Cause & Effect: Turbo

by Chris Akin

Since 1974, Judas Priest has established themselves as one of the go-to bands in the history of heavy metal. They have played to millions of fans, have sold 50 million albums over their career - a testament to their ability to stand the test of time and continually create music that wowed their fans time in and time out. There was one major exception though.

In 1986, when the entire hard rock and heavy metal world was embracing “hair metal”, Judas Priest embraced the trend as well. Very much like fellow heavy metal artist Ozzy Osbourne did with his The Ultimate Sin release, Judas Priest adapted their look and their sound to meet the times. “The 80s was a magical decade”, remembers Turbo guitarist KK Downing. "When we started writing in the middle of the 80s, there’s such a 'good feel' factor with everything, particularly in music. It seemed like all of us bands of rock and metal who struggled to make ourselves known and make ourselves accepted as a seriously great genre of music...I think in the mid-80s we were there. We were kind of celebrating. It’s a celebration."

With the release of Turbo in 1966, Judas Priest fully engulfed themselves into the world of heavy metal that was being popularized more by MTV than by their hardcore music fans. The album immediately took backlash from their fans. It was not well received by hardcore fans that had flocked to the band on their previous two bestselling albums, Screaming for Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith. Instead, it was shunned by most for its commercialized sound and relationship-based lyrics.

For a teenage Chris Akin though, the album fit in perfectly with where he was at as a person. “I was a 17 year old kid when Turbo came out”, the author remembers. “I was a big fan of hair metal anyway, so having a favorite like Judas Priest come along with an album that fit so perfectly next to Van Halen’s 5150 or Ozzy’s The Ultimate Sin just rocked for me.” Reflecting on that time and remembering how the album caused (and still causes) a rift in their fan base, Akin decided it was time to analyze the album for the third installment of his Cause & Effect series.

The new book, entitled Cause & Turbo, highlights many of the events that were going on within Judas Priest at the time, as well as many of Akin’s own personal recollections from that period in his life in 1986. In the end, Turbo is an album that has never changed the minds of hardcore fans, but brought in a new group of fans that stayed with them through their most recent works today. When trying to define the album and where it fits in Judas Priest’s history, KK Downing simplifies just where it sits.

Audible Audio

Published December 31, 2018

About the author

Chris Akin is not the kind of person you would expect to write a book.

Chris Akin is the kind of person you would expect people to write books about.

For over 20 years, Chris Akin has been a larger and louder than life character in the media of one of the countries most major markets – Cleveland, Ohio. Chris has held a myriad of positions in the Cleveland media. He got his start in the media writing for the biggest free music and entertainment magazine in Cleveland – SCENE Magazine. Additionally, he was a regular contributor for magazines such as the short-lived BUZZARD BONE, the online zine BLOGCRITICS and Chicago’s MIDWEST BEAT, to name a few. Never being satisfied, Chris soon decided that he would expand past those projects and start his own magazine. So he started MUSIC’S BOTTOM LINE; a no-bullshit magazine that challenged the Cleveland print medium to keep up as it became the most respected publication for pure music coverage. While the other magazines in town focused on selling advertising, MUSIC’S BOTTOM LINE kept it’s bottom line focused on music.

At the same time, Chris took to the radio to become one of the most acknowledged and feared radio hosts in Cleveland. Hosting THE METAL SHOW on Cleveland’s biggest radio station, 100.7 WMMS and then later at 92.3 WXRK, Chris found incredible success on the strength of testing every boundary that program directors, the FCC and just common decency would allow. Regularly in trouble with station management, but more beloved for their hard hitting style, THE METAL SHOW took the Cleveland Metal Scene by storm for well over a decade. Still, Chris needed more, so he went to the internet where his rebellious ways could go unchallenged, joining THE CLASSIC METAL SHOW and converting the show from a mostly music program to a ferocious, attacking show that had no guilt about anything.

Chris Akin was on top of the world with his radio and written ventures, but when you live that high on success for a lot of years, you generally forget to prepare yourself for any sort of fall whatsoever.

That fall came on June 22nd, 2012 when his wife of over 23 years left him and soon filed for divorce. Unprepared emotionally and completely unable to cope with a failure such as this, Chris quickly spiraled into an out of control depression, considered taking his own life, and through a lot of surprising circumstances, made the decision and found the way to change his life for the better.

LITTLE VICTORIES is the story of a shock jock’s emotional struggles. It’s a real world, raw emotional look at a year that saw not only a shattering divorce, but a rebirth of a person who had spent his whole life raging against everyone, everything and who purposely pushed every button to come off as the most powerful person in any room. It profiles the victories as well as the defeats; some of which are so sickening in emotional scope that they leave you questioning how his friends ever stuck around to see him through the tough times.

…and the friends? They are numerous, highlighted by a group Chris calls “The Core 9″. This collection of 9 friends are who the book is truly about, as these are the people that saw through the blustery public facade of “Chris Akin” and challenged him at every turn to get better.

LITTLE VICTORIES is a definitive story about learning how much you hate things about yourself, and working hard to fix them. It proves that almost any change is possible if you truly want it. It showcases how far you can come, even in the most dire of circumstances. In short, it shows that no matter how bad things get, nothing is final until you quit on making it better. In Chris Akin’s case, he never quit for a second.

Reviews

[Chris Huska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Album Review

I used to listen to Chris on The Classic Metal Show, so I was pretty happy to see this. Being a couple years younger than him, Turbo and Priest ...Live were my first albums by Judas Priest, so I wasn't able to compare them unfavorably like other fans. I liked how he talked about every song and put it in context with his life at the time.
Like his podcast, I really care about his opinion in music, even if I don't agree with everything he says.
It wasn't til I got to college that I talked this album out with someone- I always loved 1986 for music and this album was one of my favorites- Reckless along with Heading Out To The Highway are still my favorite Priest Songs.
There's not a lot of good Priest books out tnere, so I appreciate this short effort. Recommended to heavy metal fans of the mid 80s.

[Bobby Daugherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book on the release of the "Turbo" album by Priest and the reaction.