Judas Priest

Is that the untold story of why KK quit?
Was he wanting to continue in the ambitious Nostradamus vein but the band wanted to go back to basics?
 
mckindog said:
Is that the untold story of why KK quit?
Was he wanting to continue in the ambitious Nostradamus vein but the band wanted to go back to basics?
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I doubt it... if that was the reason, I don't think either K.K., or the band, would be so secretive about his reasons for quitting. "Musical differences" is a very normal, and common reason for band members going their separate ways, so if that was the reason, I doubt that K.K. would feel the need to conceal that.

Interestingly though, when they first started writing for the new album before the Epitaph tour, K.K. was still a member of the band... so it could have something to do with it. Then again, K.K. claims that it wasn't one thing which made him decide to quit, but that there were several factors involved in his decision. Hopefully one day we'll know exactly what went down there...
 
I think Priest ran out of good musical ideas over 20 years ago. Painkiller was their last great album. Nostradamus was a nice try, but ultimately failed. Overwrought nonsense. Will give new album a listen, but expectations are low.

That waveform posted by Eric Wright almost makes my head hurt even before listening to the new album.
 
I still think KK left because of this
Forostar said:
This following is pure rumour babbling, so take what you want from it. :)

I know that Halford has been very close with his manager Baxter for years (Baxter got exaggerated credit mentions on his recent solo (re-)releases). I think they've collaborated since Fight I assume, or maybe even earlier. Who knows these two guys had too much influence in KK's opinion. Halford has been busy with his solo efforts and countless re-releases and I can seriously imagine that this may have delayed Priest plans. As a trade for the delay they might have promised KK more songs from Nostradamus, but at the latest moment it was decided to not do this. Good reason to say: fuck you, I have had enough of this.

The following step was what Perun said: a break-up. Then a goodbye tour was organized, but KK was reluctant to join. The band/management still planned the whole tour, and it seems KK decided at the last moment (or earlier but it didn't come out in the open) to not join the tour as well. Thus came Priest's statement.
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But I hope that one day he'll tell it himself.
 
Listening to Nostradamus at the moment. The production is mediocre at best, but in spite of everything, that intro really is magical and I'm really digging the symphonic elements and keyboards, and when the actual album starts it still sounds decent. The album still feels bloated which is the primary complaint by fans, which I have to agree with.
 
Eric Wright said:
The album still feels bloated which is the primary complaint by fans, which I have to agree with.
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Yep, that is definitely the main issue I have with it. There are some genuinely great songs on the album, like "Pestilence And Plague", and the title track which are actually amongst my fave Priest songs. But the high quality exhibited on songs like that is not featured all the way through the album, and that is it's Achilles heel. Some of the songs are worthy of being called Priest classics, whilst others simply are not. I admire what Priest attempted to do on the album, but to make an album of that length, where everything is of equal quality is an incredibly difficult task. Still, I don't think it's anywhere near the total flop/failure which some fans make it out to be.
 
The production in terms of sound quality is bad (too loud and muddy) but all the computer-created sound effects have turned out well. The first CD is totally awesome. The second one gets slightly boring. I started loving this song, a pure ballad but very beautiful. It also has a nice guitar solo like many songs on the album. The solos aren't as on their earlier material but they show some great masterful playing. Experience of decades.

 
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Lost Love and New Beginnings are IMO the weakest non-intro songs on the album. Also, CD 1 intros are all quite awesome. The ones on the second CD are much weaker.

Death is amazing. Totally doom metal song! Revelations and Persecution are classic Priest, and War might be their most "cinematic" song :P
 
CD1 is definitely the stronger of the two discs. The majority of the filler songs are on the 2nd disc.

Priest always make amazing ballads, and "Lost Love" is no exception. I usually tear up whilst listening to it, which is a sign of a great ballad for me. lol The next song ("Persecution") is also one of my faves. I love it's energy and sense of urgency, and that makes it stand out too, as most of the album is played at a slower pace.

And yep, "Death" is awesome, although that was a song which grew on me, as I didn't love it at first. The first time that song really clicked with me, was actually when I saw it performed live on the Priest Feast tour. The song floored me on that occasion, and I've loved it ever since. :)
 
Looking forward to revisiting this album when we get to it on the discography thread.
Particularly Death, which has never clicked with me; I was surprised and disappointed it was one of only two tracks they played from the album during the Nostradamus tour.
That said, it has never really been a song I gave much of a chance to either; I tend to skip past it, maybe because it gets lost in the generally bloated nature of the album.

And Alone is magnificent, the apex of what they were shooting for on this album and among my all-time Priest faves.
 
mckindog said:
Particularly Death, which has never clicked with me; I was surprised and disappointed it was one of only two tracks they played from the album during the Nostradamus tour.
That said, it has never really been a song I gave much of a chance to either; I tend to skip past it, maybe because it gets lost in the generally bloated nature of the album.
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Yep, I was both surprised and disappointed that other songs from the album weren't played live, especially the title track.

And I know what you mean about Death. I had obviously heard the song before I saw it live, but it was a song which I normally skipped, as it didn't initially click with me. But when I saw it live, I thought it was awesome. I think one of the problems was, the production on the studio version doesn't do it justice. Live, it sounded heavy as hell, and the bit near the end when the intensity picks up, and Glenn and KK do a duel solo just mesmerised me. Now, I love it, but hearing it in the live environment definitely changed my view on it tremendously.
 
What songs from Jugulator were played live? That's another album with shitty production I feel like would seriously come alive when performed.
 
Jugulator has amazing production job, I dunno what you're talking about. Guitars are clear & crunchy, as are the drums.
 
Eric Wright said:
What songs from Jugulator were played live?
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Like Nostradamus, Jugulator's title track has never been performed live, which is a shame. Half of that album's songs have been played live, and they are:

Blood Stained
Death Row
Burn In Hell
Abductors
Bullet Train
 
Eric Wright said:
Thanks!

This is badass btw.

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You're welcome! :)

And yes, it is! I've watched a couple of full length concerts from the "Jugulator" tour on youtube, and they sound great, despite being bootlegs. Definitely worth checking out. :)

As for Jugulator's production, it's neither great, nor terrible. It could do with a bit more warmth, but it's still perfectly palatable to my ears. It is a bit sharp and harsh, and I can see why some would take issue with that.
 
Forostar said:
I still think KK left because of this


But I hope that one day he'll tell it himself.
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I don't - I think it has with Glenn and Jayne Andrews (assistant band manager since the 80's, and supposedly nowadays Glenn's girlfriend). Remember when the whole Baxter debacle went down, right before Rob fired him? He posted something along the lines that we'll take the KK approach and watch how the Jayne and Glenn show plays out. KK has pretty much said that (part of the reason) he left because of tensions with certain band member(s).
 
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