JUDAS PRIEST — Redeemer Of Souls (review)

JUDAS PRIEST — Redeemer Of Souls album cover

Album · 2014 · Heavy Metal

4/5 · 2014-10-02
siLLy puPPy

My first impression upon listening to the 17th studio album by JUDAS PRIEST is that it is the ultimate tribute album to themselves. After a strange foray into the world of progressive rock with their previous album “Nostradamus,” the band decided to abandon all of that experimenting and retreat back to what they know best after a painful verbal lashing from critics and fans alike (although I didn't think it was all that bad). The band also saw the exit of founding member K.K.Downing after nearly 40 years and the debut of new guitarist Ritchie Faulkner who was unknown to me but played with the Lauren Harris band. The rest of the lineup is the same as the “Painkiller” era with Ian Hill, Glenn Tipton and Scott Travis showing no sign of slowing down.

REDEEMER OF SOULS has a diverse plethora of sounds, most of which sound like they could have been from that long lost album that came out after “Painkiller.” In fact a whole bunch of them have riffs that remind me of tracks from that album. “Redeemer Of Souls” = “Hell Patrol” “Halls Of Valhalla” = “Nightcrawler” “Metalizer” = “Metal Meltdown.” There are also hints of their earlier years with one of the bluesiest numbers since “Rocka Rolla” with “Crossfire” and even a return to the acoustic intros with sound effects that graced the Ripper albums of the 90s such as on “Secrets Of The Dead” before churning out the classic anthem riffage that sounds like a combo effect of “Screaming For Vengeance” meets “Jugulator.” There are atmospheric keyboards, epic lyrics, wailing guitar solos and despite the retro effect an occasional surprise or two.

After all is said and done this is meant to be a classic sounding PRIEST album and therefore sounds a little like a PRIEST-by-the-numbers release, however for the band who was one of the first and most important innovators in heavy metal music and have a classic sound that never sounds dated or cliché, I have to admit that a self-tributing album that doesn't dish out many surprises is not a bad thing especially when all of the tracks are as catchy and headbangin' as anything that emerged in their heyday of the 80s. True it is that Halford has lost just a little luster in his high range but the band captures some of that 90s thrash energy that lends itself to his comfort in settling in the lower registers. After a few listens I can happily say that I have fallen for this album and although it will never replace the absolute best releases of their discography (“Sad Wings,” “Stained Class,” “Painkiller”), it is far from their worst (“Point Of Entry,” “Turbo”) and one that can assuage a restless fan base that despite the mighty PRIEST having the occasional itch to meander into new musical arenas, are always able to take it all in stride and revert back to their classic metal god status.

more than 2 years ago
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siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I was hesitent about liking it because i really wanted another prog album that had more metal than Nostradamus but after accepting it for what it is i think its pretty good

Kingcrimsonprog wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I'm not sure how I feel about this one yet. I can't seem to "get it" but I want to get it so much I cant seem to just decide its boring either.

adg211288 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I like this one quite a bit. Some way off their best work but easily still the best of the post Painkiller albums for me.

Unitron wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Nice review, I also enjoyed 'Nostradamus'. In fact it's my favorite Priest album along with 'Painkiller'.
This is definitely a good return to form though.