Judas Priest

Whooten said:
I am not saying it is a Beckett-level controversy, but Empire immediately flooded to mind at least through the first few bars.
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Funny, my son said the same when I played the CD for the first time. Didn't notice it much myself. The piano helps of course.

I heard the album once and I like the majority a lot. Some riffs are really awesome. Looking forward to be blown away by these, live.
 
I would have to go with Rising from Ruins. I think it's got all the good elements Metal is known for.
 
Spectre has a very memorable riff. Best-sounding modern Priest record. Not quite an Angel of Retribution in content quality but it's decent enough.
 
Rising From Ruins was the one that grabbed me the most.
It’s reminding me of a good modern Saxon album.
 
  1. Firepower - Cool opener. Didn't like it much when I heard it on YouTube though. It's far from original but it's better than anything from the crap that is Redeemer Of Souls. The harmony/solo section is cool.
  2. Lightning Strike - This one, on the other hand, I like even less. We heard the verses numerous times before. The chorus sounds like a pre-chorus that builds up to... nothing. Lightning to strike, lightning to strike... lame.
  3. Evil Never Dies - "The devil's moved from Georgia" - is this song about Stalin coming to power? Filthy capitalist Priest! Lame chorus, but cool verses. And then comes the bridge with some different vocals from Halford and honestly it's the coolest thing he recorded since some songs on Made Of Metal. Unexpected stuff!
  4. Never The Heroes - Worth Fighting For... Again. I don't particularly like the main hard rock riff tbh. The verses are cool, but the chorus is uninspired.
  5. Necromancer - Some creepy backing vocals are the only memorable thing about this song. I guess the riff is good. But the vocal stuff is forgettable.
  6. Children Of The Sun - First part of the song is boring, the second is much better. But the chorus is lame.
  7. Guardians - This song has piano and guitars.
  8. Rising From Ruins - Why was Guardians a separate song? Anyway, I like Halford's vocals in the verses. And the chorus is one of the best on the album. At last more than two repetitive lines in a chorus. And some different riffs.
  9. Flame Thrower - The chorus is gonna be Halford screaming "FLAME THROWEEER", right? OK, they proved me wrong here. But the chorus is horrible, Halford sounds awful on it.
  10. Spectre - Silly song with a great chorus. But somehow lowkey one of the best songs on the album actually.
  11. Traitors' Gate - One of the least memorable songs on the album. Honestly it just flew by and nothing stood out to me.
  12. No Surrender - Didn't they already record a song with this title? Also lame hard rock song.
  13. Lone Wolf - Cool harmony, but looks like they should've wrapped things up with Spectre. Album's too long and not really varied.
  14. Sea Of Red - OK, this one is good too, but a bit too repetitive.
Overall: OK album but still near the bottom of their discography. Better than Redeemer, Rocka Rolla, Point Of Entry and Demolition and maybe on par with Turbo and Ram It Down. Weaker than everything else. They should've wrapped it up with Nostradamus which was a perfect album. The 2 albums after played it way too safe.
Best song(s): Rising From Ruins, Spectre, Evil Never Dies.
 
I've heard it for the 2nd time. At this point, I can mention only three tracks I do not like much. All others: fine, good, great, awesome.
The three:
- Flame Thrower
- Spectre
- Lone Wolf

11 nice songs. Maiden did that for the last time in nineteen fucking ninety-five, haters.

Great album.
 
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Forostar said:
I've heard it for the 2nd time. At this point, I can mention only three tracks I do not like much. All others: fine, good, great, awesome.
The three:
- Flame Thrower
- Spectre
- Lone Wolf

11 nice songs. Maiden did that for the last time in nineteen fucking ninety-five, haters.

Great album.
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Maiden hater.
 
Rising from the Ruins and the first five songs are also very, very good.

Great riffs, solos and vocals. Halford is the master. Shows how it is done.

You know what helps to appreciate this album? Play this loud, if your family and neighbours allow you to.
 
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Rising from the Ruins jumped right out for me, but I can see a few others are going to be songs that stick. Neat album. It helps that I didn't expect all that much from it until I started hearing the previews.
 
I played the lp backwards(side D to A) to relieve the ...sameyness and found it pretty dull I'm afraid. I think it all stems from Faulkner's influence. He's an excellent player but very straight. KK is Ledge, free flowing and artistic whereas Richie is uniform and conventional.
The twin leads of Glenn/KK were a real high point.
KK's remark about stealth rings true to me. On record the guitars sounded frenetic and frantic, but live their hands barely moved!

Redeemer was longer in the making so likely to have less Faulkner input, but Firepower is probably an even split which would explain the uniformity.
A lot of dust collectors recently-Maiden, Metallica, Priest.
 
I can't stop listening to the album. A no nonsense metal approach. Packed with energy and songs filled with great riffs and hooks.
 
Night Prowler said:
Don't think playing the songs loudly can make them better

This album is as "playing it safe" as it gets.
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If playing it safe is defined as trying to make an album of concise songs that all sound like they would fit on one of your most legendary albums, then yes.

Night Prowler said:
Which songs on this album would you consider "awesome"?
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I’m not ready to give this a full review yet, but if awesome is where original and interesting collide, then Rising From Ruins, Evil Never Dies and the Spectre. If it’s defined as I want to play this again, add Never the Heroes.

EDIT (as I continue to listen) I’m gong to add that Traitors Gate has some damn fine metal guitar and Sea of Red some amazingly emotional singing.
 
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