Screaming for Vengeance by Judas Priest

Screaming for Vengeance, Judas Priest's eighth studio album, hit the racks in July 1982, and it's the sound of the Birmingham metal machine learning to be sleek and brutal at the same time. British Steel and Point of Entry had trimmed the fat and chased the radio; with Tom Allom producing, this one keeps that lean build but bolts the heavy back on: harder riffs, tighter hooks, no wasted motion.

Rob Halford shrieks like a man possessed, Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing trade guitar sparks, and Ian Hill's bass and Dave Holland's drums keep the engine running hot underneath. "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" became the hit, a song that turned into one of the band's calling cards and a radio staple that never went away. It was the record that finally cracked North America for Priest, going double platinum in the States and platinum in Canada.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.