Judas Priest

After first listen, I'll say its definitely a solid modern release by Priest. Compared to Firepower, it is a bit "moodier" album. Instead of riffs with catchy hooks, it is focused more on harmonization and melodies. Richie is surely the man of the match here. Rob sounds awesome, actually the whole band is tight for that part (what's up with Scott flipping his drum sticks each time though? LOL). On the other hand, I do find decent amount of variety throughout the songs.

Won't describe much right now. Saving it all for the review ;)

Fav. songs (out of 14):
Panic Attack, As God Is My Witness, Giants In The Sky and Fight Of Your Life.
 
I would take that back cover or any of the booklet art over the actual album cover.

The album cover as is (and a lot of the lyrics) had some real AI quality to it imo.
 
I will have a new-to-me car this week that has a CD player, so I ordered the CD with the 3 bonus tracks and will pick it up today.
 
If I would have to choose 3 standout track from the new album, mine would be:

Invincible Shield (those harmonised guitars are pure gold, this is what I miss in todays Maiden)
Giants In the Sky (rhythmically I hear shades of Heaven and Hell, outro is pure Manowar)
Fight Of Your Life

(al three tracks are uplifting, no whining here)

4 and 5 would be:

Panic Attack
Crown of Horns

All in all, given circumstances, Faulkner's Priest delivered the goods again!
 
Great/Best:
Invincible Shield (the most interesting instrumental section along with Panic Attack, melodies!)
As God Is My Witness (everything is so good)
Panic Attack
Fight Of Your Life

Very good:
Crown Of Horns (love it)
Escape From Reality (mainly because of the chorus)
Vicious Circle

Good:
Trial By Fire
Gates Of Hell (because it's catchy)

Nice/Not bad/Not a big fan of:
The Serpent And The King
Devil In Disguise
Sons Of Thunder (mainly because of the verses, it sounds like an Accept/Saxon song)
Giants In The Sky

Don't like:
The Lodger
 
Mosh said:
I would take that back cover or any of the booklet art over the actual album cover.
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Agreed. I like the colors, although I would have added some background to give it more character (the one with the flags on the battlefield in the booklet would be perfect). It's their weakest since Demolition, but I like it better than it, Turbo, POE, British Steel (I know) and most of the 70's covers. I think they were going for the 70's or early-to-mid 80's vibe with it. A shield is a great idea though.
 
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Kalata said:
Agreed. I like the colors, although I would have added some background to give it more character (the one with the flags on the battlefield in the booklet would be perfect). It's their weakest since Demolition, but I like it better than it, Turbo, POE, British Steel (I know) and most of the 70's covers. I think they were going for the 70's or early-to-mid 80's vibe with it.
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This artwork is fine for me as it represents what is heavy metal nowadays : an invincible shield against all the bad things that happen in life. As a lot of songs are dealing with the eternal war between the good and the evil ("Panic Attack" in some ways, "The Serpent And The King", "Devil In Disguise", "Gates Of Hell", "As God Is My Witness", "Fight Of Your Life" in some way either, "The Lodger" bringing some vengeance), this invincible shield takes on its full meaning. And listening to Judas Priest can bring serenity and joy in this world full of wars and terror and pain. Like a shield protecting us from the evil. It's a nice metaphor. And instead of putting another angel on the artwork (the one from the back of the booklet), the band have chosen the suggestion rather than the proper image of a guardian angel. Because Judas Priest is like a guardian angel bringing peace and satisfaction to its fans while "the world is exploding every single night" (Iron Maiden, quote from '"The Wicker Man" on 'Brave New World', I specify this in case Steve and Rod are on the lookout for the slightest plagiarism on the forum :D).

But, I agree the angel on the back of the booklet would have been very fun to see on the front artwork. ;)
 
After a few more listens I think my only real issue with the album is the production. The ‘Sneap’ sound comes across as initially powerful and red blooded but is ultimately very generic and leads to everything sounding the same. That combined with the ubiquitousness of Faulkner’s playing style makes it sound less Priesty than it should and just copy and paste 21st century metal.

I think AOR will always be my favoured reunion album.
 
Excellent/Best:
Invincible Shield
Panic Attack
The Serpent and the King
As God as my Witness

Great/Very Good:
Crown of Horns
Escape From Reality
Fight of Your Life
Trial by Fire
Gates of Hell
Giants in the Sky

Good:
Devil in Disguise
Vicious Circle
The Lodger

Ok/decent:
Sons of Thunder

Don't Like:
none

Overall score: 8.5/10
 
It's weird, I do like this album but I realized that it feels very surface level. Like after 4-5 listens I feel like I know it as well as I'm going to and there's not much to uncover or discover beyond that.

Contrast with the Bruce album or Maiden in general where I'm still finding cool nuggets after bunches of listens.

This isn't a good or bad thing, it's just probably an indication that my ears gravitate way more towards the Maiden sound than Priest. That being said, this is a fun listen and I'm glad to hear Priest (or a version of it at least) so strong this deep into their career.
 
I enjoyed a couple of the singles but still haven't made it through the album yet I get bored too quickly. Feels like the result you'd get from feeding Painkiller, Angel of Retribution and Firepower into AI and asking it to make a Priest record. Very competently produced but lacking in personality, almost the polar opposite of current day Maiden in that regard.
 
Setlist(s) from today, apparently, Heep had tech issues and had to start late.

www.setlist.fm

Judas Priest Setlist at The OVO Hydro, Glasgow

Get the Judas Priest Setlist of the concert at The OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland on March 11, 2024 from the Invincible Shield Tour and other Judas Priest Setlists for free on setlist.fm!
www.setlist.fm www.setlist.fm

www.setlist.fm

Saxon Setlist at The OVO Hydro, Glasgow

Get the Saxon Setlist of the concert at The OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland on March 11, 2024 and other Saxon Setlists for free on setlist.fm!
www.setlist.fm www.setlist.fm

www.setlist.fm

Uriah Heep Setlist at The OVO Hydro, Glasgow

Get the Uriah Heep Setlist of the concert at The OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland on March 11, 2024 and other Uriah Heep Setlists for free on setlist.fm!
www.setlist.fm www.setlist.fm
 
Really dig the album and the only negative I can pick out is the bonus tracks should have all been part of the main album. I actually made a CD-R moving the last two proper tracks to the end of The Lodger and it makes for a brilliant 14 song album.
 
The Dissident said:
www.setlist.fm

Judas Priest Setlist at The OVO Hydro, Glasgow

Get the Judas Priest Setlist of the concert at The OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland on March 11, 2024 from the Invincible Shield Tour and other Judas Priest Setlists for free on setlist.fm!
www.setlist.fm www.setlist.fm
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The stage set left a lot to be desired, especially compared to that of the previous tour. Richie is amazing! Rob needs to warm up.

Only 3 new songs (so far) - Panic Attack, Invincible Shield and Trial By Fire. They sound nice, Trial is not the best live song.

18 songs setlist. The only surprises are: Love Bites and Saints In Hell. The rest are the same classics from the previous tour. Not cool at all. But I guess they will change it between the legs. I'm curious about Screaming For Vengeance performance.

The decors are just two album covers on both sides end of the stage (also above, 4 in total) plus 4-piece screens as backdrops, which are cool in a way.



 
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