Judas Priest

Edington said:
Something I've been wondering. For all of those who've been into Priest since before Halford's return: how did you feel when it was announced Halford was returning and the Angel of Retribution album was released? Overjoyed, disappointed, indifferent?
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Disappointed, as I thought that Ripper was a superb singer capable of doing the old songs justice (I saw them live in 2001 and the gig was really good). That being said, while Jugulator was a good album (perhaps too brutal), Demolition was absolute crap, so bringing Rob back was probably the only logical thing to do to have the classic songwriting team working together again.

Since then I have found them to be really hit and (mostly) miss. Angel of Retribution was a good reunion album (Loch Ness was absolutely terrible though). I cannot comment about the tour, as I was not able to go to any show (I have only watched different DVDs).

On the other hand, Nostradamus was cringeworthy and their career since then has been a bit of a soap opera: 30th anniversaries being celebrated in limited territories 29 years after an album was released, K.K. Downing leaving the band after a farewell tour was announced, a farewell tour that then was no longer their epitaph, Glenn Tipton having to semi-retire but the band continuing without him... It would have been nice to be able to see them with Rob, K.K. and Glenn all in the band, but sadly that ship has sailed.

On a personal note (I am sure some would disagree), I would rather have seen them ending their career on a high note in these twilight years instead of being Ozzy's support band. :(
 
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I don't think Edington asked about the last 15 years. I'll just go into 2004/2005 (period of announcement and album) now:

These were different moments:

1. The news. Great that he returned. I was excited to see Priest with Halford. After all, he sang on so many awesome albums that co-shaped my love for metal.
I like the Ripper years (very good live singer as well: Ripper was very good on the live album) and Demolition was not a crap album, I felt. It had several good songs. But I missed the speed the most. And melodic, nice guitar solos, which already had disappeared on Jugulator. Perhaps these solos were a little better but it wasn't the same.

2. The concert. I saw Priest with Halford for the first time at Arrow Rock in 2004. Still my favourite Priest concert. The band was very good and I've never seen Halford better afterwards. This is a cool clip my wife filmed:
Setlist:
  1. The Hellion / Electric Eye
  2. Metal Gods
  3. Heading Out to the Highway
  4. The Ripper
  5. A Touch of Evil
  6. The Sentinel
  7. Turbo Lover
  8. Victim of Changes
  9. Diamonds & Rust
  10. Breaking the Law
  11. Beyond the Realms of Death
  12. The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)
  13. Painkiller
  14. Hell Bent for Leather
  15. Living After Midnight
  16. United
  17. You've Got Another Thing Comin'

In this gig, Halford was better than on subsequent concerts, at least judging by the material I've seen (including the bonus DVD they released with interviews and clips from the 2004 tour).

3. The album: I liked it but was not over the moon:
A dragging, way too long album closer. The second song Deal With the Devil felt very unoriginal and almost a copy of Made in Hell. No coincidence that both were co-written by Roy Z. I do not like Revolution much and Wheels of Fire and Eulogy neither. That leaves half an album that is good to great. Hellrider and Demonizer definitely belong to the my album favs.

2 was the absolute highlight for me. What a concert. By the way, I've never seen Priest in the Ripper years.
 
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I'd lost touch with Priest in 1997 when looking through the cd racks and seeing Jugulator. Was it a cover band? The logo wasn't correct but I'd never seen those song titles before.
I really enjoyed Jug at the time, a real shot in the arm of no nonsense metal(if a bit silly).
I used to prefer Jug to Demolition but in recent years my preferences have switched.
Jug has an explosive title track, love the riff rhythm change on the solo that ends hanging. Nice dancing groove to the riff under the Bullet Train solo. But I wouldn't play the cd now.
Demolition I still play occasionally. Hell is Home is a favourite Priest track.

Rob's clearly the class act, a unique bona fide star. Ripper is a competent performer. The parallels with KK/Faulkner are clear to me.
AOR is stronger than the Ripper stuff and it felt good he was back. Nostradamus is my favourite reunion album, their best since Defenders for me.
 
OK, so the prices for the Ozzy Osbourne + Judas Priest London gig at the O2 range from £56.00 (last couple of rows of seats far from the stage) to £181.75 (seats very close to the stage).
 
Edington said:
Something I've been wondering. For all of those who've been into Priest since before Halford's return: how did you feel when it was announced Halford was returning and the Angel of Retribution album was released? Overjoyed, disappointed, indifferent?
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I only got into Priest in 2002! Therefore the Ripper years had bypassed me, so it was a different feeling to the relief when Bruce returned to Maiden. I'm not a fan of the Ripper albums, I try to listen to them but it just sounds like a generic american 90's metal band, not Judas Priest. The lyrics are too bro-dude as well, and they really lack the campness of Halford.

AOR is a very solid return album that is completely ruined by the ridiculous Loch Ness track.
 
Standing probably isn't available anymore then. No need to apologize though. I was only asking out of curiosity, I'm not interested in going.
 
GhostofCain said:
On a personal note (I am sure some would disagree), I would rather have seen them ending their career on a high note in these twilight years instead of being Ozzy's support band. :(
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I know that this is your point of view, but I'm glad that they did not stop and released a metal masterpiece like the Firepower album. Redeemer Of Souls was also solid.
 
Black Wizard said:
I think most bands do that.
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To some extent maybe, but I'll give you an example with Kiss - they almost every time (album tour, or the recent hits tours) opens the concert with Detroit Rock City, even back in the 70's and mostly in the 80's. Who can blame them, this song is a real classic. :)
 
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Kalata said:
I know that this is your point of view, but I'm glad that they did not stop and released a metal masterpiece like the Firepower album. Redeemer Of Souls was also solid.
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Firepower is definitely a good and enjoyable album, although it has not reignited my enthusiasm for the band. Not enough firepower (pun intended) as far as I am concerned.
 
GhostofCain said:
Firepower is definitely a good and enjoyable album, although it has not reignited my enthusiasm for the band. Not enough firepower (pun intended) as far as I am concerned.
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Fair enough, for me the Firepower album do not have a bad song on it and I rank it as the third best Priest album, behind only DOTF and Painkiller.

DOTF is a real classic, but the title track should had been an actual song, not a intro ! I also do not quite like the songs that are 1+ minutes long that serves as a intro to some songs, and Priest have a lot of them, especially on the Nostradamus album. Yeah, The Hellion is great like Maiden's Ides Of March and it is perfect to open the album, but things like Battle Hymn, Eulogy, Heavy Duty just seems bland.

Painkiller is a perfect album, I only dislike the song Metal Meltdown because of the not that good chorus, but as I said, Firepower has no bad songs and it is their best album since 1990 as a whole album.
 
Thanks for the responses, everybody, interesting stuff from you all. I think I agree mostly with @GhostofCain - the 21st century has been less than kind to Priest. I often think that the Priest reunion was more of a "let's do it for the fans" thing, over Halford actually wanting to do so. I find he sounds a bit disinterested (Firepower being a massive exception), especially compared to Halford (the band) performances. There's a live video of a concert in Japan from 2010, Halford (the man) sounds amazing.

I first discovered Priest in 2009 (that year was my big metal awakening), but didn't get into them properly until about a year later. Late 2010 I heard "Painkiller" for the first time and was totally blown away, that song and album started a long obsession with Priest. They may even have usurped Maiden at one point.

I only know a handful of songs from the Ripper era, but I don't think they're as bad as most people say (@srfc is right, they are a bit too "hardcore" and it falls flat), and while I like Angel of Retribution, I don't think it's a truly amazing album. Never listened to Nostradamus, Redeemer is a bit "Eh" and I love Firepower.
 
That's how I see the Priest albums since the return of Rob:

AOR - good album, but also has a couple of fillers.
Nostradamus - unnecessary long album, but if you remove the 1+ minutes intros, then it is a solid album, yeah, it is different style for Priest, but I think @Edington you should give the album a chance.
ROS - a great album, very fresh, but also has a couple of not so good songs ! The bonus songs are all very good and deserves to be in the album.
Firepower - fantastic album ! It has everything in it that I love about Priest.

I think, this is how the Nostradamus album should look like:

1.Prophecy
2.Revelations
3.War
4.Persecution
5.Alone
6.Visions
7.Nostradamus
8.Future Of Mankind

Try this version @Edington ;)
 
Forostar said:
I don't think Edington asked about the last 15 years. I'll just go into 2004/2005 (period of announcement and album) now:

These were different moments:

1. The news. Great that he returned. I was excited to see Priest with Halford. After all, he sang on so many awesome albums that co-shaped my love for metal.
I like the Ripper years (very good live singer as well: Ripper was very good on the live album) and Demolition was not a crap album, I felt. It had several good songs. But I missed the speed the most. And melodic, nice guitar solos, which already had disappeared on Jugulator. Perhaps these solos were a little better but it wasn't the same.

2. The concert. I saw Priest with Halford for the first time at Arrow Rock in 2004. Still my favourite Priest concert. The band was very good and I've never seen Halford better afterwards. This is a cool clip my wife filmed:
Setlist:
  1. The Hellion / Electric Eye
  2. Metal Gods
  3. Heading Out to the Highway
  4. The Ripper
  5. A Touch of Evil
  6. The Sentinel
  7. Turbo Lover
  8. Victim of Changes
  9. Diamonds & Rust
  10. Breaking the Law
  11. Beyond the Realms of Death
  12. The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)
  13. Painkiller
  14. Hell Bent for Leather
  15. Living After Midnight
  16. United
  17. You've Got Another Thing Comin'

In this gig, Halford was better than on subsequent concerts, at least judging by the material I've seen (including the bonus DVD they released with interviews and clips from the 2004 tour).

3. The album: I liked it but was not over the moon:
A dragging, way too long album closer. The second song Deal With the Devil felt very unoriginal and almost a copy of Made in Hell. No coincidence that both were co-written by Roy Z. I do not like Revolution much and Wheels of Fire and Eulogy neither. That leaves half an album that is good to great. Hellrider and Demonizer definitely belong to the my album favs.

2 was the absolute highlight for me. What a concert. By the way, I've never seen Priest in the Ripper years.
Click to expand...
Saw them on the same tour in Sofia, 2004. Fantastic.
 
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