Although nobody denies the potency of the Halford/Tipton/Downing writing team, Judas Priest’s first few studio records lacked punch on the production side. By 1979, their hellbent-for-leather touring lifestyle had honed them into a killing machine on stage, and although Unleashed in the East was originally intended as a Japan-only release, wiser heads prevailed after they heard Tom Allom’s razor-sharp production of the tapes. And make no mistake: these versions of “Exciter,” “Running Wild,” and “Victim of Changes” rip the originals to shreds.

– Jeff Treppel