Advantages: It's different to anything else released by the band, therefore deserves a listen Disadvantages: maybe alienate a few fans
This is a very difficult album to review for me... the Priest were one of the first metal bands I became a fan of back in my teen days in 1978, so I've been with them every step of the way for the last 30 years now. Over that time they've released several classic albums... Stained Class, Killing Machine, British Steel, Screaming For Vengeance, Painkiller, and even the last album 'Angel Of Retribution'. They've also stuck out a couple of average albums... ... ...new one... heck, this one had me stumped from the day they announced the concept (what were they thinking of?), until I actually bought it and gave it a few listens.
Based loosely on the life and prophecies of Nostradamus, it's a double CD. A lot of it sounds like your typical Judas Priest material, but a lot of it is far from it. There are many pieces of music that 'link' the main songs, and these contain things you would not normally associate ...
Advantages: classic sound, solid performance, proper mastering, outstanding vocals Disadvantages: little new, only 52 mins, only 10 tracks,
Judas Priest has it's own history, but that's just how the most of the rock bands do, not mentioning heavy metal ones. With Rob Halford (one of very few artists who confessed their homosexuality not to mention even fewer in the world of heavy metal) on vocals with his incredibly vast potential, you can put this CD along with classics like Iron Maiden or Deep Purple, bringing back old school of archetypal rock where playing technique ... ...and more influence of digital sound processing before the music itself reaches the fans, but "Angel of Retribution" has its raw but at the same time genuine feel of leather and iron, let me put it this way. This is classic heavy metal, like this back in the days, when you were reading timeless magazine with the same title and enjoyed work of Luis Royo and Boris Vallejo and when the brand of certain motorbike was considered almost God-made... it is ...
Advantages: Good guitar riffs and interesting lyrics Disadvantages: Not much variety
I remember right from when I was very young, my mother would play me music by various rock and metal bands. Out of all of them, Judas Priest is the band that has stuck out most. The cover art is a very simple black and white photograph of the band, which is simple and yet very effective. It doesn’t stand out very well unfortunately, mainly because quite a few bands choose dark colours to decorate the inlays of the CDs.
This album features a whopping ... ...the album very good value for money. The tracks featured on the CD are:
1.] Judas Rising
2.] Breaking the Law
3.] Hell bent for leather
4.] Diamonds and rust
5.] Victim of changes 6.] Love bites
7.] Heading out to the highway
8.] Ram it down
9.] Beyond the realms of death
10.] You've got another thing comin'
11.] Jawbreaker
12.] A touch of evil
13.] Delivering the goods
14.] United
15.] Turbo lover
16.] Painkiller
17.] Metal Gods
...
Advantages: Same old priest with new found power, what more could you want? Disadvantages: Disadvantages? You've got to be kidding?
I'm sure I wasn't the only person a bit sceptical about this record, being the first in 14 years with Rob Halford back at the helm for Judas Priest, especially after the between years proved horrible for both the band and Halford's solo career. It takes no more than a few seconds for any worries to dissappear. This is easily one of the best metal albums in a long long time, and keeps Priest sounding relevant in a world filled with so many talented ... ...The album kicks off exactly where "Painkiller" left of all those years ago, with "Judas Rising" being more than just a statement of intent, but almost a declaration of war. It immediately fills you with the same sense of power that was characteristic of the Priest of old. From here the album just progresses to include some of the greatest heavy moments of their career ("Demonizer" and "Hellrider"), and even continues the bike and leather imagery ...
Advantages: Beautifully loud Disadvantages: Such bands' seem to be long forgotten..
...band create a piece of British rock history. The first track, 'Rapid Fire,' virtually says it all, if this isn't rock's interpretation of a dozen machine guns firing then I don't know what is. The speed of this band really is quite worrying. The pace is unimaginable, and I also don't agree that it is a good idea to visualize the band playing this track, you'll only make yourself sick. Complete with it's grinding factory like sound effects like an ... ...up on the pedestal of British rock. The only other true fore runner of the sound they pigeon holed between punk and progressive rock, was Iron Maiden. Both bands, it was true had us hypnotised by their leads, high pitched wails, unlike rivals, AC/DC who, had yet to hand over the microphone to an equally high creaming Young. Places like Donnington would not have ever been the same without them…
So, if the album title and the cover (picturing a razor ...
