MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Nostradamus (2008)
Dawn of Creation/Prophecy – A nice, moody intro with *GASP* piano! I really love the stage that is set by this track. It is something entirely new for Judas Priest and I welcome the added drama. We’ve got strings, what sounds like a theremin, and a really killer guitar theme that will return throughout the album….all before Prophecy kicks in with our first taste of that classic Priest pedal riff. Rob’s solid vocal melodies are punctuated with some spooky keyboard effects that should be super cheesy, but they work really well. I’m not thrilled with the chorus, other than the dramatic break before it hits, but it gets the job done. I wish Halford’s vocals were mixed better. They sound very thin. A solid solo leads into an even better harmonized unison. There’s a lot of talking sections and effected vocals that help to build the world of the concept, but I think there’s just one too many. All in all, a decent dramatic slab of an introduction. 8/10
Awakening/Revelations – Some clean guitars and an unconvincing couple verses from a straining Rob kick off this little intro. Revelations brings the metal back (I’m sensing a repetitive structure already). I absolutely despise the vocal melodies in this song. Not only are they boringly following the guitar riff, they are monotone and spaced out to all hell like a terrible Tool song or that one Opeth song I can’t remember the name of because the vocals annoy me. Giant pet peeve regarding vocal structure for me. Rob sounds weak. I think it’s mostly a vocal production issue, but it’s really grating. Tipton and Downing, on the other hand, should have won awards for this record (and we’re only four tracks in). The layers and melodies they’ve crafted on both guitar and keyboard are truly great and worthy of better songs. Sure, Don Airey playing those keyboards helps, but if Glenn and KK were behind the writing I’m quite impressed. We also get sweep-picking in this song: way to go, guys. Unfortunately, these two songs are incredibly bland as a whole. 3/10
The Four Horsemen/War – I like the church-choir comprised of Robs at the beginning, but again, the song is forgettable and only an interlude. It all gets better with the strings. The drums and bass that kick off War are a welcome change. I only wish Rob’s melodies weren’t so bland and low. We get another dull, sludgy, dragging chorus. I understand that they are trying to build tension, and the music is doing that full time, but the vocals are the downfall here. Every line for four tracks now has been “Word……….word………word……….” and it’s just boring as hell. We get an epic orchestral break during the battle that is far beyond what I could ever imagine Priest composing and it seems to be reaching an incredible climax…but no, more mid-range Rob singing slowly. This sounds like a demo from Iced Earth’s Gettysburg trilogy. Another giant clunker. Plus one point for the instrumentals. 4/10
Sands of Time/Pestilence and Plague – Let me guess, another intro track that kills the momentum? Yup. It’s drawn out and boring, even with Rob belting it out. The next track picks up a bit with some great guitar and keyboard flourishes. Rob’s melodies are still boring as shit, though. The chorus in Latin is kind of cool, I suppose. The bridge is fantastic and then Rob comes back to belt some more. Another big “meh.” 4/10
Death – Holy shit! A full song without a pointless interlude track?! We’re back to a hulking, Sabbath-inspired instrumental with iceberg pace. The vocal FX from the first song return here as Rob does some serious voice-acting. The pitch slides and wails are impressive as hell, but the melodies are simply not catchy or memorable. Although the song picks up a bit during the solos, we only break out of mammoth-tempo for about 40 seconds. This song makes me sleepy. 3/10
Peace/Conquest – And we’re back to interludes. Slow interludes. The playing is very nice, the strings are atmospheric, Rob’s slight vocal harmonies are very pretty…but it remains another forgettable segue. Conquest is also mid-tempo, but at least it has some life to it. The guitar synth leads are super catchy and melodic. So far, this is Tipton and Downing’s most consistently melodic playing ever. Rob hits some neat Middle-Eastern vocal melodies during the verses and performs well during the chorus, despite it being melodically quite boring. There’s a very nice bluesy solo (Tipton?) and then one with whammy and Janick-isms (Downing?). Still pretty dull, but it’s the most interesting bit since the beginning of the album. 5/10
Lost Love – Since we can’t go a single song without a ballad, here’s an even longer ballad! If this were the only ballad on the album, it probably would be decent. However, it’s just another long slab of droning, dragging churchy melodies and guitars-playing-vocal lines. Rob sounds passionate, at least. The solo is nice, the folky instrumentation is nice, the song just goes nowhere. 5/10
Persecution – We finally return to the creepy melody from the intro track! Thank Dio, we’ve got a tempo higher than 70 bpm! This is a pretty straightforward classic Priest track: pedal riffs, ripping vocals that get punctuated by drum hits, and a shrieking chorus. Rob finally sounds pretty good, especially in the chorus. Some double bass and double-timed vocals tear into the bridge with nice shredding, some of it overlapping each other and occasionally harmonizing. It’s a really cool section. I’m glad that KK got to go out of Priest on a strong musical note. This song is the best thing since Prophecy and the most traditional Priest song so far. The additional shriek of “Crucify!” in the off timing at the end is wonderful. Thank Dio we end disc one on a high note. 9/10
Solitude/Exiled – Disc Two opens with some somber keyboards before the main track kicks in with the drumbeat straight out of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The drama is good here, but the melodies remain uninspired. Halford sounds powerful but the repetitive drumbeat gets incredibly annoying over 6 minutes. Once again, the keys and guitar layers are beautiful, but the song never delivers as a song. 4/10
Alone – Why build up power when you can bring everything back down again with sound effects and another ballad? Layers of minstrel acoustics and guitar synths build into pure melodrama. The vocal timing is a little clunky, but catchy. Priest cut to the point pretty quickly, thank Dio, as they turn up the volume in the second verse. The chorus grows on me, even though it’s a composition that could never be sung live. Overall, this is a fine song, but as with most of this album it never builds to anything and stays locked in the same mid-tempo for far too long. 6/10
Shadows in the Flame/Visions – Another boring interlude like all the rest precedes Visions, which actually sounds a little bit like a Ripper-era song. It’s a little more metallic than the rest of the record. The chorus is big and hooky, probably the most purposefully catchy moment so far. The vocal section before the guitar solos is rather annoying. We get some cool little guitar parts and synth layers throughout. The guitar production is weaker here for some reason. It might just be a different distortion, but it sounds tinnier and lacking in some low end. Anyway, this is a proper song. It’s not great, but it’s the best since Persecution. 7/10
Hope/New Beginnings – You’re really fucking killing me with these interludes, Priest. They’re literally interchangeable. Same setup, same boring vocals, same fade-ins and fade-outs. Fuck, this is bloated. New Beginnings kicks off like some weird Pink Floyd shit with some incredibly annoying whomp-whomp-whomp synth layer overpowering everything. Rob’s still singing at the speed of a glacier. The chorus melodies sound like Ozzy auditioning for a Disney musical. There’s some cool guitar wailing harmonies, but that fucking whomp-whomp-whomp ruins them. This whole affair is so saccharine I think it gave me diabetes. A new low. 1/10
Calm Before the Storm/Nostradamus – Glenn and KK go on a little guitar vacation here, one trying to set a rhythm while the other wah-wah’s behind them, all before “treating” us to the final insipid interlude. The arrival of the title track is sounded with bombast. Rob sings in pure opera voice over keyboard drones and horn synth layers and, honestly, I kind of hate it. Thankfully, the meat of the song itself rules, starting with a Halford shriek and hitting its stride in the epic chorus. It took the entire second half of this album to reach the same heights as Persecution, and I think this still falls a tad short. The riffs, vocals, and drumming are classic thrashy Priest, but then we get some weird Phantom of the Opera-style synths during the incredibly slick bridge. Guitars and synths and keyboards harmonize before Halford builds up to a shriek that ushers in shredding (and shredding in harmony!). I don’t love the recall of the intro vocal. This track has legs, despite the boring intro. 8/10
Future of Mankind – What else could close a two-hour concept album but a Queen beat? The verses are down and dirty, slinking along with Rob’s solid vocal melodies. The chorus is quite grand and powerful, but I don’t love it. I do love the classical guitar section that brackets the solos, sounds like a darker Maiden. The outro riff is great, but is overpowered by the stupid French vocal FX. Those should have been mixed much lower. I’m sure people love this song, but it’s another slog that’s overlong. Good, sure, but at this point I’m just fucking tired of all of this. 7/10
Rating - 5.2/10
That rating is being kind. If I actually rate every interlude as a separate song we'd be somewhere in the 3/10 range. However, is this worthy of being ranked the lowest of every Priest record so far? No. It's a better listening experience than either Ripper album or some of the 80s junk. The small instrumental parts (mostly the guitar melodies) are incredibly great but the songs themselves are directionless. I wish the songs themselves were more worthy of the melodies that Glenn and KK play throughout. It's just a bloated, hulking, boring, draining, poor attempt at a grand concept album. There is no momentum, there is no fun, it's just too much of everything. It's also the weakest Rob has ever sounded on a record from both a performance and compositional standpoint. When your weakest link is Rob Halford, something is seriously wrong. I couldn't be more excited to leave this one behind.
I also listened to @Night Prowler's shorter version and it's certainly more enjoyable due to the lack of fat (interludes). However, there's still only 2-3 songs I'd ever go back to from this album.
Dawn of Creation/Prophecy – A nice, moody intro with *GASP* piano! I really love the stage that is set by this track. It is something entirely new for Judas Priest and I welcome the added drama. We’ve got strings, what sounds like a theremin, and a really killer guitar theme that will return throughout the album….all before Prophecy kicks in with our first taste of that classic Priest pedal riff. Rob’s solid vocal melodies are punctuated with some spooky keyboard effects that should be super cheesy, but they work really well. I’m not thrilled with the chorus, other than the dramatic break before it hits, but it gets the job done. I wish Halford’s vocals were mixed better. They sound very thin. A solid solo leads into an even better harmonized unison. There’s a lot of talking sections and effected vocals that help to build the world of the concept, but I think there’s just one too many. All in all, a decent dramatic slab of an introduction. 8/10
Awakening/Revelations – Some clean guitars and an unconvincing couple verses from a straining Rob kick off this little intro. Revelations brings the metal back (I’m sensing a repetitive structure already). I absolutely despise the vocal melodies in this song. Not only are they boringly following the guitar riff, they are monotone and spaced out to all hell like a terrible Tool song or that one Opeth song I can’t remember the name of because the vocals annoy me. Giant pet peeve regarding vocal structure for me. Rob sounds weak. I think it’s mostly a vocal production issue, but it’s really grating. Tipton and Downing, on the other hand, should have won awards for this record (and we’re only four tracks in). The layers and melodies they’ve crafted on both guitar and keyboard are truly great and worthy of better songs. Sure, Don Airey playing those keyboards helps, but if Glenn and KK were behind the writing I’m quite impressed. We also get sweep-picking in this song: way to go, guys. Unfortunately, these two songs are incredibly bland as a whole. 3/10
The Four Horsemen/War – I like the church-choir comprised of Robs at the beginning, but again, the song is forgettable and only an interlude. It all gets better with the strings. The drums and bass that kick off War are a welcome change. I only wish Rob’s melodies weren’t so bland and low. We get another dull, sludgy, dragging chorus. I understand that they are trying to build tension, and the music is doing that full time, but the vocals are the downfall here. Every line for four tracks now has been “Word……….word………word……….” and it’s just boring as hell. We get an epic orchestral break during the battle that is far beyond what I could ever imagine Priest composing and it seems to be reaching an incredible climax…but no, more mid-range Rob singing slowly. This sounds like a demo from Iced Earth’s Gettysburg trilogy. Another giant clunker. Plus one point for the instrumentals. 4/10
Sands of Time/Pestilence and Plague – Let me guess, another intro track that kills the momentum? Yup. It’s drawn out and boring, even with Rob belting it out. The next track picks up a bit with some great guitar and keyboard flourishes. Rob’s melodies are still boring as shit, though. The chorus in Latin is kind of cool, I suppose. The bridge is fantastic and then Rob comes back to belt some more. Another big “meh.” 4/10
Death – Holy shit! A full song without a pointless interlude track?! We’re back to a hulking, Sabbath-inspired instrumental with iceberg pace. The vocal FX from the first song return here as Rob does some serious voice-acting. The pitch slides and wails are impressive as hell, but the melodies are simply not catchy or memorable. Although the song picks up a bit during the solos, we only break out of mammoth-tempo for about 40 seconds. This song makes me sleepy. 3/10
Peace/Conquest – And we’re back to interludes. Slow interludes. The playing is very nice, the strings are atmospheric, Rob’s slight vocal harmonies are very pretty…but it remains another forgettable segue. Conquest is also mid-tempo, but at least it has some life to it. The guitar synth leads are super catchy and melodic. So far, this is Tipton and Downing’s most consistently melodic playing ever. Rob hits some neat Middle-Eastern vocal melodies during the verses and performs well during the chorus, despite it being melodically quite boring. There’s a very nice bluesy solo (Tipton?) and then one with whammy and Janick-isms (Downing?). Still pretty dull, but it’s the most interesting bit since the beginning of the album. 5/10
Lost Love – Since we can’t go a single song without a ballad, here’s an even longer ballad! If this were the only ballad on the album, it probably would be decent. However, it’s just another long slab of droning, dragging churchy melodies and guitars-playing-vocal lines. Rob sounds passionate, at least. The solo is nice, the folky instrumentation is nice, the song just goes nowhere. 5/10
Persecution – We finally return to the creepy melody from the intro track! Thank Dio, we’ve got a tempo higher than 70 bpm! This is a pretty straightforward classic Priest track: pedal riffs, ripping vocals that get punctuated by drum hits, and a shrieking chorus. Rob finally sounds pretty good, especially in the chorus. Some double bass and double-timed vocals tear into the bridge with nice shredding, some of it overlapping each other and occasionally harmonizing. It’s a really cool section. I’m glad that KK got to go out of Priest on a strong musical note. This song is the best thing since Prophecy and the most traditional Priest song so far. The additional shriek of “Crucify!” in the off timing at the end is wonderful. Thank Dio we end disc one on a high note. 9/10
Solitude/Exiled – Disc Two opens with some somber keyboards before the main track kicks in with the drumbeat straight out of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The drama is good here, but the melodies remain uninspired. Halford sounds powerful but the repetitive drumbeat gets incredibly annoying over 6 minutes. Once again, the keys and guitar layers are beautiful, but the song never delivers as a song. 4/10
Alone – Why build up power when you can bring everything back down again with sound effects and another ballad? Layers of minstrel acoustics and guitar synths build into pure melodrama. The vocal timing is a little clunky, but catchy. Priest cut to the point pretty quickly, thank Dio, as they turn up the volume in the second verse. The chorus grows on me, even though it’s a composition that could never be sung live. Overall, this is a fine song, but as with most of this album it never builds to anything and stays locked in the same mid-tempo for far too long. 6/10
Shadows in the Flame/Visions – Another boring interlude like all the rest precedes Visions, which actually sounds a little bit like a Ripper-era song. It’s a little more metallic than the rest of the record. The chorus is big and hooky, probably the most purposefully catchy moment so far. The vocal section before the guitar solos is rather annoying. We get some cool little guitar parts and synth layers throughout. The guitar production is weaker here for some reason. It might just be a different distortion, but it sounds tinnier and lacking in some low end. Anyway, this is a proper song. It’s not great, but it’s the best since Persecution. 7/10
Hope/New Beginnings – You’re really fucking killing me with these interludes, Priest. They’re literally interchangeable. Same setup, same boring vocals, same fade-ins and fade-outs. Fuck, this is bloated. New Beginnings kicks off like some weird Pink Floyd shit with some incredibly annoying whomp-whomp-whomp synth layer overpowering everything. Rob’s still singing at the speed of a glacier. The chorus melodies sound like Ozzy auditioning for a Disney musical. There’s some cool guitar wailing harmonies, but that fucking whomp-whomp-whomp ruins them. This whole affair is so saccharine I think it gave me diabetes. A new low. 1/10
Calm Before the Storm/Nostradamus – Glenn and KK go on a little guitar vacation here, one trying to set a rhythm while the other wah-wah’s behind them, all before “treating” us to the final insipid interlude. The arrival of the title track is sounded with bombast. Rob sings in pure opera voice over keyboard drones and horn synth layers and, honestly, I kind of hate it. Thankfully, the meat of the song itself rules, starting with a Halford shriek and hitting its stride in the epic chorus. It took the entire second half of this album to reach the same heights as Persecution, and I think this still falls a tad short. The riffs, vocals, and drumming are classic thrashy Priest, but then we get some weird Phantom of the Opera-style synths during the incredibly slick bridge. Guitars and synths and keyboards harmonize before Halford builds up to a shriek that ushers in shredding (and shredding in harmony!). I don’t love the recall of the intro vocal. This track has legs, despite the boring intro. 8/10
Future of Mankind – What else could close a two-hour concept album but a Queen beat? The verses are down and dirty, slinking along with Rob’s solid vocal melodies. The chorus is quite grand and powerful, but I don’t love it. I do love the classical guitar section that brackets the solos, sounds like a darker Maiden. The outro riff is great, but is overpowered by the stupid French vocal FX. Those should have been mixed much lower. I’m sure people love this song, but it’s another slog that’s overlong. Good, sure, but at this point I’m just fucking tired of all of this. 7/10
Rating - 5.2/10
That rating is being kind. If I actually rate every interlude as a separate song we'd be somewhere in the 3/10 range. However, is this worthy of being ranked the lowest of every Priest record so far? No. It's a better listening experience than either Ripper album or some of the 80s junk. The small instrumental parts (mostly the guitar melodies) are incredibly great but the songs themselves are directionless. I wish the songs themselves were more worthy of the melodies that Glenn and KK play throughout. It's just a bloated, hulking, boring, draining, poor attempt at a grand concept album. There is no momentum, there is no fun, it's just too much of everything. It's also the weakest Rob has ever sounded on a record from both a performance and compositional standpoint. When your weakest link is Rob Halford, something is seriously wrong. I couldn't be more excited to leave this one behind.
I also listened to @Night Prowler's shorter version and it's certainly more enjoyable due to the lack of fat (interludes). However, there's still only 2-3 songs I'd ever go back to from this album.
