JUDAS PRIEST ALBUM RANKING GAME: #6 REVEALED

[Kalata]

Nostradamus is a special and unique album. It should be ranked much higher because of its quality (I wouldn't say it's that surprising though) - and I didn't rank it in the Top 5 only because of all those interludes and some songs. For me it easily beats all of their 70's albums, some of the 80's ones and 2 or 3 of the Reunion albums. A really brave album and I certainly prefer that instead of another typical Priest album like AOR (which was right for its time). Just as POE can be viewed as an extension of Killing Machine, Nostradamus is like an extension of AOR. A better one. One album doesn't need to be full of uptempo songs only to be great. I think it was the right follow up album to AOR (more than Turbo, although it's not the same), but it's too long.

The album is full of rich textures, musical passages and interesting stuff (melodic parts, big choruses). Exactly what is missing from their next Reunion albums. A different album for the band but the music, the parts and the ideas are so inspiring. Rob's Reunion era vocals are perfect for the concept of the album, while Glenn and KK have put down awesome riffs, solos and melodies (Prophecy, Revelations, Visions, PAP, title track, Future Of Mankind). Classy, very interesting and memorable. The production fits the album as well.

The album contains several modern classics for the band imo: the title track (amazing song), Future Of Mankind (Maiden vibe, Top 10 song), Revelations and Persecution. Visions is of one of the band's best shorter songs for me, song like Conquest is typical, interesting and memorable enough, and Alone is a really cool slow song with some dynamics in their classic style. Prophecy is solid, a nice opener with some great ideas, but it's not part of the best songs from the album (the chorus could have been better).

Some of the other songs (like War, Death, New Beginnings, Exiled, PAP) are quite experimental for the band and weak for them imo, but the last three have some really nice parts and certainly an emotion that can be impactful. Due to the nature of the album, it's hard to define even these songs as fillers.

I would have preferred the album to be 10-13 songs at most (instead of 23) and although I think the interludes are interesting, if they were part of the songs, it would have been more effective for me.

Spoiler

Something like this:

1.Dawn Of Creation/Prophecy
2.Revelations
3.Conquest
4.PAP
5.Persecution
6.Exiled
7.Alone
8.Visions
9.Nostradamus
10.Future Of Mankind

They had an idea to play the whole album live, which would have been quite unexpected but a special, fitting and big occasion. They should have done it since they only played 2 songs from the album live! Such a shame. The material deserves it. One of the band's most interesting music from all albums. In its own world, the album combines all of their styles and approaches since Painkiller.

 

[Jer]

Nostradamus is a criminally underrated album. Never understood where all the hate came from on this. It’s got scope, variety, and substance, and several awesome tracks. Yes, it has a couple of cheesy ballads and a small number of filler tracks, and it would have benefited a lot from real orchestration instead of synth orchestration, but overall it’s a great album that I return to often.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

I just don’t see the “scope” and “rich textures” and “variety” that you folks are talking about. It’s got one ballad, a few uptempo songs, and the other hour and 15 minutes is intros stretched into interludes and doom metal tempos with little variation.

Adding synthesizers doesn’t sound sonically rich, it just fills a different kind of space. Sure, it’s different for Priest, and that’s to be commended. Sure, it’s nice that some people like this album for what it is. But this sort of praise for an album so clearly fraught with issues leads me to believe that some people around here probably started listening to Priest right around 2008.

 

[Eddieson]

I just don’t see the “scope” and “rich textures” and “variety” that you folks are talking about. It’s got one ballad, a few uptempo songs, and the other hour and 15 minutes is intros stretched into interludes and doom metal tempos with little variation.

Adding synthesizers doesn’t sound sonically rich, it just fills a different kind of space. Sure, it’s different for Priest, and that’s to be commended. Sure, it’s nice that some people like this album for what it is. But this sort of praise for an album so clearly fraught with issues leads me to believe that some people around here probably started listening to Priest right around 2008.

Yes, I actually started listening to Priest in 2008. When I started my metal journey Somewhere Back In Time was the new Iron Maiden release, Metallica was releasing Death Magnetic, and I discovered Priest with Nostradamus so I probably have an emotional connection to this album, not gonna lie. Some first discoveries around that time have faded with time, but I haven't changed my opinion on Nostradamus in the last 16 years. Still love it

 

[Diesel 11]

Nostradamus is a weird album to categorize for me. When I went through Priest’s discography a couple months ago I couldn’t even make up my mind if it deserved to be C tier (has potential but very flawed) or D tier (ridiculously flawed) because it’s unlike any other Priest album. There’s plenty of scope, sure, but the songs kind of plod and when you get a hook, like “War”, it’s just a sing-songy clichéd one. There’s nothing on this album I could call a 10, even “Prophecy” which gets lost in the bridge. Some songs do grab me with guitar melodies or decent choruses, but there’s also so much material that bores me that it’s easy to miss those good parts. And “New Beginnings” is atrocious, one of the worst songs like band has ever done.

I ended up ranking this 14th, above Point of Entry, Turbo, and Redeemer of Souls, albums which are mostly just creatively stagnant; and Jugulator, which is just bad. Nostradamus at least has glimmers of interesting things it wants to tell. It just doesn’t know how to.

 

[Kalata]

The immediacy, the catchiness, the heaviness found on Angel are almost entirely absent on Nostradamus.

I beg to differ.

I wonder if Priest had released an album like Firepower after Angel of Retribution maybe they would have generated enough goodwill with audiences to try something bolder for the next album.

If we remove the many interludes and some of the very different songs, I don't think it will be that different from Angel. Kind of a natural progression in a way. It's just that it contains more longer songs than usual for a Priest album. This, combined with the samey interludes (or some songs) I guess is the issue of most fans of the band with the album.

The other elephant in the room for me is the fact that they didn't properly tour the album. I respect the hell out of Priest for doing something as bold as Nostradamus, especially in that phase of their career, but I don't respect them for chickening out of touring it. This is has become a recurring problem with Priest where they make a new album and then hardly play anything live off it, which always gives the impression that they don't believe in the material that much. You could say maybe they were reacting to the lukewarm reception of Nostradamus, but it seems they do the same thing when the albums are highly well received (see Firepower touring).

I agree here. It was really odd. Nowadays the approach of the band is different.

Frankly, it just feels like the band didn't know what they were doing and bit off more than they could chew.

We can say this (though not fully for me, there are several interesting ideas), but I think the experimental side of the album was mostly successful.
There aren't that many Priest albums that can give you a different experience with the songs. The album is very underrated (I don't know why; not to prefer its style is different) and at least 5 songs (out of 14, without the interludes) are amazing. Also, most of the songs can be linked to their previous albums (without Turbo, Point/British Steel and the 70's era more or less). The core of the album is still Priest.

In particular, I want to point out.... Ram It Down as far superior albums.

The album is not an easy listen as a whole, but wow.

I think the one thing the band does right is the mood: they certainly achieved the dark, brooding atmosphere they were shooting for.

Agreed.

but the songs themselves are too long with (often) zero musical changes!

I wouldn't say that.

A good portion of Priest's discography is a WTF moment thanks to their trend chasing. The entirety of their 80s output was ping-ponging album styles back and forth from metal to pop/rock trying to catch up to a fanbase they never actually secured.

I think it's good to get a bit of a different music from one band, but you have to stay true to yourself for the most part. I'd say that with their entire discography, Priest's different styles were expected. Maiden ones in the 90's not that much, but their experiments were only for several songs.

I will forever defend Nostradamus as my favourite Judas Priest album. Its a different beast to all the other slightly more easily digestable albums...
So many melodic interludes where the songs can expand, breathe, where melodies can morph, big chorues, and a good dose of great guitar solos. I like the Judas Priest formula that the band has stuck closer to with Redeemer, Firepower And Invincible Shield as well as most people do, but this feels like a brave experiment...

This. They just had to cut the interludes (2 or 3 at most) and 3/4 songs. For a better listen and appreciation by most fans it seems.

Nostradamus is a criminally underrated album. Never understood where all the hate came from on this. It’s got scope, variety, and substance, and several awesome tracks. Yes, it has a couple of cheesy ballads and a small number of filler tracks, and it would have benefited a lot from real orchestration instead of synth orchestration, but overall it’s a great album that I return to often.

Yes. I like the synths though.

because it’s unlike any other Priest album.

That's what makes it special and a standout.

I just don’t see the “scope” and “rich textures” and “variety” that you folks are talking about. It’s got one ballad, a few uptempo songs, and the other hour and 15 minutes is intros stretched into interludes and doom metal tempos with little variation.
Adding synthesizers doesn’t sound sonically rich, it just fills a different kind of space.

I'll try to point out some notable and different stuff (correct me if I'm wrong):

- synths. It's not like Turbo, but they create a different experience.
- some of the melodies and solos sounds classical. Their vibe.
- more piano and acoustic parts. Also, more ballads.
- intro of the title track, outro of Exiled, Future Of Mankind, whole songs.
- some of Rob's vocals are a different approach.
- the scope: fast Panikiller-esque songs, mid-tempo stuff, slow songs, longer epics, atmospheric pieces with keys, more melodic oriented songs, doom metal, one more rock song... the album has everything.

The interludes sounds samey, but the riffs make up for them. Dawn Of Creation, Sands Of Time and Calm Before The Storm are the best imo.

 

[Mosh]

1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
11: Turbo
12: Nostradamus
13: Redeemer of Souls
14: Ram It Down
15: Point of Entry
16: Jugulator
17: Demolition
18: Rocka Rolla

Highest Score: 16 (@KidInTheDark666)
Lowest Score: 2 (@Sth2112)

Coming in at #11 is another infamously controversial Priest album: the pop laden Turbo. At first I was a bit surprised at how well this album did, as it is an album that hardcore fans often see as the band turning their back on their Metal roots. Perhaps a controversial take, but looking at the revealed albums arranged in this way, I think Turbo is actually perfectly placed. In my opinion, we've now reached the first of Priest's unequivocally good albums. No band struggling to find their sound/identity (Ripper albums/Rocka Rolla), no weird concept album experiments (Nostradamus), no half baked ideas (Ram It Down/Point of Entry), no demo-like production quality (Redeemer). While going so unapologetically pop is always a controversial decision, there's no denying that Turbo is very well executed in what it's trying to do. The production is extremely sleek, Halford sounds incredible, the songwriting is really solid.

It's funny listening to the album in this countdown context, because it totally changes the context. This is the Judas Priest that I know I like, and the one that I don't really hear on any of the prior albums. When listening to the albums in chronological order, it's hard to appreciate this direction after Defenders/Vengeance, but after hearing all of their weaker albums, the difference is night and day. The album is certainly not without its weak moments, but generally it's just that it runs a little too heavily into the pandering pop territory. Private Property, Parental Guidance, and Rock You All Around the World in particular just feel like desperate attempts at Top 40. It's like a bad cross between Twisted Sister and Kiss. But even when you compare those songs to the attempts on Priest's last Top 40 reaching album, Point of Entry, there's a lot more swagger and musical interest here. That said, I do think this album's pacing turns a lot of people off by throwing three silly MTV songs at you in a row (which ironically didn't even have music videos).

One thing this album doesn't get enough credit for is that its more straightforward rock moments have a cool atmospheric feel. Out In the Cold has a sinister vibe and I still consider it a bit of a hidden gem even though they opened with it back in the day. The wash of synths at the beginning of Turbo Lover is a great way to start an album and I think that 1-2 punch with Locked In is a high moment in Priest's discography. Considering the shape Halford's voice is in these days, I don't really understand why they don't pull more from this album as these songs don't seem like as much of a vocal challenge.

So what do the Maidenfans think? This album performed surprisingly well among most users, obviously hence the somewhat high ranking. It wasn't particularly close to falling behind Nostradamus (which I feel is a much weaker record), although another user giving Nostradamus a crazy @Night Prowler-tier score would have made enough of a difference to get the albums to swap places. It isn't particularly close to the #10 album either, although again if another user would have given Turbo a higher score it could have made a difference. For most users, Turbo sits in the middle of the discography, although there were a few extreme opinions on either side (but no #1 or #18 rankings). I definitely think Turbo has a love it or hate it element to it, but in a discography with real clunkers like Demolition and Rocka Rolla, competently produced goes a long way.

If you want to cut the discography into thirds, you can reasonably consider Nostradamus and Turbo as part of the middle tier here. The bottom six albums are generally maligned by the fanbase. Turbo and Nostradamus each have the distinction of having some pretty vocal defenders but also an equal number of haters. Of course Nostradamus had some #1 rankings and some #18 rankings, Turbo didn't have the same but it did have a large range of scores still as you can see. I think these two albums sit in a unique place in the catalog as I can't think of any others as polarizing, but with both albums you can't deny they're at least trying some stuff here (which sometimes isn't all that clear on the lower ranked albums). The next four albums in the middle tier are generally regarded as strong Priest albums, although I think we're going to see some surprises. There's one I certainly think is way too high, but putting them altogether as "middle tier" Priest albums makes sense. But more on that later!

 

[DJMayes]

Of all the Judas Priest albums, this is the one I might expect my opinion to shift the most on. I have a lot of love for many of the songs here (I don't really mind the musical direction - catchy and cheesy works fine for me) and I don't remember any songs I outwardly hate from this album. I don't think it will ever make my top three but it's a fun listen.

 

[Yax]

The best Glam-ish record out there, aside from Skid Row's debut. Priest are right on point with where they aim to be, Rob sounds fantastic, the synths are uplifting, and there are several cool party songs in there, but also absolute beasts in the form of "Out in the Cold" and "Reckless". What an album. Now, I get those who were sorely disappointed when they got this after Defenders, and have a certain rom that Priest are allowed to occupy, but this is a kickass album on its own merits.

 

[Mosh]

The best Glam-ish record out there, aside from Skid Row's debut.

Off the top of my head I would probably take LA Guns debut, Winger debut, and the first two Extreme albums over both of these (in particular I really dislike that Skid Row album). Also anything Def Leppard or Motley Crue did during this era if those count. I think Priest did glam OK but their attempts at hair anthems really don't come close to what a lot of the LA bands were coming up with (although I will say Priest was more equipped to deliver a full album than many of the younger bands).

 

[Yax]

Off the top of my head I would probably take LA Guns debut, Winger debut, and the first two Extreme albums over both of these (in particular I really dislike that Skid Row album). Also anything Def Leppard or Motley Crue did during this era if those count. I think Priest did glam OK but their attempts at hair anthems really don't come close to what a lot of the LA bands were coming up with (although I will say Priest was more equipped to deliver a full album than many of the younger bands).

I smell a correlation here, given our diametrically opposite views.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Turbo is certainly a mixed bag. I agree with @Mosh that the fantastic production really elevates the material.

Out in the Cold is absolutely phenomenal, Turbo Lover is great, and Locked In, Hot For Love, and Reckless are all pretty cool but super flawed. The rest is bad to downright atrocious (Rock You All Around the World/Wild Nights).

Just like Point of Entry and Ram It Down, this simply isn't what I want out of Judas Priest. Luckily, the two great songs here transcend the stylistic change. This go around, Turbo album actually rose in score (from a 5/10 to a 5.3/10) and in rank (from 15th place to 12th place). No doubt this will be the last album on this list that I rate below a 6.5/10, making this pretty much the top tier of the dividing line between what I consider to be good Priest (everything we haven't yet listed here + ROS) and bad Priest (everything we've already listed here minus ROS).

No band struggling to find their sound/identity (Ripper albums/Rocka Rolla)...While going so unapologetically pop is always a controversial decision, there's no denying that Turbo is very well executed in what it's trying to do.

I think Turbo very much still sounds like a band struggling with their identity. Maybe not struggling with their sound due to the great production, but the massive pop/glam/new wave pandering is certainly one in a long list of Priest having an identity crisis.

The production is extremely sleek, Halford sounds incredible, the songwriting is really solid.

2 out of 3 ain't bad!

Private Property, Parental Guidance, and Rock You All Around the World in particular just feel like desperate attempts at Top 40. It's like a bad cross between Twisted Sister and Kiss...I do think this album's pacing turns a lot of people off by throwing three silly MTV songs at you in a row (which ironically didn't even have music videos).

Yeah, that run of three songs really ruins the album for me. Not to mention sandwiching the superb Out In The Cold between two of Priest's worst ever tracks.

 

[Mosh]

I think Turbo very much still sounds like a band struggling with their identity. Maybe not struggling with their sound due to the great production, but the massive pop/glam/new wave pandering is certainly one in a long list of Priest having an identity crisis.

Here I give them a pass because there’s a lot more conviction and focus in what they’re doing. A lot of my criticism of Nostradamus is that they didn’t follow through on the concept. Point of Entry, similarly, seems like a miscalculation of what American audiences enjoyed about British Steel and the band doesn’t even really seem that sure of their own material. Turbo has a lot of problems, but it does what it sets out to do for better or worse.

 

[Siddharth]

"Reckless" is one of my favourite Priest songs! Just love it. K.K. Downing wrote in his book, that he still regrets the band not giving the song for Top Gun movie soundtrack.

The best Glam-ish record out there, aside from Skid Row's debut.

Dokken, Ratt, Motley Crue, W.A.S.P., Vain, L.A. Guns, hell even the first two by Poison were better Glam metal records from the 80s. The only issue with Turbo is that it sounds dated at times even though having some really good songs.

 

[Yax]

Dokken, Ratt, Motley Crue, W.A.S.P., Vain, L.A. Guns, hell even the first two by Poison were better Glam metal records from the 80s. The only issue with Turbo is that it sounds dated at times even though having some really good songs.

I disagee.

 

[Kalata]

Turbo is one of my most enjoyable albums of the band. Sure, it can't compare with some of the other albums, but it's consistent and filler-free for its style. That's why I ranked it pretty high (and because I like it more than their 70's albums as a whole, and because of some of their uneven albums).
Again the ranking is no surprise, the album will always be love and hate for the fans. Of all the band's experiments, this is the one that was perfectly executed. One of the most memorable glam metal albums imo. There are hints of classic Priest in the album though - in Locked In, Reckless and Property.

The album seems odd after the previous 2 albums, but I guess they followed the trend and wanted something different, which is understandable. If the album had some of the faster, more aggressive and long epic from the next album, I think it would have been much better received and not that much of a departure of the band's sound.

Spoiler

1.Turbo Lover
2.Locked In
3.Hard As Iron
4.Private Property/Come And Get It/Thunder Road
5.Ram It Down
6.I'm A Rocker
7.Out In The Cold
8.Reckless
9.Blood Red Skies

The production is great (synths, drums, guitars), atmospheric and perfect for the album. They synths really made the album sound special and kind of futuristic. Different sounding albums are always welcome for me and Turbo sounds ''bigger''.
Rob's vocals are so great and peak for him, while Glenn and KK have some pleasant riffs and cool solos (title track ofc, Locked In, Out In The Cold, Hot For Love and especially Reckless, one of my favorite solos).

This album also has its gems:

- title track (the tempo and instrumental section are classic).
- Locked In (one of their most memorable singles; prefect glam metal)
- Out In The Cold (so atmospheric song right from the intro, best verses on the album, effective chorus and cool melodic riffs)
- Reckless (hidden diamond, classic Priest rocker with great riff, verses, pre-chorus, chorus, melodies and anthemic approach). I'm so glad they kept the song for the album. So melodic.

The other songs are nice and enjoyable metal commercial rockers with some very cool parts:
Private Property (good song, great riff and chorus), Hot For Love (one of the weakest songs for me, but awesome pre-chorus and melodies), Wild Nights (cool riff and verses), Rock You All Around The World (stadium anthem done very well and it's catchy), Parential Guidance (not bad, but should have been a B-side). But that's all I can say about these songs.

Some of the leftover material from the double Twin Turbos could have improved the album - songs like Heart Of A Lion, Prisoner Of Your Eyes, All Fired Up. Some old school Priest vibes and variety.

Overall, Turbo is a consistent and fun album - and that's its greatest strength. It will never be a weaker album for me, mostly because the songs are very catchy.

 

[Kalata]

Perhaps a controversial take, but looking at the revealed albums arranged in this way, I think Turbo is actually perfectly placed.
The album is certainly not without its weak moments, but generally it's just that it runs a little too heavily into the pandering pop territory. But even when you compare those songs to the attempts on Priest's last Top 40 reaching album, Point of Entry, there's a lot more swagger and musical interest here. That said, I do think this album's pacing turns a lot of people off by throwing three silly MTV songs at you in a row (which ironically didn't even have music videos).
One thing this album doesn't get enough credit for is that its more straightforward rock moments have a cool atmospheric feel. Out In the Cold has a sinister vibe and I still consider it a bit of a hidden gem even though they opened with it back in the day. The wash of synths at the beginning of Turbo Lover is a great way to start an album and I think that 1-2 punch with Locked In is a high moment in Priest's discography. Considering the shape Halford's voice is in these days, I don't really understand why they don't pull more from this album as these songs don't seem like as much of a vocal challenge.
If you want to cut the discography into thirds, you can reasonably consider Nostradamus and Turbo as part of the middle tier here. The bottom six albums are generally maligned by the fanbase. Turbo and Nostradamus each have the distinction of having some pretty vocal defenders but also an equal number of haters. Of course Nostradamus had some #1 rankings and some #18 rankings, Turbo didn't have the same but it did have a large range of scores still as you can see. I think these two albums sit in a unique place in the catalog as I can't think of any others as polarizing, but with both albums you can't deny they're at least trying some stuff here (which sometimes isn't all that clear on the lower ranked albums).

Agreed, especially about the ranking, the pop territory, the atmospheric feel and their discography in thirds. I think the album is a very easy listen. But I don't think it's surprising that they don't play stuff from it live (just like Maiden with No Prayer). Iirc, Rob is a fan of the album.

(I don't really mind the musical direction - catchy and cheesy works fine for me)

This. I like glam metal. I would even say that Priest always carried this element/approach to their sound (late 70's-through '82-and for the next albums).

I think Priest did glam OK but their attempts at hair anthems really don't come close to what a lot of the LA bands were coming up with (although I will say Priest was more equipped to deliver a full album than many of the younger bands).

Maybe not for all songs, but as a full album and as a character of it (the album has a lot of it!), yes imo.

the fantastic production really elevates the material.

Definitely.

Just like Point of Entry and Ram It Down, this simply isn't what I want out of Judas Priest.

I see what you mean here, but I'll always want variety from Priest, like their entire discography.

No doubt this will be the last album on this list that I rate below a 6.5/10, making this pretty much the top tier of the dividing line between what I consider to be good Priest (everything we haven't yet listed here + ROS) and bad Priest (everything we've already listed here minus ROS).

I guess there is something like that, but not entirely for me. Turbo is solid (pop) Priest.

I think Turbo very much still sounds like a band struggling with their identity. Maybe not struggling with their sound due to the great production, but the massive pop/glam/new wave pandering is certainly one in a long list of Priest having an identity crisis.

Yeah, if we consider Painkiller (and Defenders) as their trademark sound.

 

[eddie666]

I prefer every album ranked below this.
3-4 good songs, the rest dire.

 

[Sth2112]

I think Turbo very much still sounds like a band struggling with their identity. Maybe not struggling with their sound due to the great production, but the massive pop/glam/new wave pandering is certainly one in a long list of Priest having an identity crisis.

To me it sounds like Turbo is made by someone who have an early midlife crisis.

 

[____no5]

Back when Nostradamus came out, I played it on a daily basis for weeks. The affection has worn out quite a bit (at the time I thought it was the greatest album ever made), but I love the album warts and all. It would have benefited from fewer interludes, a song or two removed, proper keys, a chamber orchestra and a different production, but I still enjoy it quite a bit during the annual play-through.

I remember how you praised it in a private discussion we had back in the day, I was impressed and jealous that Maiden didn’t come up with such an idea.
I quite like it especially the atmosphere and the fact that it was something different. I was expecting it higher in the rankings here.

EDIT: This is the one album I relate with you.