Ram It Down

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Ram It Down

Studio album by Judas Priest
Released	May 17, 1988
Recorded	1987 Puk Studios , Copenhagen,Denmark
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	58:12
Label	Columbia Records
Producer(s)	Tom Allom
All Music Guide link
Judas Priest chronology
Priest...Live! (1987)	Ram it Down (1988)	Painkiller (1990)

Ram It Down was an album recorded and released by Judas Priest in 1988. The album was remastered in 2001, with two live tracks added.

In 1986, Priest intended to record a double album called Twin Turbos of which half would be lighter, more commercial rock, and the other half would be similarly polished but heavier and less synth-driven. As it happened, record labels being notoriously timid about double albums, the project was split into two releases, with the heavier Twin Turbos material being relegated to this later album. While it largely failed to capture the metal public's approval, elements such as the more technical drumming, high speeds, and sci-fi themes prefigured their return-to-form classic, Painkiller. Judas Priest had also done a rendition of Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode, which was the only single from this album. This would be the final album with long-time drummer Dave Holland.

1 Track listing
- 1.1 2001 Bonus Tracks
2 Miscellanea
3 Personnel
4 External link

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Glenn Tipton/Rob Halford/K.K. Downing, unless noted otherwise

"Ram It Down" – 4:48
"Heavy Metal" – 5:58
"Love Zone" – 3:58
"Come And Get It" – 4:07
"Hard As Iron" – 4:09
"Blood Red Skies" – 7:50
"I'm A Rocker" – 3:58
"Johnny B. Goode" (Chuck Berry) – 4:39
"Love You To Death" – 4:36
"Monsters Of Rock" – 5:30

[edit] 2001 Bonus Tracks

"Night Comes Down" (Live bonus track) – 4:33
"Bloodstone" (Live bonus track) – 4:05

[edit] Miscellanea

A tribute to the song "Blood Red Skies" from this album can be seen in the Japanese comic (Manga) Battle Angel Alita Last Order. In Book 5, during a battle scene the support character Sechs has the words "Blood Red Skies" and "You won't break me" written on the underside of her boots, a clear reference to the title and part of the lyrics.

The song Johnny B. Goode was orignally made for a video soundtrack, and the song that was supposed to replace it (which would have been a bonus track) was lost somewhere during the Halford-Ripper limbo. This is the reason Ram It Down is the only remastered disc with no bonus "track" & just 2 live tracks.

The song "I'm A Rocker" in this album references the other Judas Priest song "Thunder Road", which can be found as a Bonus Track on the remastered album "Point of entry". In both songs the lyrics read "it's something in the blood [...] Wouldn't change it even if I could".