Judas Priest "Evil Fantasies" (live)

Judas Priest Living after Midnight 12" single (CBS, 1980)

Do Judas Priest need an introduction? It's been a decade or so since lead vocalist Rob Halford came out, and he's still the only major player in the world of heavy metal to do so. Anyhow, today's song is one of their few rarities. It was recorded at the same time as their killer live album Unleashed in the East, but didn't appear on the album or the bonus four-track EP that came with the Japanese pressing or the bonus three-track EP that came with the Dutch version. Halford's voice was shot when the concerts were recorded (he was ill), so he rerecorded his vocals later, hence the long-running joke album title Unleashed in the Studio. You can hear his voice cracking quite badly on the intro to this one. XD Unleashed in the East is one third of the holy triumvariat of 1970s live heavy metal albums. The other two are, of course, UFO's Strangers in the Night and Thin Lizzy's Live and Dangerous.