The disadvantage of being born after the fact is missing out of some of the context of certain events as they happened. “Screaming for Vengeance” came out in 1982, one year before I was born, so I was unable to fully appreciate its initial impact and success for what it was. At the time I was taking in, what I believed to be all of Rob Halford era Judas Priest era, and those hits songs on the radio were what they must have been best known for. Right?
Judas Priest had a challenging start. Their first several albums were nothing to fantastic, I appreciate them, but they are weak albums compared to what would be to come. It was not until 1980 with the inclusion of drummer David Holland that Priest would have their first drummer to last more than a single album, and for the first time the band had some consistency, maybe that helped with the creative process, or maybe it just took some time for the band to hone their craft and improve their song writing. It is a rare thing for things to come together on the eighth attempt, but that is what happened.
“Screaming for Vengeance” was the first album of Judas Priests to connect the dots. From track to track, the entire album flows like no Priest album before it. The first track “The Hellion” is a short instrumental hard hitting opener that only last forty-one seconds, but it brings forth “Electric Eye,” this second track is the second biggest hit from the album and a great classic metal track about the destruction of personal privacy under oppressive rule, at least that is what I think it is about. It never gets dull, immediately following “Electric Eye” is “Riding on the Wind.” “Riding on the Wind” is an apex metal/rock song, one of the best on the album. The title track does not disappoint, “Screaming for Vengeance” has a perfect theme, not just in song, but to represent the album as a whole. Rebellion is always the heart of rock and roll, and vengeance often has a lot in common with that. Rob Halford’s vocals are killer on the title track, and this plays before the big hit, “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming.”
It really is a great album from start to finish, and I hate to predictable, but if I had to choose a favorite, it would be the big hit “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming.” The first three Priest songs I knew included “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” and among those three champion songs I always did enjoy this song uppermost.
The clearest pull-through message for “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” is embracing life and living it to its fullest. It is a celebration of being alive, seizing your opportunities, and living your dreams, and never let anyone stop you from doing it. Defiance is also a strong theme in “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming,” and this attitude to stand up to, and against if need be, from the forces that stand in your way. The dream of being a rock star is rift with probable failure. Most dreams that are worth pursuing have a high probability of failure, which is one of the reasons they are so worth attempting. Halford’s words in “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” suggesting an antagonist of negative that is less an active force but more so an acceptance of submission, the sting of letting go and giving up.
The end of the chorus says all this in two simple lines:
“You think I'll let it go you're mad,
You got another thing coming.”
There are a lot of dark themes in music, and metal music has fairly constant aggression to it that makes many songs develop an element of angst. What is rebellion without disdain for the status quo? What is revolution without a willingness to go to war? What is defiance with without potential violence? When an enemy can be pointed to, typically we expect some anger, but Judas Priest has something special in “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” all the aggression is positive, focused in on the motivation to live and prosper. All the angst is directed towards thoughts of giving up. It makes “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” a really aggressively upbeat song, and a great motivation to get out there and makes things happen.
I think this powerful defiance against apathy assisted in making “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming.” Obviously the first and most relevant reason “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” is popular and so highly acclaimed is the simple truth that is a very well constructed and fantastically performed song, but often as we have seen too many times that is not enough to always connect with people. The general population often need something more, something special to latch onto, and “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” manages that by being possibly the best, get off your ass and never give up on your dreams, sort of rock song.
- King of Braves
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