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

Judas Priest - Nostradamus

Heavy Metal
Columbia/Epic

2008

Disc 1

1. Dawn of Creation (Intro)
2. Prophecy
3. Awakening (Interlude)
4. Revelations
5. The Four Horsemen (Interlude)
6. War
7. Sands of Time (Interlude)
8. Pestilence and Plague
9. Death
10. Peace (Interlude)
11. Conquest
12. Lost Love
13. Persecution

Disc 2

14. Solitude (Intro)
15. Exiled
16. Alone
17. Shadows in the Flame (Interlude)
18. Visions
19. Hope
20. New Beginnings
21. Calm Before the Storm (Interlude)
22. Nostradamus
23. Future of Mankind

So Judas Priest think they can be an epic band with orchestra and concept albums now. Who isn't skeptical? This is a band who crossed over from straight up hard rock on Rocka Rolla and has always been more about rocking anthems for the bulk of their career. Well I guess it didn't work for them too well on Angel Of Retribution so maybe something more fresh was in order. The real question is... is adding orchestral elements or doing a concept album really that fresh? Certainly more than a few power metal bands and others have used the orchestral touch and concept albums? Got some classics to measure up to there.

I'll start on a positive note and say that the interludes, which I generally don't like, come off pretty seamlessly and aren't musically devoid bore pieces like on the last Iced Earth for instance. Also, they're not largely instrumental and do have some good little transitional passages by Rob Halford. Doesn't come off as fluff filler to me which is nice.

Now I'm just going to break this down disc by disc as I feel it necessary here. Disc 1 is largely heavier tracks (in relative terms), but don't expect a lot of speed. Most of the songs creep along trying to sound sinister with a largely mid-ranged vocal delivery by Rob Halford. I find the general problem with this disc both musically and vocally is that it lacks any kind of fire. There really isn't much force behind the riffs and certainly not out of Rob Halford who barely touches the higher end of his vocals. No real memorable screams here and for me that's a let down. Actually, I'll get to the point here and say this whole disc is pretty much a letdown. Pestilence And Plague is really the only one that has any energy behind it to me as the guitar doesn't just chug it's way along like most of the tracks. By far the worst example of this is Death which ranks up (or down) with Judas Priest's worst songs featuring Rob Halford. It's like Priest doing some of the worst doom metal imaginable. Dun.... Dun.... messenger of deaaaath.... dun.... dun. All I can say about this track really is it's a great cure for insomnia. Throughout the various tracks you do hear some good soloing but this boring lead work is a general problem.

Disc 2 starts off and largely stays in an entirely different vein. The first 3 songs (not including interludes and intros) all have a pretty soft and somber feel to them. Exiled and Alone give me a bit of a feel of Beyond The Realms Of Death with their depressed feel and Visions has a polished flow that reminds me more of a track like Blood Red Skies. All of these songs come at once and are the best things the whole package has to offer. These 3 tracks actually manage to have feeling and for the first time this feels like a big concept album with a purpose to me. The one nitpick I have with this part of the album is it does all come at once and all the way through track 7 you don't really hear Anything heavy. Starts to get a bit old with this one disc all being so mellow. Then when track 7, the title track of this whole nonsense, kicks in I start wishing for the mellow stuff again. I thought about trying to count the number of times this lame song says the word Nostradamus but got bored and gave up. Much like my first times trying to listen to this album and get through Disc 1 really. After that we get one more track which overstays it's welcome at 8:25 of nothing really interesting and that is the end.

So what's the verdict you ask? Pretty mediocre is all I can say. For such a long album there really aren't that many standout tracks and 3 out of 4 come from the more mellow side. Not exactly a solid metal album in my book. Stack this up against the ton of power metal bands who use orchestral elements or classic concept albums like the crimson idol, seventh son, or mindcrime and this one falls way short of the mark. Maybe that's a harsh bar to set, but when you're a classic metal band coming into the trend of concept albums about 20 years too late that's what is going to happen. This is nothing new, this is nothing original, and this is nothing interesting.

Highlights: Exiled, Alone, Visions, Pestilence And Plague

Rating - 2.0/5

Judas Priest - Angel Of Retribution

Traditional Metal
Columbia Records

2005

1. Judas Rising
2. Deal With the Devil
3. Revolution
4. Worth Fighting For
5. Demonizer
6. Wheels of Fire
7. Angel
8. Hellrider
9. Eulogy
10. Loch Ness

Well here it is... the long awaited return of Judas Priest. I must say that on many levels this album does deliver what it promised. The sound is unmistakably back to classic Priest and the Ripper era is pretty well forgotten like a wrong turn along the way.

The majority of the songs here stick to the sort of mid-tempo traditional approach that was prevelant throughout the majority of their career. It doesn't sound like any one particular album, but there are reminders of all the classics from the 70s to Defenders. A couple tracks like Hellrider and Demonizer also give hints of the Painkiller sound, but aren't really to the level of that release. There are 3 ballads which in my opinion is a bit ballad heavy and they aren't the stronger parts of this album. The one strikingly different song from the rest of Priest's catalogue would be Lochness which is 13+ minutes and has a moody feel to it.

With all that said... is this something that blew me away? No not really. I think this album is destined to be overrated by critics just because it is in fact the return of Priest. Overall though these songs aren't the most memorable in their catalogue. To be honest I've heard some Priest-like bands such as Cage or Primal Fear put out better. A good solid step in the right direction, but I'm not one to get caught up in the spirit and go OMFG PRIEST 5/5!!!1!!1!! A solid album, but it's not really anything I'd call mind blowing. Still... kudos tp them for getting back on track.

Highlights: Judas Rising, Lochness, Deal With The Devil

Rating - 3.0/5