Judas Priest

Song lengths for the entire album:

Dragonaut - 4:26
Redeemer Of Souls - 3:58
Halls Of Valhalla - 6:04
Sword Of Damocles - 4:54
March Of The Damned -3:56
Down In Flames - 3:55
Hell & Back - 4:46
Cold Blooded - 5:25
Metalizer - 4:37
Crossfire - 3:51
Secrets Of The Dead - 5:41
Battle Cry - 5:18
Beginning Of The End - 5:07
Snakebite - 3:14
Tears Of Blood - 4:19
Creatures - 4:25
Bring It On - 3:18
Never Forget - 6:25
 
Saapanael said:
That's not too bad, is it?
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Nope! I seen a few people complaining, because they thought all the songs would be really short, but that has turned out not to be the case. Considering there's 18 songs on the deluxe version, I don't think anyone can complain about the song lengths. :)
 
Those are all good lengths. So is the deluxe edition two discs then? It looks like these would all fit on one CD, but I keep reading conflicting reports about this.
 
Glenn Tipton said in an interview a few weeks ago that the 5 bonus tracks would come on a separate disc. :)
 
New album is available to the public, if you know what I mean :P Not in the mood for it right now, will post a review when I am.
 
First impressions:
There are some mediocre songs but the majority is good, some songs even very good. Unfortunately, most songs have one or two weaker bits in them and the production does take away a lot from what the songs could've been. Angel of Retribution's production would have these songs sound twice as heavy. What's important is that I'm not disappointed, I like this album. And to be honest, don't be scared by "we will give you classic Priest, it will be the same style you liked blablabla...". It's really not that generic, it has a newer Priest style mixed up with some of their older principles. One of my favourite things about the album is that there are many many guitar melodies although not as many solos which is a little sad. Would've loved to see Tipton deliver some final masterpieces, I was really waiting for this one long and epic Painkiller-style solo. By the way, Glenn does a really KK-like solo on Hell & Back. The drumming isn't anything special for Travis' standards but it's by no means bad. Halford sounds pretty good most of the time but I'm afraid he can't handle those screams very well anymore. I would rather have no screams than poorly presented ones. Overall, Redeemer of Souls is quite strong and should offer something to all of us fans. The best songs are Redeemer of Souls, Halls of Valhalla, Down in Flames, Cold Blooded, Secrets of the Dead and Battle Cry. Rating: 7,8/10.
 
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It sounds better than in the youtube videos that were posted, but it's still not great, the guitars sound really muddy. If anything I think the album lacks a bit more variation in Rob's tone, I don't exactly expect him to be belting out screams constantly but it often feels like there's not much power in it. Need to give the album a few more listens, just wish that production was a bit better.
 
Okay, here's my take on the album after a couple of initial listens:

The album is actually quite diverse, and certainly way more diverse than you'd expect after Glenn's comments that the fans should expect a much more direct album after Nostradamus. In fact, there are quite a lot of nods to 70's Priest on the album, in particular on the tracks "Crossfire" and "Beginning Of The End", but also appears in other songs. The production is certainly the main weak spot on the album, but it's certainly not enough to ruin the album. On the subject of solos, I agree much with Saapanael. On most of the previous Priest albums, Glenn has taken the biggest proportion of the solos, whereas that role seems to be taken by Richie this time. And there are a lot of guitar harmonies, but no real long, epic solos, which is a disappointment. Also, Glenn's tone seems rawer than usual, and his playing is also a bit more sloppy and not smooth and measured like he is known for. The fact that Glenn's guitar seems lower in the mix than Richie's also doesn't help matters on his end. And as mentioned above, Glenn's solo on "Hell & Back" sounds like K.K. did a guest spot on the album! Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, but the lack of Glenn's distinct style on most of the album is disappointing.

Overall, the diversity of the album is it's greatest strength, and it's in this regard that the listener can become really engaged with the album. For all the album's flaws, it's Priest's return to a more adventurous nature which pulls it out of the fire and makes it a worthy addition to the Priest canon. There's elements of pretty much every era of the band present on the album, which makes the album ultimately a winner for me!
 
I appreciate the reviews! They do try to show the good things about the new album, but they also reveal painful matters. To be honest I am (still) not enthousiastic about getting it soon. (Although, I certainly would like to have that deluxe version, and I am not sure how long that is available.)

Especially Halford's lack of screaming puts me off; it feels as if it makes the band toothless. For years I've said that Priest is my favourite band next to Maiden, but these samples don't give me an idea that I am going to like it (much). By the way, Saap, your rating feels a little high to me, after reading what you said.
 
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Forostar said:
I appreciate the reviews! They do try to show the good things about the new album, but they also reveal painful matters. To be honest I am (still) not enthousiastic about getting it soon. (Although, I certainly would like to have that deluxe version, and I am not sure how long that is available.)

Especially Halford's lack of screaming puts me off; it feels as if it makes the band toothless. For years I've said that Priest is my favourite band next to Maiden, but these samples don't give me an idea that I am going to like it (much). By the way, Saap, your rating feels a little high for me, after reading what you said.
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I've listened to the album 4 times now, and the more I hear it, the more I like it! About Halford's lack of screaming... he actually screams quite a lot on the album, and more than I would gave expected at this point in the band's career. Of course, they aren't the ear splitting, crystal clear screams he could pull off in his prime, but I am glad he is still doing the screaming, and it certainly adds to the album! Also, because of the diversity on offer, this is an album that takes several listens to truly kick in.

I'm starting to really enjoy the album, and see it as a nod to their whole career. There's bluesy moments, thrash elements, catchy power metal, and even some magical 70's whimsy. As a fan of every era of Priest, I'm getting a lot out of it, and in spite of it's flaws, I'd say this is their strongest body of work since Painkiller. And it's definitely one of their most interesting albums! :)
 
The thing I find weird, is that Glenn said the reason the 5 bonus tracks were not put on the actual album, is because they sound different to the regular album songs. As the album itself is pretty diverse, that comment is quite perplexing... which makes me even more intrigued to hear the bonus songs! lol I have pre-ordered the deluxe edition of course. Hopefully it will be good! :)
 
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And just for fun, and because I'm such a geek, here's what I believe to be all the lead break credits on the album. :)

Dragonaut: Richie/Glenn
Redeemer Of Souls: 1st solo - Glenn/2nd solo - Richie
Halls Of Valhalla: All solos - Richie
Sword Of Damocles: Main lead harmony - Both/ Solo - Both/Richie/Both/Richie
March Of The Damned: All licks/solos - Richie
Down In Flames: 1st solo - Richie/ Harmony - Both/ 2nd solo - Richie/Glenn/Richie/Glenn
Hell & Back: 1st verse entry lick - Glenn/ 1st solo - Glenn/ 2nd solo - Richie
Cold Blooded: Intro lead - Glenn/ Solo - Richie/Glenn
Metalizer: 1st solo - Glenn/ Harmony - Both/ 2nd solo - Richie
Crossfire: All licks/solos - Richie
Secrets Of The Dead: Bridge harmony - Glenn/ Solo - Richie/ After solo melody - Glenn
Battle Cry: Bridge solo - Richie/ Main solo - Glenn/Richie/Glenn/Richie
Beginning Of The End: Licks and solo - Glenn
 
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