This could very well be the most anticipated reunion/comeback in the history of metal, rivaled perhaps only by Bruce's return to Iron Maiden.

Many questions have been raised as to which direction Priest would go in with this album. Would they go back to their old classic metal sound, would they pick up where they left off with the aggressive "Painkiller", or would they evolve into a different monster altogether? Both camps, Priest with Owen and Halford on his own, have pretty much been even heavier in the last ten years than they ever were back in the day, so the bets were all favoring a "Painkiller" sound.

Well, I'm here to tell you all that Judas Priest have done exactly what every fan wants; a solid album mixing old and new with a few surprises.

Parts of this CD is what "Painkiller" would have sounded like had it been recorded by a classic 70's Priest, whereas other parts sound like "Sad Wings of Destiny" as recorded by the furious 90's Priest. Without compromising in style, aggression or sound Priest has managed to epitomize everything they are and ever were as a band.

The catchier numbers have heavy elements to them that remind me of "Defenders of the faith", the faster songs have Scott's fast double bass drumming carrying old 70's style guitar riffing with razor sharp vocals, the slower numbers have an ominous darkness shrouding them in typical JP trademark shadows and there is even the mandatory old school JP filler.

The album starts out with "Judas Rising", a heavy and ass kicking piece that could have been from Painkiller, if it wasn't for the big fat wet riff dragging the song further back into the past. A perfect opener for anybody who was in doubt whether JP could still deliver the goods with Halford again.

Second song up is an 80's inspired number called "Deal with the Devil". I can easily see this as one of the better songs of "Defenders..." because of its heavy sing along style theme. The overall playing is so much better on this track than Priest ever was back then though, so it does stick out as sounding fresh regardless.

I have to say that Scott Travis has brought more to Judas Priest than he ever gets credited for. I loved his drumming in Racer X and he has kicked Priest up a few notches with his uber-solid rhythms, forcing Glenn and KK to pick up their rhythm playing as well. See what a drummer can do for a band? "Painkiller" would not have been what it was without him, as this album would have sounded "flat" with Holland back on drums, so everybody crying about the old line up being better can just kiss this arrogant ass.

Time for the dud. "Revolution" is for some mysterious reason the track the label chose to release both as a single and as a teaser on the Halford website. Maybe it was done to throw the dogs of know-it-all-assholery off the scent, because this song has no place on this album. It is absolutely horrible in its slow motion industrial sounding kindergarten nonsense. This song reminds me of something I heard a long time ago and hated passionately... I can't think of what... The guitars are like something out of a Nine Inch Nail horror movie and the vocals I can hear chanted by clueless nu-metal fans listening to Priest for the first time on Headbanger's Ball. I understand they were going for an old school sluggish sound with a modern twist, but it failed utterly.

Remember "Turbo"? That album was loaded with "cute" JP songs that most fans have chosen to chalk up to "sexual confusion", as exemplified by Rob Halford's teased mullet and tailor made "NASCAR on ice" leather outfit. Anyway... The album did have a few good radio friendly numbers, and "Worth Fighting For" could have been one of them. It has that "Private Property"/"Parental Guidance" feel to it. Not bad, not great... Still enjoyable as  a nice little break from heavier things to come.

And here they come...

"Demonizer" is one of the best and heaviest songs Priest has ever written. An excellent Ram-it-downer to shut the choir of unbelievers the hell up. With this song alone Priest reclaims the throne of metal from all toothless copycats and Ozzfest-spammers. This is metal ladies and gentlemen. The one song you bury in the time capsule labeled "metal" for the after world to find. I remember having that discussion with some clever individuals recently ("what is metal?") and this is the song we all would have agreed upon to represent the genre, had we heard it then.

"Freewheel Burning", "Ram it Down" and "Painkiller" got a new little buddy in "Demonizer". Play nice now... Not bloody likely. These are the guys who ran with scissors and got dirty during recess.

If "Revolution" was the dud, "Wheels of Fire" is the filler. Like all Priest albums since the dawn of time (and yes, they have been around that long) this one also has that useless song that adds nothing but minutes to the experience. A mid tempo rocker with the obvious chorus and static riffing. It's not bad, but is sure as hell is not good either. I forgot this song the second it tuned out. What were we talking about? Exactly.

Did Priest ever really have any "real" ballads on an album? There were a few that qualify maybe, but now "Angel" is the real deal. Starting out with only acoustic guitars it gives Halford a chance to show off a softer edge to his voice. The clean guitar work is nice and kind of unexpected at this point. Neither KK or Glenn are exactly known for their acoustic playing. The lyrics are tremendously silly, of course, but the song progresses nicely into a typically explosive power ballad crescendo. Nice...

Signature twin guitar leads kick off "Hellrider" and lead into a riff that could have been off any 70's Priest album, if it wasn't for the intense drumming backing it up. Some screaming notes later, from both Halford and guitars, we find ourselves in the middle of a perfect Priest number. Blending every element that makes them great into one single all encompassing song is a goddamn treat to every JP fan out there. It's got speed, style, the twin guitars, the crappy solo, the chorus, the darkness, the edge... Everything. My favorite of the CD so far...

Hey... What do we have here? "Eulogy"? A desolate sounding little tune that sounds like something out of a greater context. You know, one of those mellow interludes in between two heavy passages in big epic metal songs that go on for 20 minutes. As a song by itself it doesn't stand too firmly on its own two feet, but from an atmospheric point of view I very much enjoy the sound of Halford's voice over piano and background effects. Makes me wish it could have been inserted into something even grander though.

Speaking of epic saga... This next track, "Loch Ness", could very well be what "Eulogy" leads into! My review copy is a bit screwed up so I can't tell whether these two last tracks are supposed to bleed into each other, but I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt, thus scoring even more points to "Eulogy". See, "Lochness" is exactly one of those long ass metal epics I mentioned. Clocking in at well over 13 minutes it is guaranteed to turn some people off, but hey... those people do themselves a disfavor by missing out on a fantastic song. It is very dramatic and grand, both from a lyrical sense and from a musical point of view. I love the choir arrangements in the chorus and the hard cold rhythm guitar that barks out its unforgiving message.

It almost reminds me of when I was a kid, and would sit with the detailed album cover in one hand and the sinister lyric sheet in the other, totally absorbed in the magical world of metal.

In closing I would just like to say that I am not surprised about the overall quality of "Angel of Retribution". I was expecting as much, so relieved is more like it. This album delivers everything you could possibly want from a comeback Priest album, no matter what era of this great band you originally preferred.

An outstanding effort, perfectly produced, only slightly blemished by the occasional dud and filler, killing everything in the field and showing a new generation where it all began.

Judas Priest is back.

Judas Priest

"Angel of Retribution"

Rating:                                 

Reviewed by:

Skeletal Grace

Artwork used with permission from Neverland Music Inc.