Judas Priest Album: “Nostradamus”

First off..I'm a Judas Priest fan since 1978 when I first heard Stained Class, now 30 years later I'm still a "Defender of the Faith", Priest have a produced a "Masterpiece"..I know some of you will argue this till the cows come home, but this is the kinda album I have been waiting for. It's alike a journey back to the early 70's with Sad Wings of Destiny, Rocka Rolla, Sin after Sin and so forth. There's no 4 chord "Hits" on this cd, Priest have really worked hard on making "Progressive" music on this album. If you want Painkiller, or British Steel then go put those albums on, because what you have here is a journey of Light and Dark Themes, some Agressive some very melodic and soft. Rob Halford has given you the perfomance of his life on this album, some beautiful compositions on this really make his voice shine. So if your into the more Symphonic, Progressive, Melodic Rock and Metal this will be to your liking. If you into the more Heavy Jugulator & Painkiller type then you'll be dissappointed...again I love Priest and I'm happy they did something different instead of the same old "Formula".

Highlights are:

Calm before the Storm

Nostradamus

Sands of Time

Death

lost love

Persecution

Exiled

Oh my god This Disk is soooo good!!! Im a hardcore Priest fan. Im not just saying its great cause I love them so much either. But You have to understand that Priest never hyped this as the next Painkiller. They said from the beginning that this would be an experimental album that takes you on a journey. And they accomplished their goal.

There are alot of keyboards and they fit in with the material perfectly.

I thought Angel Of Retribution was amazing as well but had no desire for them to repeat them selves. I will say that the first time I heard it I knew it would take a few listens. I mean its over 2 hours of music. Dont try to judge it in 1 listen.

Favorite tracks so far:

Pestilence and Plague

WAR

Exiled (listen to the Terminator Drums, great!!!)

This is Priest like youve never heard 'em. And thats not a bad thing.

If you like it when bands dont rehash the same crap over, and over, and over I think you will enjoy this.

Judas Priest is back!

Well, with that over with, now that they're back (their 2nd album since reuniting with Metal God Rob Halford), what are they doing?

What they're doing is exactly what KISS did in the Fall of 1981 - they're dividing their fans into two groups thanks to a new Concept Album. For KISS it nearly killed their career. What will Nostradamus do for Judas Priest this late in their career?

Well, let's discuss the album first. Disc 1 is largely unlistenable. Sure, there are some strong points here and there, but not much that resembles the style that Judas Priest has been known for over the last 30+ years. There's a lot of synthisizers and synth strings (or are those real strings?), and dark, mellow interludes in between almost all of the "real" songs. This is not a disc to put in for a long drive. Or a short one, for that matter.

Disc 2 is better, but still suffers from the same problems as disc 1. The upside of this disc is that there are some real songs here, and it begins to resembe JUDAS PRIEST in more spots. In fact, there are a few tracks that sound downright Sad Wings of Destiny-esque. If disc 1 had been as good as disc 2 there would be a lot less 1 star reviews here. There would still be some, but a lot less than there are now. Even so, disc 2 is still not a good candidate to pop in the CD player while driving.

Nostradamus is the type of album that went over well in the 70's - put on the album, put on your headphones, break out the lyric sheet and credits and listen intently for an hour or so. It's ambitious, it's theatrical, and it is very deep. There are more than a few Pink Floyd type moments here, and that's pretty shocking coming from Judas Priest.

Unfortunately, there is not a lot of memorable material on the album - the riffs just aren't there (not like a Judas Priest album should have, anyway), and the strong vocal hooks are few and far between. There is some substance to be had, but not enough to make up for all the failings of this set.

Maybe if they had taken the best 12 SONGS and released that as the new album it would have worked better. I'm sure it would have, but unfortunately what we're left with is an overblown concept album that just doesn't work they way they seem to have intended.

If you are a Judas Priest fanatic, then by all means - pick this one up! There are some songs here that are pretty good. If you're one of those fans who skips an album here or there because it just isn't up to the usual standards then this might be a good one to pass on.

The Elder has been dividing KISS fans for over 26 years. Nostradamus seems to have done that in 26 hours! It's not all bad, but it isn't the album that most of Judas Priest's fans wanted.

The big question is this... With The Elder everyone knew KISS would be back (and they came roaring back with Creatures of the Night), but at this late stage of Priest's career it's a little less certain that THEY will come roaring back with a killer album (or any more new albums). Let's hope they can.

I am STUNNED!!! Wow, what a masterpiece! The mighty Priest have outdone themselves!

I've been a fan since the beginning, Rocka Rolla, and their early masterpiece, Sad Wings of Destiny. Over the years, nothing had ever topped that...until now.

Rob's still got THE VOICE. Exquisite! He doesn't have to use harsh vocals to sound heavy, and he can still reach those highs. On this album, he not only proves he's still got it, but he reaches even higher, stretching his already masterful range. He even ventures into operatic singing that is just incredible!

Musically, Priest show that they have indeed evolved. Rather than trying to copy the new generation of metal, they have produced a masterful work that is totally their own...advanced JP! Rich, orchestral, complex, deep, heavy, emotionally evocative, musically mature...this is most definitely their FINEST WORK.

And that, for those in the know, is saying quite a lot.

If people want candy coated dog barf, go pick up some of the overdubbed sampled to death crap the youth of today call music.

But here we are many years after the Beast was Unleashed, loud and as powerful as ever. For those who knew this was coming I hope you weren't expecting a Judas Priest version of something like Tommy! This is so much more than that, it has a message all can understand. And if you have trouble the music will certainly help you.

This isn't for the faint of heart it is still 100% Judas Priest, with the powerful riffs of the Dowling and Tipton etc but the Vocals of Rob Halford is superb.

Visions, Alone and Revelations get repeated the most as these are a little darker than most - in the same category as Touch of Evil was.