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This just goes to show why bands that ran out of good ideas a long time ago need to hang it up. I dont know how anyone who claims to be a true metal fan can like this crap, I have been priest fan for ages, seen them live (one of the best concerts ever) and could not wait to hear this album. What a waist of money, This album has some of the cheesiest lyrics I have ever heard and the lamest systhesized music ever. (Metallica, Preist, Iron Maiden, ect). Don't waist you hard earnd cash on this junk.
"Nostradamus" is epic out taking and one that was years in the making. The band sounds as tight as it ever has, reaching back to "Sad Wings" and further for sounds that revolutionized music and metal in general. After hiring a spot on mimic to take Halford's place, Judas Priest continued on to a dwindling fan base but the soul of the music was gone (as was the songwriting).Fast forward five years since his return and Judas Priest is once again at the forefront of not only heavy metal but the Music Industry. Everything that is old will be made new again.In the age of making the quick buck with inferior bands and even more inferior music, the Godfathers of Heavy Metal have announced their return to the metal realm.2007's "Angel of Retribution" marked the return of lead vocalist Rob Halford back to the JP fold. In short, if you are or ever have been a Judas Priest fan, it is your duty to the Metal Gods to go out and purchase this album. With Scott Travis and Ian Hill laying down a solid backbone, Halford's screech "I am the darkness." begins an epic journey into the life and death of the future prophit and seer to Kings.
Not since "Sad Wings of Destiny" have I heard the classic JP piano that, thank the rock gods, abounds throughout the album as does the fantastic twin guitar work of Downing and Tipton.
"Our rich history with metal has covered many of the elements and messages that are both the backbone of his (Nostradamus) life and what we compose; overcoming difficulties; standing up against those that misunderstand what we believe in and many other virtues that attest to what we do with our music," claims the inside cover of the Double CD.
Downing) blaze throughout the album and show even more depth through their use of synthesized guitars.
His break from the band stemming from musical differences which forced the band to amicably part ways.Halford would go on to a series of successful groups, (Fight, Halford) and his fan base continued to grow as he kept to his metal roots while the Priest struggled.
The purveyors of the "double-lead" guitar attack (aka Glenn Tipton and K.K.
"Five hundred years after his passing, Judas Priest undertake what is considered to be our most ambitious musical adventure to date."Ambitious just scratches the surface.
When the first notes rang out from "Dawn Of Prophecy" I knew I was in store for something special.
Young Metal and Hard Rock bands should take note of the feast the Godfathers of Metal have wrought.
Be prepared for over 90 minutes of metal mayhem and take part in the next evolution of Judas Priest.
As a fan since Rocka Rolla came out on 8 track. One word comes to mind. Abortion. Thank you Judas Priest.
The world was hoping that Priest would put out thrash masterpiece in the ancient traditions of `Sad Wings', `Sin After Sin" and `Stained Class'. Without any shred of irony, their latest seems to be cliché ridden but much of the music could make a case of how un-ironic and un-cliché metal can be in the right hands, the hands of the grand masters of the form. I really like this record but I have to agree with many of the reviews. Did their reach overextend their grasp. In perhaps the most ambitious project in their nearly forty year history, Judas Priest unleashed `Nostradamus' on an unsuspecting metal populace last summer. I plan on seeing these guys in July (a dream come true) and I am hoping they play some of the choice cuts from `Nostradamus'. Maybe the band decided that in their twilight years, after the critical waxing they got from the Ripper-era albums, that they would dip their toes in the pool on `Angel of Retribution' and go for the throat on `Nostradamus'. Rob is of course Rob, the metal god with his talents used to their fullest extent (even singing in Italian, talk about true metal opera).
Other faves include "Prophecy", "Pestilence and Plague" (the one with the Italian chorus), "Alone", "Visions" and the title track. I do consider myself a diehard and I give the band all the credit in the world for following their muse and maybe if this LP contained a few more "Painkiller" or "Exciter" type songs then my rating would be five stars. Reviews have been mixed to say the least with most of the negative viewpoints surrounding the massive amounts of orchestration and mellower interludes that are interspersed throughout the double disc. The best songs include "Persecution" which is an amazing return to form - classic Judas Priest. While `Nostradamus' is not the stupid mass appeal metal of the mid-eighties, it may not be everything their diehard fans want it to be. Scott Travis, without question the greatest drummer Priest ever had seems to be underutilized here is most songs are slower tempo and not the double bass onslaught that his talents are tailor made for. This may seem slight for a double disc lasting almost two hours but maybe that's why this record is not as good as fans wanted it to be. Metal is a timeless art form and as long as Glenn, KK, Rob, Ian and Scott keep it together, Judas Priest can truly claim to be the Rolling Stones of heavy metal.but a hell of a lot cooler.
If you, like me, want to hear heavy metal that harkens back to the days before hair bands ruined the genre, get Nostradamus. I'm a 46 year old jammer and have been a fan of the Priest since they first came out. I keep trying to listen to the new metal but can't seem to appreciate bands that just run on the double bass drum, have a good rhythm guitarist that plays super fast as lead, and a growler at the mike. This disc reminds me of their early albums that showed the variety and artistry that I loved so much. The Metal Gods Have Returned.
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