Painkiller is a 1990 gold-certified album by British heavy metal band Judas Priest, their 12th studio album. The album was recorded at Miraval Studios, Brignoles, France in early 1990, and mixed at Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum, the Netherlands later that year. It was the first album with current drummer Scott Travis, who was recruited from the band Saints Or Sinners. The original LP, cassette and CD versions were released on 3 September 1990. A re-mastered CD was released in May 2001. The album received a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 20 February 1991 33rd Annual Grammy Awards.
Following the disappointing sales of the album Ram It Down,[citation needed] which was itself an attempt at reconciling with the public over the perceived sellout, Turbo,[citation needed] Judas Priest decided to return to a less commercial sound by bringing some speed metal elements to the mix; which resulted in their most critically acclaimed album in a decade.
Following the tour for this album, singer Rob Halford left the band in May 1992 and maintained little contact with his former bandmates throughout the 1990s. The reason for this was the growing tension in the band. Halford wanted to create his new band, Fight, and had to legally leave Judas Priest to allow his creation to be sold. Judas Priest declared that they did not exist anymore after Halford had left. However, they would record and tour a few years later, with singer Tim 'Ripper' Owens, on the albums Jugulator and Demolition.
