'Priest's' first release with a major record label, and while the production is a lot better than 'Rocka Rolla' and the excellent 'Sad Wings of Destiny', they don't seem to follow up with the style laid down on the previous release. The darkness and brooding depth of 'Sad Wings' is less evident and overall 'Sin After Sin' has a lighter and less intense atmosphere. All said this is still another classic from 'Priest', just probably not what you would expect after hearing the preceding release.

First up is hot rocking 'Sinner' a quality opener, which starts off as a solid rhythm heavy galloper and builds into an intricate plodder full of glorious technical guitar work, great apocalyptic lyrics which 'Rob Halford' works wonders with and overall makes for just another 'Priest' classic. Following on is a cover of 'Joan Baez's' 'Diamond and Rust' and they make an excellent job of it, vocally 'Rob Halford' excels with a more subtle and melodic stance than we are use to, the drum and bass work keeps the track rolling over very well and helps make this a superb rendition. The tempo is lifted with the riff driven 'Starbreaker', lyrically it's a little lacking but the strong riffs and quality solos make this a decent rocker. I'm less impressed with the ballad 'Last Rose of Summer', while it's a well performed number, it's a bit too slow and sloppy for 'Priest' and to me sounds like it should be from 'Rocka Rolla' sounding as it does. 'Let Us Prey / Call for the Priest' kicks off as fairly ordinary slower number, quite reminiscent of 'Queen'. Fortunately it picks up into a pretty tough rocker driven by tantalising guitar work and some excellent sporadic duelling. Next up is the overlooked jewel 'Raw Deal' a choice track laced with splendid vocals ranges, driving guitar work and a sweet grooving rhythm. 'Here comes the Tears' is similar in approach to 'Last Rose of Summer' only with a more depressing manner, would fit in well on 'Sad Wings' with it's dark atmosphere, unfortunately the excruciating approach is really off putting. Things pick up again with the crunchy 'Dissident Aggressor' a fast paced, powerful track, similar to 'Sabbath' in parts, the fret work is quirky but outstanding and makes for a great album closer.

As with all the remastered 'Priest' albums, two bonus tracks are included, the first is a fine rendition of 'Race with the Devil' later covered by 'Girlschool', this version is about on a par with theirs, a little less intense but better for the male vocals. The second is a live cut of 'Jawbreaker' and while it's a quality rendition, it seems a little strange including a song which at the time of 'Sin After Sin' wasn't yet written?

In my estimation not as good as 'Sad Wings of Destiny', as it lacks the depth and atmosphere, despite this there are still plenty of quality cuts here to please any 'Priest' fan.