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On February 10, 1978, the album “Stained Class” by the iconic British band Judas Priest was released.
This album is the heavy metal group's fourth studio album and was released by CBS Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States. “Stained Class” marks the first collaboration of drummer Les Binks, who joined the band the previous year.
Considered by specialized critics as one of Judas Priest's most outstanding works, this album has had a significant impact on the development of thrash metal and speed metal, as well as on the so-called New Wave of British Heavy Metal.
The album's lyrics deal with themes ranging from the occult and science fiction to fantasy and futuristic concepts, making it one of their darkest productions.
In 2001, “Stained Class” was remastered and included two additional tracks: “Fire Burns Below”, recorded during the “Ram It Down” sessions, and a live version of “Better By You, Better Than Me”.
In addition, in 2005, German magazine Rock Hard ranked it 307th on its list of the 500 greatest rock and metal albums of all time.
CBS art director Roslaw Szaybo designed a new, iconic logo for the album, originally painted in gray to stand out against the background of the cover.
Szaybo also sculpted a metal head with a stain on the eye and part of the face, symbolizing human corruption, which is pierced by a laser at the level of the skull, representing judgment on the tyranny of that tainted class.