# Sin After Sin
**Sin After Sin** is a studio album by the band [Judas Priest](https://www.edgepedia.org/judas-priest), released on CBS with catalog number 82008.[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/judas-priest-sin-after-sin/) It was the band's first album for a major label, following *[Rocka Rolla](https://www.edgepedia.org/rocka-rolla)* and *Sad Wings of Destiny* on the independent Gull Records, and it is their only studio recording with the session drummer Simon Phillips.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/sin-after-sin-mr0000502060) The album's only single, a cover of [Joan Baez](https://www.edgepedia.org/joan-baez)'s "Diamonds And Rust", was not a hit, and the album reached a peak of number 23 on the UK Official Albums Chart, first charting on 14 May 1977.[3](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/rob-halford-best-of-judas-priest-interview) • [2](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/judas-priest-sin-after-sin/) "Starbreaker" and "Dissident Aggressor" are named as highlights up there with the band's best tunes.[4](https://www.loudersound.com/features/judas-priest-every-album-ranked-worst-best)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Label / catalog | CBS, catalog number 82008[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/judas-priest-sin-after-sin/) |
| Drummer | Simon Phillips, the only Judas Priest studio album with him[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/sin-after-sin-mr0000502060) |
| Chart peak | UK Official Albums Chart peak 23; first chart date 14 May 1977[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/judas-priest-sin-after-sin/) |
| Single | "Diamonds And Rust", the album's only single, and not a hit[3](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/rob-halford-best-of-judas-priest-interview) |
| Notable songs | "Starbreaker" and "Dissident Aggressor"[4](https://www.loudersound.com/features/judas-priest-every-album-ranked-worst-best) |
## Background
The band's move to CBS came through their new manager, [David Hemmings](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-hemmings), who secured them a budget of £60,000 for the album. A 1978 [Record Mirror](https://www.edgepedia.org/record-mirror) feature confirms the label change, describing the album as following *Sad Wings* "and also saw a switch in record company, from Gull to CBS"[5](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/70s/78/Record-Mirror-1978-10-28.pdf).
AllMusic characterizes the album as Judas Priest's major-label debut and credits Phillips's technical prowess with helping push the band's burgeoning aggression into overdrive[1](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/sin-after-sin-mr0000502060). Phillips did not stay with the band for the album's tour, which opened the way for Les Binks (James Leslie Binks) to join on drums, a tenure that covered two studio albums and one live album[6](https://rockinform.hu/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2001_12.pdf).
## Songs and singles
**The single.** A cover of Joan Baez's "Diamonds And Rust" was the album's only single and was not a hit. [Rob Halford](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-halford) recounted that someone at Gull sent the band the song with a note saying "Have a listen, we think you can do magic with this", and the band decided to "give it some big heavy metal balls". He drew a lasting lesson from the exercise: a cover has to become a Jekyll-and-Hyde thing, stamped with the band's own identity, as the band later did with [Fleetwood Mac](https://www.edgepedia.org/fleetwood-mac)'s "The Green Manalishi" and [Spooky Tooth](https://www.edgepedia.org/spooky-tooth)'s "Better By You, Better Than Me". Halford also credits the album with starting his lyric writing: "It's helped me write the lyrics for every Judas Priest album from Sin After Sin onward"[3](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/rob-halford-best-of-judas-priest-interview).
**Dissident Aggressor.** The closing track was added at the request of CBS after the recording was finished, according to the band's bassist [Ian Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/ian-hill), and it was not released as a single[7](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/judas-priest-ian-hill-life-in-10-songs-2026). [Glenn Tipton](https://www.edgepedia.org/glenn-tipton) plays guitars and piano on track 7, "Last Rose of Summer"[8](https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Judas_Priest/Sin_After_Sin/1402809).
## Chart performance and reception
The album reached a peak of number 23 on the UK Official Albums Chart, first charting on 14 May 1977 and spending six weeks in the Top 100[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/judas-priest-sin-after-sin/). A June 1977 Record Mirror piece noted the band "high up there in the album charts" with the album[9](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/70s/77/Record-Mirror-1977-06-11.pdf).
Retrospectively, the album is described as a transitional record, routinely overshadowed by the previous year's *Sad Wings of Destiny*, in which Judas Priest inched away from their moderately progressive roots and focused on the metal sound to come; "Starbreaker" and "Dissident Aggressor" are named as highlights up there with the band's best tunes[4](https://www.loudersound.com/features/judas-priest-every-album-ranked-worst-best). "Dissident Aggressor" was later memorably covered by Slayer on their album *South of Heaven*[4](https://www.loudersound.com/features/judas-priest-every-album-ranked-worst-best).
## Artwork
The album cover is inspired by Alexander Gordon's mausoleum at the Putney Vale Cemetery in London[8](https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Judas_Priest/Sin_After_Sin/1402809).
## References
1. [Sin After Sin – Judas Priest, Release Info, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/sin-after-sin-mr0000502060)
2. [SIN AFTER SIN – JUDAS PRIEST, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/judas-priest-sin-after-sin/)
3. ["Give it some big heavy metal balls." Rob Halford opens up about the classic tracks, LouderSound](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/rob-halford-best-of-judas-priest-interview)
4. [Every Judas Priest album ranked from worst to best, LouderSound](https://www.loudersound.com/features/judas-priest-every-album-ranked-worst-best)
5. [Record Mirror, October 28, 1978](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/70s/78/Record-Mirror-1978-10-28.pdf)
6. [Rockinform, 2001 December issue (PDF)](https://rockinform.hu/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2001_12.pdf)
7. [Ian Hill on the Judas Priest songs that have defined his career, LouderSound](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/judas-priest-ian-hill-life-in-10-songs-2026)
8. [Judas Priest – Sin After Sin, Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives](https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Judas_Priest/Sin_After_Sin/1402809)
9. [Record Mirror, June 11, 1977](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/70s/77/Record-Mirror-1977-06-11.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Metal and hardcore albums › Traditional heavy and thrash metal albums › Traditional heavy metal albums › 1970s traditional metal albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license