Remasters, The (Limited Edition Collectors' Box) - Judas Priest

Advantages: Some TRUE gems found here...
Disadvantages: Some tracks maybe remind to much of each other.

...The year is 1991 and it has been 17 years since the release of their debut album "Rocka Rolla" and now once again they are back again with Rob Halford as frontman with "Painkiller". "Brittish steel", "Point of entry" and "Defender of faith" were albums that were released in the early 80s and are still today considered by a lot if people to be on of the best heavy-metal albums out to date. Their two latest albums before this one were not as successful as those and now the band really needs a killer album to increase the falling popularity of Judas Priest. Is this album up for the job? The answer is simply YES!! The album starts with the titletrack and it sounds better than anything they ever done before! This track is fastpaced, very aggressive and Rob does a hell of a job on the vocals, the first solo is absolutely brilliant ... "THIS... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: A nicely diverse album of early material.
Disadvantages: Poor production and bad decisions.

...to communicate, which are quite terrible even for a band not renowned for its poetry. The final song is a missed opportunity, the introduction to epic live favourite 'Caviar and Meths' that was apparently 'too long' to fit onto the record. The guitars work brilliantly to compliment each other despite playing different tunes, but this snippet primarily makes me sad and angry that we didn't get more of it. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend 'Rocka Rolla' to anyone who enjoys the early Judas Priest albums up to the excellent 'Stained Class,' before a desire to be American took over and affected the quality of the band's output for a decade of highs and lows. The production is a big problem, extending to the background hiss that still hasn't been eliminated by re-masters, but many of the songs fit excellently into the band's established style... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

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... Turbo, and Ram It Down come to mind... but this 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... Read review

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