Stained Class

Article summary

Stained Class is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 10 February 1978 by Columbia Records. It is the first of three Judas Priest albums recorded with drummer Les Binks, as well as the first to feature the band's now well-known logo in the artwork. Musically, Stained Class is considered the album on which the band honed many of the elements of their hard-edged signature sound, dispensing with most of the progressive and blues rock overtones and softer ballads of previous efforts. The album features a cover version of "Better by You Better than Me" by Spooky Tooth, which became the subject of an infamous civil suit in 1990 which alleged the song subliminally influenced two teenaged boys to make a suicide pact. Other notable tracks include "Exciter", considered an early precursor to speed metal and thrash metal, and “Beyond the Realms of Death”, which is considered one of the band's greatest songs by many fans and frequently included in the band's live setlists. Upon release, Stained Class was a modest commercial success, reaching number 27 on the UK Albums Chart and becoming the band's first LP to enter the US Billboard 200; it was eventually certified gold in the latter country.…

Key claims

1. release date: 1978-02-10 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. release date: 1978-02-10 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the release date is "1978-02-10". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the release date is "1978-02-10". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
5. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

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