Judas Priest

Judas Priest - Invincible Shield

Despite already having more than half a century of career, I think it's arguably accepted that present days Judas Priest is enjoying one of their best eras ever. Redeemer Of Souls was a truly enjoyable album and to say Firepower is an all-around fan favorite is an understatement to say the least. Six years have passed since their last full length, and the Priest is back with a new album and, taking in account its predecessor, expectations are (justifiably so) high. Enters Invincible Shield. So, what does it bring?

A full-on Turbo era synth filled intro starts the whole thing and, since I'm far from being a fan of that era, this kind of makes me fear the worst. But once that Turbo Lover throwback sounding flanger (excellent detail) hits the speakers, Panic Attack turns out to be an anthemic classic Priest tune mixed with truly Painkiller like passages. At first it seems to be quite an impossible mix but somehow the band pulls it in a pristine way, and IMO turns out to be a top tier opener. Speaking of top tier, The Serpent And The King simply sounds stellar! And this thing is vicious, taking no prisoners throughout its full throttle attack (its verses remind me of Halford's Betrayal). The title track is the most faithful display of quality, pure 80's muscular up-tempo Heavy Metal I've listened to in years. Seriously, if this thing was released in any of the late 80's genre's albums it would feel 100% at home. And once again it sounds great, so this is an impressive three headed beast to open the album with, as far as I'm concerned.

The next trio takes a much more radio friendly approach, yet the overall quality level doesn't take a dip. Devil In Disguise is an incredibly addictive tune, sounding like something that came out straight out of the Screaming For Vengeance/ Defenders Of The Faith period. Gates Of Hell has a fair amount of similarities when compared with the prior song's style and, IMO, is also quality Heavy Rock like Priest material. Unlike many others I'm not the biggest fan of Crown Of Horns but, nonetheless, there's no denying it's a quality smooth rocker and sure has an important role in the album's dynamic as a whole. As God Is My Witness brings back the heaviness with a bang based upon a relentless double kick display and lightning-fast guitar riffage. Despite liking it tons it sounds too much like Leather Rebel , not being the more original tune from the lot. On the other hand, Trial By Fire is a dramatic and intense mid-tempo, widening even more the corners of the Heavy Metal spectrum Invincible Shield covers.

Not content with an already quite diversified album, Priest throws Escape From Reality in our way, something that reminds me of Rob Halford's band Fight's debut album: slow heavy, sludge filled groovy riffs contrast with the verse's unsettling fingerpick guitar melody, making out of this bad boy yet another great track. Sons Of Thunder is perhaps my least favorite song from the album, a run-of-the-mill up-tempo motorcycle Heavy rock tune. Now, the same can't be said about Giants In The Sky. To be fair the record's closer is an epic homage to the fallen icons that were pivotal while building the foundations of Heavy Metal (mainly Dio and Lemmy), and by doing so not only Judas Priest composed a truly intense and compelling track but also reveal a sense of humbleness that IMO always has been a part of the band. To be fair, Priest is - to say the least - as important as the icons they pay tribute to here. Yet that doesn't keep them from, in a certain way, looking up to these fallen comrades and praising them. What a great key to close the album with!

Overall, Invincible Shield has all the ingredients a great metal album should. By no way does it reinvent the wheel (nor does it slightly try to do so) but still manages to throw some curve balls our way while successfully rehashing some elements the band hasn't visited for decades (like Turbo or War Of Words), yet creating a considerably cohesive record. I'll go as far as saying it sounds more solid than compared its predecessor as an album: while IMO Firepower unnecessarily extends itself for 14 tracks (and by doing so misses the opportunity to even rival Painkiller, Sad Wings Of Destiny, Stained Class or Defenders Of The Faith as one of the band's top 4 albums ever), Invincible Shield comes to me as a tighter release almost devoid of any "fat" to trim. Yet, I must say I prefer Firepower a tad bit more since its high points are ridiculously amazing (especially its first 4 tracks). Nonetheless, Priest's new album is still one of the best metal albums I listened to in ages. Man, to keep this quality level after 50 plus years of doing this thing is insane to say the least. And you know what's even more insane? It's the fact that, if the advanced age or health issues of the collective allows them to push forward, I believe Judas Priest still has lots to offer before they're done.

8/10
 
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I must say that this album is exceptionally good. There are virtually no weak elements, the band sounds great and sounds such that fans old and new can enjoy it. I like it so much that I've been listening to it much more often than The Mandrake Project since its release, although the comparison is very unfair. Judas Priest showed that after so many years it is possible to record a well-recorded and fast album without taking shortcuts or lazy production.
 
TheMercenary said:
New interview with Rob Halford by Classic Rock. :)

www.loudersound.com

Judas Priest on awards shows, Invincible Shield and the beauty of cats

"You look at all these people who are giving you the horns, from Eminem to Lionel Ritchie, and you think: Is this really happening?"
www.loudersound.com www.loudersound.com
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Halford is sure that there will be a follow-up at some point: ''This is the nineteenth studio album. I don’t like odd numbers. Even if I’m turning the volume up on the telly. Even numbers are balance and harmony. We’re already thinking about what we’re going to do next. That’s the joy of music, it never stops.''

Great. There was also a wish to play more deep cuts (Fever and Reckless were mentioned; cool).
 
Reckless is an interesting case. They rehearsed it a few years ago during the preparations for the anniversary tour, but it didn't work. I know that Richie is really interested in playing it live. Before the beginning of the current tour, Scott said that they're not gonna perform it "yet" - which implies that they intend to play it in the near future. Who knows, maybe even today?

Fever is an easy song to play and it absolutely makes sense to perform it. I think that such significant changes to the setlist would cause the need to "rebuild" the core of it, but it can be done. The US leg of the tour is about to start, so we'll see. I'm not expecting any major changes for it, but I guess they might replace 2 or 3 songs. They'll probably be more ambitious later, once they come to Europe again. Faulkner said that the second leg should get a different setlist than the first one to make it more interesting for the fans who attended the spring shows.

It's interesting to hear that they've already started thinking about another record. It makes sense since they don't have much time left and they absolutely can't wait too long to make it. I wouldn't be surprised if the Invincible Shield tour ended in the middle of 2025 and they started writing and recording new stuff shortly after that. Q1/Q2 of 2025 sounds like a good time for the last shows of the tour, they still haven't announced any gigs in Australia, New Zealand and Japan. They haven't visited those countries since 2019 and I guess they'll want to play there.
 
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They changed the original name of the tour from "Metal Masters" to "Metal Masters - Invincible Shield Tour" some time after announcing the album, so I wouldn't pay too much attention to the name itself.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
www.setlist.fm

Judas Priest Setlist at Toyota Presents the Oakdale Theatre, Wallingford

Get the Judas Priest Setlist of the concert at Toyota Presents the Oakdale Theatre, Wallingford, CT, USA on April 18, 2024 from the Invincible Shield Tour and other Judas Priest Setlists for free on setlist.fm!
www.setlist.fm www.setlist.fm

The answer is…

no setlist changes
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There was one change on the second night in Newark, Sinner for Old to be Wise. I saw the video for Sinner on Youtube and the intro sounds heavy as hell! and Rob sounds great.
 
I've been spinning a lot of Priest since the release of Invincible Shield. It's still a bit too early for me to properly rank it among their back catalog, but I find it a really strong album.

I've been on such a Priest kick that I splurged for aftermarket tickets to see them next month here in DC. I haven't seen them since 2018 so I'm pretty excited (with Sabaton as an opener which is a nice bonus). You can never be too sure when your favorite bands will no longer be around to see so I'm glad I was able to get this to work out.

Priest!
 
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