Just a quick note, if you don't want to read the whole in depth review -here's a short one, it's okay. Die hard fans will want to listen to it, new fans may wonder what the heck is going on, but it's worth the listen, now for you who want the full review... read below.
Okay, so I’m
a huge Judas Priest fan. I’ve been a fan since about 1984, and I’ve owned
everything they’ve ever put out in one form or another, from their first album
Rock a Rolla, to the synth heavy Turbo, all the way to the infuriating
Nostradamus. My favorites were Point of Entry, Screaming for Vengeance and
Defenders of the Faith, but I also love the Les Binks drumming on Unleashed in
the East which made some of their older material soar. I kind of feel it’s an
honor to review this, even though I know the band will never read this.
So with that
being said there have been a few albums that drove me nuts. When I was sixteen
I was finally going to my first concert and I was pumped for Defenders of the
Faith part 2, and as most know, I didn’t get that album, I got Turbo. Long
story, it was such a disappointment, but I still went to the show, and they did
an amazing job.
Years later
after the mighty return of Halford they released Angel of Retribution which was
an awesome return to form, but then I got tickets to see them on the
Nostradamus tour. The album being a double, I was pumped for it to be epic, but
what I got was a snooze fest. It was hard for even me, a die-hard fan to
appreciate. The concert was even a bigger disappointment. They picked out a
bunch of slower tunes and the show marched like a dirge to Rob Halford’s own
funeral. It was painful to watch, and the only thing I was thankful for was my
poor friend Dave paid for the tickets.
This leads
us to the new release Redeemer of Souls, which is a pretty confusing title if
you think about it too much. But the true question was, or is… am I going to
get Turbo, Nostradamus, or maybe finally Defenders of the Faith 2. (Side note:
I know it’s ridiculous to get Defenders 2, but I’m using it for an analogy so
bear with me.)
Judas Priest
released a few singles before the disc came out but I wanted to take in the
album as a whole, so this review is after one solid listen of the whole disc
(minus the bonus songs) and I’m currently listening to it, which is something I
like to do while reviewing discs.
The first
song Dragonaut opens the disc with some pretty good energy, but the track seems
to fall flat with production. The guitars seem to have a tone that leaves the
track flat. I’m not sure if this is because KK Downing’s tone was different
then the new second guitarist Richie Faulkner, or if Glen Tipton’s tone is the
culprit. The chorus and the vocals are pretty good, but nothing seems to take
the track to another level.
Redeemer of
Souls is the second track which still has the flat tone on the guitars, the
chorus is good, but the track never goes anywhere. It actually does remind me
of Defenders of the Faith at times, but it just seems lacking in energy. I’m
trying to put my finger on it, but it does sound better if you turn it up
–everything metal sounds better loud.
March of the Damn is the next track and it reminds me
of the Metal God’s tune. It’s a very
circular tune that has a good repeating chorus, and a pretty decent solo. It
even has a similar sound effect of marching, like the Metal God’s tune had, which they originally created slamming kitchen
drawers shut. The track was better than the first two, but still nothing to
write home about, but at this point I realized this wasn’t going to be
Nostradamus part 2, thankfully.
Obviously
from the titles Rob Halford and crew drew from more mid-evil themes to include
dragons and Vikings as evident with the next track Halls of Valhalla -no
complaint here. Halls of Valhalla is the closest thing to the Pain Killer era songs, with a high-ish
scream to lead off the track. Rob even goes as far as doing a death metal voice
on the bridge leading to a Halford trademark style scream. There are even some
group vocals on this song, which is really enjoyable. Four songs in and it’s
the best by far, but next up is Sword of
Damocles.
Sword of Damocles starts off really cool, and almost
gives us a sound we hadn’t heard from them since maybe back in the Sin after Sin album. The song even
breaks down to a slow bridge which almost brings to mind Here Comes the Tears, but doesn’t last long as it picks back up.
It’s the song with the most potential up to this point, but it still lacks a
little something in the chorus, but it has a really cool native Indian sounding
melodic riff that repeats at the end of each chorus. Rob’s vocals seem to be
stronger on this track.
After a shot
intro Down in Flames starts at a
mid-tempo and is closer to maybe something you’d heard on the latter part of Point of Entry, it’s got a pretty good
chorus and some good riffing before the solo. I like how you can pick out both
Glen and Richie’s solos but they’re not on par with the older Priest solos. The
songs good, but I think maybe the drums production are kind of lacking, seems
to not have a lot of energy to them. What’s funny is this song seems farther
away from what Priest is known for, but still sounds like Priest. After several
listens this track has grown a bit more on me.
Hell & Back is next and starts with a softer
intro, which kind of reminds me of Sad
Wings era stuff, but then gets more into the British Steel style of music but it’s a pretty slow song with a
good chorus, but the song is never lifted up to the level of their classic
stuff. The song’s okay, but I kind of want to just skip to the next track, to
see what’s next. There’s a wah drenched solo which we hadn’t seen much of from
Priest in years. The song picks up at the end, but it’s almost too little too
late.
Cold Blooded starts with a good opening lick,
it’s slower, but sometimes slow is okay, it’s just when there’s too much of it
like anything on Nostradamus. Thankfully
this song picks up and gets a little more interesting. The solo on this track
reminds me of the older work, similar to some of the stuff on Stained Glass, but it stops when it’s
getting good. Rob seemed to work a lot of chorus and making the songs have good
hooks, and I think that’s what will help this album sell, but this track is
still lacking the boost it needs to be great..
Metalizer comes blaring like Ram it Down. I think this track will
make some mid-nighties fans happy, but the guitar tones seem to still be weak,
maybe my headphones aren’t giving it the justice it needs. It’s got a few good
solo runs, but nothing up to par with Pain
Killer, but at least the solo starts that way before slowing down. It seems
like Richie is playing some fast runs while Glen does some more melodic runs.
The song doesn’t really scream, “Please replay me”, but it’s still way, way
better than that other album I keep referencing.
Now we
finally get to one of the most unique tunes that from the opening bluesy riff,
you’re like, “Oh, this is going to be good.” It’s still a mid tempo track
called Crossfire, which could have
been played by any blue band, but with Priest playing it, it’s fun to hear them
doing some throwback riffage. There’s even some more wah-drench soloing over a
Voodoo Chili Hendrix type section. The only downside is actually Rob Halford at
the end screaming, “Caught in the Crossfire,” it just seems out of place on the
song. After repeated listening the track grows old pretty quickly.
The song Secrets of the Dead starts off how a new
Priest song should start. It’s heavy, with a good groove. This song reminds me
of Love Bites a little bit. It’s
darker, and fits with the motif of classic priest, but contains a little more
vigor to the performance. With an older production I could put this on Sad Wings of Destiny. It’s hard to keep
a slower tempo interesting, but they seem to do well on this track. It’s not
fantastic, and Rob Halford doesn’t shine on the song, but it’s moving in a
better direction.
Battle Cry starts off a little like a song from
Defenders of the Faith, but then bursts
into an Iron Maiden type duel lead in before they transitions into a faster Free Wheel Burning riff. This track
should have been the lead off, it’s got the most energy, and it sounds great. The
guitars sound really good with this track, almost like they should have used
these sounds for the rest of the disc. Rob Halford comes to life too, and he
sounds closer to what he sounded back on Ram
it Down, before he felt that he had to hit high screechy notes like in Pain Killer to sell an album, but he
does leave us with one good one at the end. The vocal seems less processed, so
we hear him a little less drenched in effects while screaming. Hidden almost at
the end of Redeemer of Souls is this gem, which could easily fit in with a lot
of Priest classics.
Beginning of the End completes the regular length disc.
This song although slow carries more heart than a lot of older Priest material.
Rob Halford’s slower singing sounds really good, like on Dreamer Deceiver, Epitaph, or the softer moments of Victim of Changes, but I think it sounds
better than the earlier performances. His tone sounds really clean, really
strong, and not stressed. Rob Halford hasn’t sung too many emotional songs in
the last 30 years, and this song really shows more emotional depth than just
about all their songs except for maybe Beyond
the Realms of Death. The song also carries a similarity to Black Sabbath’s Planet
Caravan which isn’t a bad thing.
Overall this
disc won’t be in my player quite as often as most of their older albums because
it feels like it lacks energy and emotion in most songs besides the last. Scott
Travis’s drum work which should catapult the band seems to just be the back
bone and doesn’t deliver anything special and the sound on the drums is just
above average. On songs like Sword of Damocles where the song could completely
destroy, the drums although ample, just seem to do the job, and not add
anything to push the song to the next level.
Ian Hill’s bass playing is solid, but there’s nothing there besides the
basics but that’s what he’s done for about 99.9% of his career with the band,
so there’s no surprise there. The clean guitars sound great, and the interludes
are nice touches. The album has a couple tracks that stand out, but, it really
feels like most of these songs would have been left off earlier albums had they
been wrote earlier in their career. The solos seem lack luster, and once they begin
to shine they end before they really launch. It almost feels like a great
producer would have done the band some good.
Redeemer of
Souls wasn’t Turbo part 2, thank God. It wasn’t Nostradamus part 2, again thank
God. I did get a little bit of Defenders 2, which I’m grateful for, but I’m
still left feeling like my 16 year old self, disappointed over the new image of
Judas Priest for the Turbo album wondering what the heck happened to the cool
band from Defenders, and hoping the album sounds better than how they looked-
nope.
Bonus Disc
tracks:
Snakebite is the first track leading off the
bonus material, this song is way different and reminds me more of something
you’d hear from older Deep Purple or even Whitesnake, it has an older 70’s
feel, with little solo’s thrown throughout. I think I even heard a “My Woman
from Tokyo,” riff towards the beginning. The lyrics are a little immature, but
it’s a fun tune without much to it. The drums are a little livelier and the
guitar tones fit with the style of this song. I’d almost think this was a
cover, but I’ve never heard it before. After further review at least from
Wikipedia, it’s an original.
Let me get
animated for a second, Tears of Blood the
second bonus song is AWESOME!!! It
should have been the single. This track goes back to the sound of the full
length Redeemer, but sounds better, like the production of Defenders of the
Faith. Rob Halfords vocals sound great, and they remind me of a lot of the
material from Defenders of the Faith, but this doesn’t sound like a throwaway
track. This track is what I was truly waiting for and fans who don’t get this
song because it’s a bonus track, I believe will not know how good this band
still is. If this track was the single from Redeemer, I believe most fans would
have been immediately thrilled. The solo
section was actually the best on the disc, even having some dual harmonies,
which was missing from the rest of the album. This track will be added to my
collection and moved up on the set list for this disc. If they don’t play this
live it would be a shame.
Creatures at first starts off a little rough
and it doesn’t sound like it’ll be any good, but then the pre-chorus comes in,
and the drums actually do something a little different on the toms and it gets
good –for a while. The verses sound more like a demo, but the chorus’s come out
in the mix and sound really good. This track would also have fit nicely during
the Defenders era with a little better production. The solo section on this
track sounds great. It sounds like they had done their homework and made a
really good melodic solo. Parts of the song don’t work as well as others, the
outro just sounds messy, and so I can see why it was left to the bonus disc.
Bring it On is the next track and from the title
I’m a bit skeptical, maybe it’s because of all the cheerleader flicks with the
same name. But, I’m happily wrong. This track is fun, and has an older late
70’s Priest vibe, with a good chorus. This number could have fit nicely on
British Steel, Hell Bent for Leather, or Point of Entry. Yes, it’s a bit
cheesy, but it’s what some fans really like. I could hear this track used for a
fighter in the UFC. It’s better than a majority of the full length in my
opinion.
Never Forget is the last track for the bonus
material. It’s a slower, pretty number that sounds like a swan song for a band
that was calling it quits or it’s the song played with the credits of a movie. Reminds
me of the song Changes by Black Sabbath/Ozzy. (Side note: I found out years back Rob Halford front Black
Sabbath in place of Ozzy for one reason or another, and I think it would be
awesome if Rob fronted Heaven Hell as a tribute for DIO.) This song doesn’t fit
well in the Judas Priest canon, but it’s nice to hear it. The solo section
reminds a lot of Ozzy material too, and some other 80’s metal solo that I can’t
put my finger on. I might have felt ripped off if this was the only bonus song
on the disc, but seeing how you get five, and I got it for free, I feel pretty
good about it.
Although the
bonus tracks went from great to messy they were still enjoyable, and I’m
thankful that they were available. Tears
of Blood and Bring it on are two
tracks that should have been added to their regular release and a few tracks
from the full length pulled to make a more solid disc, but fortunately I can
make my own mix. Well that’s it folks, my review is just that, my opinion and
hopefully you found it interesting. Bye!
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