After the failed experiment of
Turbo,
Judas Priest toned down the synths and returned to the basics, delivering a straight-ahead, much more typical
Priest album with
Ram It Down. The band's fan base was still devoted enough to consistently push each new album past the platinum sales mark, and perhaps that's part of the reason
Ram It Down generally sounds like it's on autopilot. While there are some well-constructed songs, they tend toward the generic, and the songwriting is pretty lackluster overall, with the up-tempo title track easily standing out as the best tune here. And even though
Ram It Down backed away from the territory explored on
Turbo, much of the album still has a too-polished, mechanical-sounding production, especially the drums. Lyrically,
Ram It Down is firmly entrenched in adolescent theatrics that lack the personality or toughness of
Priest's best anthems, which -- coupled with the lack of much truly memorable music -- makes the record sound cynical and insincere, the lowest point in the
Rob Halford era. Further debits are given for the cover of
"Johnny B. Goode." ~ Steve Huey
