Friday, July 4, 2014

Judas Priest - Redeemer Of Souls

Heavy/Traditional Metal
Sony
2014










1. Dragonaut
2. Redeemer Of Souls
3. Halls Of Valhalla
4. Sword Of Damocles
5. March Of The Damned
6. Down In Flames
7. Hell & Back
8. Cold Blooded
9. Metalizer
10. Crossfire
11. Secrets Of The Dead
12. Battle Cry
13. Beginning Of The End

Let me just be blunt for a moment here and say that it's been some time since Judas Priest has made anything remotely exciting. As a band they have been much more relevant for what they have done than what they are doing since the Painkiller album. My expectations for this album thus had to be tempered with a bit of realism. Having heard some samples in advance of getting this though, I do have to admit a sliver of hope for something more than just an old band putting out an album just because of cash and expectations. I heard something in those samples that just sounded a bit encouraging. Life you might say. Still, I wasn't ready to get all psyched about it and went into this with modest expectations.

When I first started listening to this album I've gotta say that I was encouraged. From the start there are some pretty solid songs. Dragonaut, Redeemer Of Souls, and March of the Damned all hooked me pretty immediately with their grounded in classic Priest yet updated sort of power sound. Think of something like Defenders meets Painkiller, but not as balls out as the later and with a bit of the polish of Ram It Down. All in all a good approach for modern Priest in my book. All three of those songs have solid hooks and I was all prepared to write that Priest had actually found some life again.

Well, then you get past the first 5 tracks and Redeemer Of Souls pretty much just sputters and dies. To put it quite simply everything becomes so simplistic beyond this point that it's barely worth writing about. These are really the most basic riffs and song structures anyone could possibly shit out and this does not sound like the work of an experienced band. The sound itself isn't that bad, but there is just no excitement, energy, or imagination to anything for the rest of the album. Think of basic rocking metal and you could probably write these songs. Hell if they were on some Priest cloned power metal band no one would give a flying fuck and write them off as amateurs probably. From the half baked funky rhythm in Hell & Back to the basic blues of Crossfire to the snails pace boredom of Secrets Of The Dead and closing with a lame as hell ballad in Beginning Of The End there's just nothing of value to be found for the bulk of the album. A few good tracks up front just can't carry this level of uninspired filler. Not by a long shot.

This is the kind of album that you just shouldn't let the front loaded nature of fool you. Sure there are some good single quality tracks, but holy shit is this not a complete album. The singles only succeed in lifting this to an average album and just barely. Judas Priest's metal mine appears to be exhausted at this point and I can't imagine them hitting it rich again so to speak. Every once in awhile they find a nugget of the old gold, but it's not nearly enough to make this even worthy of mention next to their classic material. A new Judas Priest album is almost an obligatory listen for a metal fan based on their legacy, but don't expect anything other than missing that classic period even more after listening to this.

Highlights: Redeemer Of Souls, March Of The Damned, Dragonaut

Rating - 2.5/5

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