30 Years Ago: Judas Priest Release ‘Turbo’

Judas Priest released the album 'Turbo' on this day 30 years ago (April 14, 1986).

Turbo is the tenth studio album form Judas Priest, and it marked a change in the bands subject matter and music, with the addition of synthesizers and more commercial songs. Judas Priest's driving hard rock that fans were used to had been substituted for a more light, synth-driven sound. While Turbo sold well, eventually going platinum in the U.S. and cracking the top 20 of the Billboard 200 chart, fan reaction was quite negative.

Singer Rob Halford referred to the negativity of Turbo when speaking to U.K. magazine Kerrang! He said, "If ever their was a controversial record in terms of what people might have expected from us, it's Turbo. It was the fact that we moved into a different atmosphere, but that's where we were at that particular time. Some of the technological advances like the pedal boards that Glenn and KK used were giving us options for different sounds and experimentation. Personally I think there are still some great tracks on that album... It's one of the recordings that divide opinion."

As a longtime Judas Priest fan, I personally like the album. It's brings me back to a rockin good time of my youth. And I loved the 80's!