which is a blinding rock number with crunching guitars, great riffs and attitude laden vocals. It reminds me slightly of 'You Got Another Thing Coming' from the Screaming for Vengeance album. Monsters of Rock has a slightly creepy feel to it which I love and the Priest have used this to great effect before on tracks like Nightcrawler and the Ripper. I wouldn't say it is up there with those two songs but it is in that vein. A lot of fans have badmouthed their cover of Johnny B Goode but I think its fine, not the best song on the album but I don't dislike it and actually think its quite funny to hear the Priest doing this song. Heavy Metal and Hard as Iron show Priest off doing what they do best twin guitars and soaring vocals. I would recommend that any fan buy this album or a least give it another listen. I couldn't believe it had taken me so long to get a copy.

Judas Priest's eleventh studio album Ram It Down is hugely underrated in my opinion. It contains some very strong material and performances from the band. I understand fully why this album is harshly overlooked. The band's previous album Turbo soured a lot of people towards the band in the mid to late eighties with its commercial leanings. Ram It Down and Turbo were originally intended to be a double album together. Consequently, many people put that together and choose to ignore Ram It Down. Ram It Down is actually a great album, much heavier than Turbo with far less of the synths or the glam/hair tinges. Some of the songs on Ram It Down are almost Thrash Metal in places, with double kicks going off, heavy palm muted riffs and it seems unfair to lump this in with Turbo as `that pair of sellout albums.' Ignoring the style and direction of the album for a minute, the actual music is top notch. Tracks like `Hard As Iron,' `Come And Get It,' and the furious title track are all excellent and deliver everything you could want from Judas Priest in terms of energy, performance and vocal range and all that before you even talk about the guitar solos on the album. Overall, Ram It Down is a great Judas Priest album and I'd urge you not to overlook it just because of its origins, if you try it you may just be surprised.

As long standing JP fan I loved this album when I first heard it in the 90s but I couldn't get a copy as it was out of print. Bought it recently and it hasn't aged at all. Great album.

Cracking album by the Priest...

Great album with cracking tracks from the Metal Gods

The final track Monsters of Rock is worth any buying cost alone! Absolutely fantastic Hard Rock/Metal!!! The Priest Rocccckkkk!!!

Title track aside this is probably the weakest Priest album pre split from Halford. Albums either side are absolute bangers but this is lightweight in comparison.