Release date: June 17
Genres: Traditional Heavy Metal
Label: Epic
I suppose most of us were pretty sure that Priest were all but dead and buried a few years ago, until the reunion was announced and they kicked off the recordings for what would eventually be a pretty good and dignified comeback in “Angel Of Retribution”. Little did we expect that they were lining up for following that with their most experimental and ambitious album yet.
As far as production goes, it's a pretty good production, but that won't cut it for a band like Priest. Gone is the clean, punchy production of “Angel Of Retribution”, and instead we're getting a sound that's not bad by any stretch, it's just not right. The drums lack a bit of punch, it's a tad messy with all the orchestral pieces, but above all the lead guitars sound atrocious, screeching for vengeance in every solo. Obviously an album is not failed on such thin grounds, but there's more dirt to this album. Judas Priest were never much for penning poetry (a few brilliant lyrics 30-or-so years ago aside), so opting for a conceptual piece where the lyrical side is very important is a very bold move. When writing a regular album, a few lyrical clunkers can be excused, but not so when you're penning an album telling an entire life's story. The band has indicated in interviews, and by creating this album, that Nostradamus was a very interesting chap and that writing a metal opera about him is indeed a commendable and just task. Well, if that's the case, then you'd think Halford could've cooked up something better than “I am Nostradamus!” for the chorus. Halford never was much of a guy to create vivid stories with his lyrics, so that nigh every song is filled to the brim with predictable and dull rhymes along the lines of "face/race/soul/control" comes as no surprise. Most of the vocal melodies and lyrics come in short stabs of a half dozen or so of syllables at a time, which of course lends itself to stumbling, silly rhymes. Add to that a dodgy vocal delivery by a guy whose prime years are well behind him, and there's not all that much left to enjoy.
Judas Priest are at their best when they churn out up-tempo rockers (a few songs in the vein of "Beyond The Realms Of Death" aside) that are around 3-6 minutes in length, and do we see many of these here? Nay. A handful of tracks can be called up-tempo, the rest are either plodding about in a steady mid-tempo, achieving little to nothing. Sure, there're decent highlights scattered along the way – the title track is a decent rocker, if you ignore the keyboard intro and the patchy chorus, "Prophecy" has a nice, good groove to it and "Revelations" from the half-way mark is reminiscent of Priest in their best moments. But that's more or less it as far as highlights go. What "Nostradamus" is full off on the other hand is over-the-top, poorly executed melodrama. Judas Priest and their "Nostradamus" album can be described as old men trying to put on a pair of new leather pants that don't fit, but nor do they have the dignity to not wear them. There's absolutely nothing wrong with playing epic, symphonic metal and writing concept albums -- Blind Guardian, Ayreon most recently, Dream Theater and many more have managed to pull off just that. But, as it turns out, Judas Priest anno 2008 can not. The fault with this album is not the intent, it's the execution. I applaud Priest for having the guts to attempt it, but in the end they couldn't deliver an interesting product.
Genres: Traditional Heavy Metal
Label: Epic
I suppose most of us were pretty sure that Priest were all but dead and buried a few years ago, until the reunion was announced and they kicked off the recordings for what would eventually be a pretty good and dignified comeback in “Angel Of Retribution”. Little did we expect that they were lining up for following that with their most experimental and ambitious album yet.
As far as production goes, it's a pretty good production, but that won't cut it for a band like Priest. Gone is the clean, punchy production of “Angel Of Retribution”, and instead we're getting a sound that's not bad by any stretch, it's just not right. The drums lack a bit of punch, it's a tad messy with all the orchestral pieces, but above all the lead guitars sound atrocious, screeching for vengeance in every solo. Obviously an album is not failed on such thin grounds, but there's more dirt to this album. Judas Priest were never much for penning poetry (a few brilliant lyrics 30-or-so years ago aside), so opting for a conceptual piece where the lyrical side is very important is a very bold move. When writing a regular album, a few lyrical clunkers can be excused, but not so when you're penning an album telling an entire life's story. The band has indicated in interviews, and by creating this album, that Nostradamus was a very interesting chap and that writing a metal opera about him is indeed a commendable and just task. Well, if that's the case, then you'd think Halford could've cooked up something better than “I am Nostradamus!” for the chorus. Halford never was much of a guy to create vivid stories with his lyrics, so that nigh every song is filled to the brim with predictable and dull rhymes along the lines of "face/race/soul/control" comes as no surprise. Most of the vocal melodies and lyrics come in short stabs of a half dozen or so of syllables at a time, which of course lends itself to stumbling, silly rhymes. Add to that a dodgy vocal delivery by a guy whose prime years are well behind him, and there's not all that much left to enjoy.
Judas Priest are at their best when they churn out up-tempo rockers (a few songs in the vein of "Beyond The Realms Of Death" aside) that are around 3-6 minutes in length, and do we see many of these here? Nay. A handful of tracks can be called up-tempo, the rest are either plodding about in a steady mid-tempo, achieving little to nothing. Sure, there're decent highlights scattered along the way – the title track is a decent rocker, if you ignore the keyboard intro and the patchy chorus, "Prophecy" has a nice, good groove to it and "Revelations" from the half-way mark is reminiscent of Priest in their best moments. But that's more or less it as far as highlights go. What "Nostradamus" is full off on the other hand is over-the-top, poorly executed melodrama. Judas Priest and their "Nostradamus" album can be described as old men trying to put on a pair of new leather pants that don't fit, but nor do they have the dignity to not wear them. There's absolutely nothing wrong with playing epic, symphonic metal and writing concept albums -- Blind Guardian, Ayreon most recently, Dream Theater and many more have managed to pull off just that. But, as it turns out, Judas Priest anno 2008 can not. The fault with this album is not the intent, it's the execution. I applaud Priest for having the guts to attempt it, but in the end they couldn't deliver an interesting product.
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