sjsaur
Trooper
I'm not super familiar with Priests past music, but I am familiar and a big fan. I love the new album. The two best songs are Halls of Valhalla and Sword of Domocles. In fact I'd say Sword of Domocles is one of the best metal songs ive heard in a long time. I have a question: has Priest ever done anything like those songs in the past? They are very epic and structured in a nontypical way. The harmonies are amazing. Like someone said, very Maidenesque.
But overall the guitars on the album are breathtaking. The riffs, the solos, the harmonies, the guitar duals!
The bonus track Creatures is awesome. Should have been on the album.
I hope their next album is as good as Redeemer. Like I've said befote, they've finally made their Brave New World.
I don't know how people can tell who plays which guitar part/solo. Maybe it says in the booklet.
Sounds like their album Defenders of the Faith would be right up your alley. They have A LOT songs in the style you're looking for in a lot of their albums, but I reckon Defenders of the Faith has the largest quantity those songs that are of the highest quality. You'd probably also really enjoy Screaming for Vengeance (not as aggressive as Defenders, but still offering some high quality cuts in a similar fashion) possibly Painkiller (HYPER aggressive, but lacking in creativity for a lot of the songs (in my opinion) but again, some really quality cuts in the title track, One Shot at Glory and Touch of Evil, among a few others) Angel of Retribution is somewhat similar to Redeemer of Souls, but not as diverse and not as original in its song structures. Nostradamus has some fantastic songs on it (the ones Yax posted are spot on...though I'd also add Pestilence and Plague) a lot/most of the melodies and musical embellishment are more symphonically orientated rather than just guitar which you will either love or hate (I personally thought Nostradamus was a very good album)
If your going to get more into Judas Priest, I HIGHLY recommend their 70s albums, especially Sad Wings of Destiny* , Sin After Sin and Stained Class*. To my ears these three albums, (along with Defenders) represent the pinnacle of Judas Priests in terms of musical creativity, song structure and album consistency. The one thing that may put you off a little with the 70s albums is the production, which isn't especially conducive to the quality of music priest was making at the time.
*I consider these two albums to be among the finest metal albums ever made, with Sad Wings being one of the best albums of any genre I have ever heard. However, regarding Sad Wings, if is IMPERATIVE that you listen to it with the correct track listing (Starting with the track Prelude and ending with Deciever) I say this because there is a version of the album which has switched the A side and B side, so the album starts with Victim of Changes and ends with Island of Domination. This switching ruins the flow and build up that the original/ intended track listing creates, which is a big part of why I hold it in such high regard