ARTIST: Judas Priest
ALBUM: Redeemer of Souls
LABEL: Epic/Columbia
RELEASE DATE: July 8, 2014
Still Screaming
Written by Silas Valentino
Judas Priest has been preaching out of its gospel of metal for close to 45 years and, with Redeemer of Souls, 17 albums—let that settle in.
Two impressive qualities hover above the Priest: their ability to consistently produce metal records with heavy tenacity and their song titles. After hundreds of song titles Judas Priest can still crank out metalapocalyptic-sounding names. “Sword of Damocles,” “Redeemer of Souls,” “Metalizer;” if you took all the song titles and converted them into those one-worded refrigerator magnets, you’d be able to craft some excellent, doomsday sentences.
It’s been a long time since 1982’s Screaming for Vengeance and time has been a bitch on Rob Halford’s vocal chords yet that doesn’t prevent the “Metal God” from belting out some epic vocals. Matching Halford’s power is Judas Priest’s famous duel guitars that still sound like a blitzkrieg raining down on the Sunset Strip. Even though famed original guitarist K.K. Downing left the group in 2011, his replacement—Richie Faulkner—can keep up. Original bassist Ian Hill still acts as the general’s sword leading the charge and Scott Travis has been playing drums since before the Internet caught on making him and his explosive drumming a staple in the band.
2008’s widely acclaimed Nostradamus album featured synthesizers and multiple slowed down tracks. But it only takes 16 seconds into Redeemer of Souls’ album opener “Dragonaut” to shred away doubt that their first album in six years will be a shallow repeat. A lightning bolt strikes and in its ashes erupts a tasty guitar riff mirrored with a glowing lead guitar part that sounds like shooting laser gun that cannot be controlled. Halford soon comes in with a devilish greeting of “Welcome to my world of steel/ master of my domain.” He’s been on his throne for decades (ass-less chaps included) and it doesn’t appear as if Halford is getting up any time soon.
Midway through the record the Priest take a left turn into ballad territory with “Hell and Back” but remember this is still Judas Priest. So before you can try and wrestle your Zippo out of your Levi’s, the band blasts in and tears through their chorus with “Out of the fire and into the black/ We’ve been through it all/ We’ve been to hell and back.” Halford sounds damn serious as he sings about how the leather gets scoffed after years of use and if there’s one man in metal who’s had to persevere for being who he is, it’s Rob Halford. The leather comment is an all-too-nice touch.
The undisputed standout is the penultimate track “Battle Cry” where the duel guitars battle it out as if the loser has to endear the iron maiden. If you still need convincing that Judas Priest deserve a place in metal today, treat yourself to five minutes of thunderous trashing.
Usually when a band that’s past its heyday releases a new album fans look sideways relying on the past to justify the credibility. But that’s not the case for the Priest. Though things will never be as cutting edge as their once-dominating British steel, Judas Priest continue to prove their worthiness as they near their fiftieth year anniversary.