Review of the Album "Point of Entry" by British Heavy Metal Band Judas Priest

Point of Entry is the 1981 studio album by British heavy metal band Judas Priest and it is the second studio album to have Dave Holland playing the drums. Ian Hill mentioned that he has heard that many fans think that Point of Entry is the band’s weakest album musically. What you are about to find out is that this assertion is a misconception.

Point of Entry might as well be an acquired taste for some of us because of the guitar sound and musical approach. The band was coming off of their commercial success for their previous album British Steel so it is understandable that they would have been under pressure to perform and deliver the musical goods once again.

"Heading Out to the Highway" is a song that describes what can happen when somebody gets behind the wheel and he tries to take a chance to go on the drive of his life. He is determined to do it his way, take that chance before he falls. He knows that even if he gets it wrong, he has a chance to make it up as there are thousands of miles of highways. He knows that he has nothing to lose at all by trying to go on the ride of his life.The song has a melodic chorus that even I sing along to! It also ends with a very high Rob Halford vocal extension.

The song called "You Say Yes" is a humorous song about someone who has a drinking problem but he collapses to the floor when he finds out that he is being teased because he cannot tolerate it anymore.

The song "Don’t Go" is a relationship song about a person’s lover ending the relationship and leaving the next morning. He wonders why she is acting like a fool. He wonders what she is doing to him and he wonders “how could she possibly do this to me?” Once again, Rob Halford takes his vocals to a melodic approach and we hear a different side of him. Judas Priest is one of those bands that at least in the 1970’s and 1980’s was solid enough that there really was not a weakest album for them.

Hot Rockin' is a song about someone that is looking for peace of mind and to have a great time where there are plenty of lights and action. Sometimes in our stressful daily lives we need to find ways to let the stress and tension loose! Lessening the stress also increases the chances of getting peace of mind which the song makes reference to.

"Turning Circles" is a song about looking at your life situation and if things aren’t going right it is time to make that change and turn life around by changing your approach.

"Desert Plains" is a song about someone who is convinced that he has to return to his lover. The full moon is present and the sky is black and he is driving home from these desert plains and he brings love from desert plains.

Point of Entry is not necessarily a bad album; rather it is just different than what the band had written before. It does not have the excitement and fast riffing of songs such as Exciter or the power ballad Beyond the Realms of Death. It is however, a solid hard rock album that has good messages in the songs for the most part.

As to the fact that some fans think that this is Judas Priest’s weakest album, I wouldn’t necessarily agree with this viewpoint. It depends what a listener is looking forward to. If you are looking for an album with a lot of innovation and creativity, then Point of Entry won’t satisfy you. But if you are looking for a good hard rock style album from one of the world’s best heavy metal bands then Point of Entry is a good album.