Dissident Aggressor

Written by guitarists Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing with a lyric by lead singer Rob Halford, this song takes place in Berlin, Germany. The word "dissident" doesn't appear in the lyric, but it means a dissenter, typically someone who opposes the political establishment. Considering the history of Germany in the 20th century, the song can have many different interpretations with historical significance. It's clear that the subject is dealing with violence and brainwashing with the lines: "My mind is subjected to all," "Exploding, reloading, this quest never ending, until I give out my last breath." Fortunately, Rob Halford explained the song's meaning and origin in a 2014 Songfacts interview. "It's about the Berlin Wall in 1970 something or other," he said. "I couldn't sleep, so I went out for a walk. I went to the Berlin Wall and I walked up on top of a boxy-looking post thing. A watchtower thing. It was in November, it was freezing cold, and I was looking over from West Berlin, which is all brightly lit up - pubs were up and everything. And the East side was just dead. It was pitch black, no lights were on, and there were these Russian guys looking back at me in binoculars. That was the seed for what that song talks about, about 'I know what I am, I'm Berlin.'" The Berlin Wall separated the Communist East Berlin from West Berlin from 1961-1989, when it was torn down. In 1990, Germany was reunified.

This was released on Sin After Sin, Judas Priest's third album. Newly signed to Columbia Records, they were teamed with Deep Purple bass player Roger Glover to produce it. Within a week, they booted Glover, convinced they could do it better themselves. They were wrong: after struggling in the studio, they convinced Glover to return, which he did. The album wasn't a huge breakthrough but got the band moving in the right direction as they honed their songwriting and live act. A few years later, they were one of the biggest bands in metal.

This song was covered by Slayer on their 1988 album South of Heaven. Halestorm also included the song on their 2013 album ReAniMate 2.0: The CoVeRs eP.