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Stained Class
Studio album by Judas Priest
Released	February 10, 1978
Recorded	October-November 1977
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	54:10
Label	CBS, Inc. (UK) & Columbia Records (US)
Producer(s)	James Guthrie & Judas Priest
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Judas Priest chronology
Sin After Sin (1977)	Stained Class (1978)	Killing Machine (1978)

Stained Class is the fourth album by the British heavy metal group Judas Priest, released in 1978.

Considered by most fans to be one of the high points of Judas Priest's catalogue, Stained Class showcased a more streamlined songwriting style while not compromising on the band's trademark heavy metal riffs. It also introduced their classic logo, replacing the Gothic Script logo of earlier releases. This was considered by many to be the last of the four "classic" Judas Priest albums.

An unfortunate legacy of Stained Class is the 1990 civil action brought against the band by the families of two teenagers who killed themselves after listening to "Better By You, Better Than Me." The suit alleged that the band recorded messages on the song that, when played backwards, said “do it, do it.” The suit was eventually dismissed. Ironically, "Better..."" is not even a Judas Priest original, but a cover of a 1969 track by Spooky Tooth (written by that band's keyboardist Gary Wright). The album was remastered in 2001, with two bonus tracks added. In 2004, UK magazine Metal Hammer named Stained Class the heaviest metal album of all time.

1. "Exciter" (Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton) – 5:34
2. "White Heat, Red Hot" (Tipton) – 4:20
3. "Better By You, Better Than Me" (Gary Wright) – 3:24
4. "Stained Class" (Halford, Tipton) – 5:19
5. "Invader" (Halford, Ian Hill, Tipton) – 4:12
6. "Saints in Hell" (K.K. Downing, Halford, Tipton) – 5:30
7. "Savage" (Downing, Halford) – 3:27
8. "Beyond the Realms of Death" (Les Binks, Halford) – 6:53
9. "Heroes End" (Tipton) – 5:01

Note, this is the only Judas Priest album to have been written by all five members (one of Hill's few contributions to the band, and the only contribution by then-drummer Binks).

1. "Fire Burns Below" (Halford, Tipton) – 6:58
2. "Better By You, Better Than Me" (Wright) – 3:24 (Live)

• Rob Halford: Vocals
• K.K. Downing: Guitars
• Glenn Tipton: Guitars, Keyboards
• Ian Hill: Bass Guitar
• Les Binks: Drums (Binks wrote the entire guitars part for "Beyond the Realms of Death")

• Stained Class at the Judas Priest Info Pages site, Accessed July 10, 2005.
• The Judas Priest Trial - 15 Years Later, Accessed on July 10, 2005

Judas Priest

Rob Halford | K. K. Downing | Glenn Tipton | Ian Hill | Scott Travis

Former Members: Al Atkins | Tim 'Ripper' Owens | John Pattridge | John Ellis | Alan Moore | Chris Campbell | John Hinch | Les Binks | Dave Holland | Simon Phillips

Discography

Albums: Rocka Rolla | Sad Wings of Destiny | Sin After Sin | Stained Class | Hell Bent for Leather | Unleashed in the East | British Steel | Point of Entry Screaming for Vengeance | Defenders of the Faith | Turbo | Priest...Live! | Ram It Down | Painkiller | Jugulator | Live Meltdown | Demolition | Live in London Angel of Retribution

Compilations/Box Sets: The Best of Judas Priest | Hero, Hero | The Collection | Genocide | Metal Works | The Best of Judas Priest: Living After Midnight Metalogy | The Essential Judas Priest

DVDs: Live in London | Electric Eye | Rising in the East | Live Vengeance '82