Warthur A swirling keyboard line introduces Panic Attack, the first song on Judas Priest's latest album, Invincible Shield - sounding nothing like any of the prior dabbling in synthesisers and more like they've been dipping a toe into the synthwave scene. No, it's not a radical shift in direction - just an atmospheric intro which gives way to metal fury once the song kicks into high gear, offering the most electrifying opening track on a Priest album since Painkiller.

And it never, ever lets up after that! After the excellent Firepower found Priest playing in a very direct, go-for-the-throat style which went back to basics, this one sees them elaborating the song structures a bit in a manner reminiscent of their 1970s material whilst still keeping the sound fresh, offering a sound with blends the fury and pace of Painkiller, the pristine production of their mid-1980s material, and the edge of transgression and defiance they've been offering up since the 1970s, encapsulating the best of all of their classic eras whilst still finding novel and exciting songs to play in this style.

A particular tip of the hat is needed for Glenn Tipton, who despite his Parkinson's still manages to contribute to the album, helping out with songwriting as he always has and putting in a few guitar solos here and there. Andy Sneap of Sabbat fame, who's served as Tipton's stand-in for the band's live shows ever since he stepped back from in-person performance, is credited with additional guitar, as well as fully taking on the producer's role (having co-produced Firepower), and he does a fine job of all these tasks, engineering the album to perfection as well as giving Glenn that essential backup. Given how key he's become to the band's activities these days, we should surely start thinking of Andy as Judas Priest's unofficial sixth member; he'd deserve it based on his contributions to this album alone, but combine that with his sterling work on Firepower and the grand job he does live filling in for Glenn he's surely become as crucial as any of the tenured band members.

Think of any other band who've been going as long as Priest, putting a new album out some 50 years after their debut; nine times out of ten, that new album's going to be a bit of a nostalgia exercise, a process of going through the motions which will appeal to ultra-fans but doesn't really offer much over their more compelling work they put out in their prime. Now look at Priest: it's easy enough to say that Invincible Shield beats the living daylights out of Rocka Rolla, that's a notably weak debut which more or less all of their albums bar for Demolition or Jugulator beat comfortably.

But for Invincible Shield to measure up credibly next to the likes of Sad Wings of Destiny, Stained Class, or Painkiller? That's astonishing - and yet I really think it does. Judas Priest are an inspiration to all the rest of us: if these lads can keep the flame burning after half a century, if Glenn Tipton can keep contributing as he does here despite his Parkinson's, then that's a challenge to all of us to face whatever challenges life throws at us with equal determination. Perhaps that conviction and self-belief - and confidence that their listeners can discover that same fire within them - which is Priest's true Invincible Shield.

siLLy puPPy The living heavy metal legends known as JUDAS PRIEST very well may be the longest running metal band in existence having formed in 1970 and never taking a leave of absence for all 54 years and has been unleashing one classic metal album after another. True that a few members such as K.K. Downing have gone by the wayside over the years and lead singer Rob Halford took a brief respite after “Painkiller” but ultimately upon his return in 2005 with “Angel of Retribution,” JUDAS PRIEST has been back and stronger than ever despite a few failed forays into experimental albums such as “Nostradamus” which weren’t exactly crowd pleasers but did offer an intriguing insight into the band’s more explorative nature.


It goes without saying that JUDAS PRIEST fans are headbangers and if these guys want to dabble in psychedelic prog indie rock with polka and Tuvan throat singing then they’d sure as hell better indulge those fantasies under a different band name. Luckily the band got the memo that they lost their true calling and with 2018’s “Firepower” the mighty PRIEST returned to what it does best and that is crank out anthemic arena quality heavy metal, the sound that put the entire metal world on the map in the first place. Well the metal royalty has returned six years after “Firepower” with a brand spankin’ new slab of molten metal ready to deliver the classic JUDAS PRIET goods.

INVINCIBLE SHIELD is the 19th studio album coming out exactly 50 years after its debut “Rock Rolla” hit the scene in 1974! Now THAT’S longevity and what’s even more amazing is that these guys sound more on fire than they did on that debut album that emerged a half century ago! Yes, it’s true! These guys sound exactly as they did in the 80s with razor-sharp dueling guitar attacks, a thundering bass and drum attack and of course the imitable metal god vocal prowess of none other than Rob Halford whose decades of shrieking and tearing it up at the mic has not taken a toll on his distinct singing style. Following very much in the footsteps of “FIrepower,” INVINCIBLE SHIELD does what most classic 80s albums offered and that includes: delivery exactly what the fans expect only change things up just enough to keep the album from sounding like the leftover tracks of the previous album.

It’s hard to believe that after all this time when metal has expanded into countless subgenres ranging from death metal and black metal to bizarre freaky hybrids such as trance metal and the J-pop induced Kawaii metal that JUDAS PRIEST would still be relevant in 2024 but the band has always offered such quality musical performances and in tandem with Iron Maiden is the old guard keeping the thundering heavy metal of yore going strong so many decades after its initial ascent to the throne of heavy music and while INVINCIBLE SHIELD hardly reinvents the wheel or offers a new direction for the band, what it does demonstrate is that JUDAS PRIEST is and still remains the master of this feisty in-yer-face classic heavy metal sound that even the younger generations seem to love when done as authentically and brilliantly as this classic slice of metal history in modern times.

Eschewing any excess experimentation and focusing on the heavy metal thunder of their legendary status, PRIEST is back with a aural assault of 11 tracks and an extra 3 bonus tracks on deluxe editions. Generating a frothing frenzy with the early release of the single “Panic Attack,” JP generated a visceral response that offered both a sense of disbelief that a bunch of guys in their 60s and 70s can still be cranking out such energetic metal as well as a sense of nostalgia for all the longterm fans who have been with them since the old days. Well INVINCIBLE SHIELD will not disappoint any classic PRIEST fans as the album gives the rabid headbangers exactly what they were hoping for in unadulterated classic PRIEST form. And like its predecessor “Firepower,” there may be no surprises lurking here but the consistency of the tracks will assuage the restless souls of diehard classic PRIEST fans.

Overall another great album in classic 80s heavy metal style from the masters of molten metal and living legends JUDAS PRIEST. Every member is firing on all pistons. The twin guitar attacks are up to snuff with all those addictive guitar sweeps and incessant groove pounding as well as the stellar bass and percussive rhythm section. The tracks are all instantly hook-laden and the classic variations of intros, outros, songwriting and contrast between segments reigns supreme. On top of that Rob Halford has lost none of his brash bravado and can still sing like a muthafucker hitting all the high notes and sounding like he’s at the top of his game, something that many singers cannot retain in their 70s.

If nothing else JUDAS PRIEST symbolizes the longevity of the heavy metal music paradigm because after all when the band was attacked in the 1980s by the religious zealots as inspiring suicide and Satanic worship, the consensus was that metal music was just a fad for the immature adolescents and that it would soon fade to oblivion. However after countless witch hunts and accusations of every possible path to the devil himself, JUDAS PRIEST has sallied forth throughout the decades without flinching. And to top it off it seems that the band are in no danger of slowing down any time soon. Could these guys become the very first centurial metal band? Only time will tell! So wrong the naysayers have been and so strong JUDAS PRIEST has become in keeping the flame alive of the old metal ways! All hail the PRIEST!