Remastered Rocka Rolla album artwork

Available digitally today; CD & Vinyl available in U.S. & Canada on November 22, 2024

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, September 13, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- “It’s great to look back and see our future unfurl — from little metal acorns mighty metal oaks do grow. One small step for metal, one giant leap for metalkind — a lifelong metal journey began with these songs. This album lit the eternal metal flame — as real and fresh as ever five decades on. - Rob Halford

In 1974, before the eternal metal flame was ever lit, Judas Priest were simply 5 young musicians in their 20s – Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill, KK Downing and John Hinch – from the Black Country, an area of working-class towns in England, excited to have signed a record deal.

With limited funds, the band recorded during the less expensive night shift hours. The album ROCKA ROLLA was born during these sessions, under the guidance of producer Roger Bain, who was brought in by the label and who had previously produced Black Sabbath.

Judas Priest learned how to record an album over time, and the experience helped prepare them for the next album to come - one of the most definitive and foundational heavy metal albums of all time, SAD WINGS OF DESTINY.

But with ROCKA ROLLA the band was not there for the mixing, the mastering process or any final approvals — the band had no say in the sound of the record and Halford admits at first listen he and the band were “disappointed” by how it sounded. The band never had a future say in ROCKA ROLLA in the intervening decades — the re-releases and early-era compilations… but that was about to change.

During 2022's Judas Priest’s 50 Heavy Metal Years tour, something remarkable was happening behind the scenes. The label that originally signed Judas Priest in 1974, Gull Records, decided to sell the masters and publishing rights for the two albums they label owned, ROCKA ROLLA and SAD WINGS OF DESTINY, and the label contacted Tipton’s music publisher, Michael Closter of Reach Music Publishing.

A deal was worked out, and after almost 50 years from the release of these albums, Reach Music and its label Exciter Records - in partnership with Judas Priest, was now the owner of ROCKA ROLLA and SAD WINGS OF DESTINY.

The first order of business was to retrieve the original multitrack tapes from storage and to begin the process of resurrecting ROCKA ROLLA. Judas Priest put their full faith in Tom Allom, known for producing the iconic Priest albums BRITISH STEEL and SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE albums, among many others.

Tom Allom states, “What we did with the multitracks is quite unusual, to completely remix an album from that era, from scratch. We didn’t add anything musically or re-record any of the musical parts. We’ve remixed and rebalanced them using the technology and modern tools we have now, to sonically upgrade them, and make them sound more powerful.”

The results of this remixed version are now available for posterity — the artist-approved version of ROCKA ROLLA is finally here for fans to add to their Judas Priest collection.

Rob Halford: “I’m just thrilled… because it just goes to show you when you get an expert involved in a project, it’s likely that you have a second chance. And I think that Tom Allom is giving us a second chance here with the way that a lot of the elements were lost in ROCKA ROLLA. And it’s also nice, like a really nice feeling, especially to attach it to what will be a 50th anniversary moment. It’s just a beautiful feeling.”

Glenn Tipton: “This is where it all started for us and 50 years later, we have a great re-mixed and re-mastered version of the original...and the band are still going strong!”

Ian Hill: “Recorded during nighttime sessions over a few weeks to save costs on a shoestring budget, ROCKA ROLLA was always going to have its flaws! But walking into my local record store and seeing it on a shelf amongst all your idol’s records was the proudest feeling in the world, and I thought, ‘Whatever happens now, nothing can change that!’ Now re-mixed by Tom Allom and re-mastered, ROCKA ROLLA has finally got the production it deserved!”

STREAM ROCKA ROLLA

Chip Ruggieri
Chipster P.R & Consulting, Inc.
chip@chipsterpr.com

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