Judas Priest has a new album? They are touring? Rob Halford? What happened?
I’m not sure how or why the group got back with singer Rob Halford, but it took about fifteen years for it. A lot has happened in that time. One thing is for sure, Judas Priest still has what it takes to pump out quality metal.
The album opens with a killer guitar entrance. As the music fades up it is joined with a vocal scream. As if to signify, we know what you want, and we’re going to hit you with it full force. “Judas Rising”, the albums opening track, is a perfect entrance.
From there song after song is well done and I found myself turning up the volume of my stereo. At track seven though, “Angel”, the band slows down for a mellow metal moment. Instead of trying to blend this into the rest of the album, they kind of let track six fade down, and then when I was expecting another song like the rest “Angel” comes on. It didn’t feel like they forced it on the album though. They let it play out, and then with track 8, “Hell rider”, they use another great guitar solo entrance to bring us back to speed. As if saying “here we go again, are you ready?”
But the album is winding down to the end. How much more could there be? Well, “Lochness’, the tenth and final track, is a thirteen minute song and worth every second.
All and all it felt like the band put a lot of effort into this project, and it shows. If you’re a Judas Priest fan you will love this album. If you’re a metal fan this is a great album to pick up. It doesn’t stop there though. If you have a friend that thinks they are a metal head and “have never heard of Judas Priest” (like a few people I know) then this is a perfect album for them to cut their teeth on. Even if someone just kind of likes metal music, this is worth a listen.
Judas Priest didn’t have anything to prove. They\'re Rock Legends. It felt like they wanted to prove a point though. Maybe they wanted to show the world that after all these years, all the “internal conflict”, they’re here and not going anywhere. Reunited, they are going to remind everyone just who Judas Priest is.
What ever it was, this album exceeded my expectations. I can’t wait for the next one. Well done guys. Well done and welcome back!
If you don’t know who Judas Priest is please visit http://www.judaspriest.com/
"Angel of Retribution" is on sale January 3, 2005 from Sony.
