Bought the new Judas Priest today. After one listen, I'm really loving it! Like Mckindog says, it's a great basic Metal album and that's really all I ask for with Priest. Sure, sometimes they've gone above and beyond (Painkiller) and that's not the case here, but they still know how to write great Metal, so I'm happy. Definitely better than Nostradamus and I'd say on par with Angel of Retribution, although none of the songs are at the level of Judas Rising imo. Judas Priest is really good at delivering exactly what you'd expect from them, so if you go into this wanting a good Priest album, you'll be quite satisfied. Normally when a band says they're "chickening out" and going to do a "no risks" "back to basics" album, it doesn't come out very good, but I think that approach actually works for Priest. Usually when they take risks, we end up with albums like Turbo and Nostradamus. Which aren't necessarily bad, but not really what I want from Priest.
The bonus disc is awesome, by the way. Totally worth the extra $3 or whatever. A couple of the songs rank among the best on the album I think. And whichever member of the band (Tipton I think?) was totally right when he said it's like its own album. It's like a bonus EP! Not that the songs are any different than what you get on the main disc, but it flows as it's own entity, the way an album would, rather than a bunch of a bonus songs tacked on at the end. Never Forget also works better as a closing ballad than Beginning of the End, which didn't really grab me.
Initial highlights: Dragonaught, Redeemer of Souls, Valhalla, March of the Damned, Metalizer, Secrets of the Dead, Snakebite, Creatures.
I'll give a more in depth review when it's time for this album in the discography thread. Hopefully by then it'll have sunk in.
Probably not, but we can hope.
