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I agree with many perspectives of all the reveiws that have been posted.I probably will sound like a classic rock cheerleader, but just enjoy the mastery of this ledgendary band. I have been a fan since 1976, and now in 2010 I can not wait for the next tour. Do not be over critical, this is a classic reguardless. We as fans should feel blessed that the Priest still rocks our lives. I do not expect any reveiwers to feel the same way that I do , but I know there is. Keep rockin Judas Preist for I am a loyal fan.
This album is so large in scope that other shorter albums have a hard time standing up against it. My favorite songs are Prophecy, Revelations, War, Sands of Time, Pestilence and Plaque, Death, Conquest, Persecution, Exiled, Alone, Visions, New Beginnings, Nostradamus, and Future of Mankind. I give it 5 stars because I can't give it 6 stars.I have to tell you that this is my first Judas Priest album, and therefore any of their previous albums did not bias my review of this album. The atmosphere of this album is incredible. I have no prior knowledge of Judas Priest's earlier work. There was never a moment where I went, "Why did they do that, I don't get it." And There was never a moment where the music lost the focus of a rock opera by allowing songs made for easy radio play to creep into the album. There are peaks and valleys all through this album, and never a moment to regret.
When I first heard that there was a Nostradamus concept album, I thought, "That's going to be fantastic, I have to get it." My instincts were right. Nostradamus is an amazing album. The orchestral arrangements create a very dark and timeless atmosphere that is not present on other concept albums. Rob Halford's vocals are intense, dark, and powerful. Like I said, THIS IS INTELLIGENT MUSIC. It's like you are traveling through space and time, and every now and then you get a glimpse of heaven or hell. But I do know about other concept albums/ rock operas like Pink Floyd The Wall, Iron Maiden Seventh Son, and David Bowie Ziggy Stardust. From start to finish, it is a very focused album with no filler.
Judas Priest's "Nostradamus" blows those other concept albums away. It's a metal masterpiece. Judas Priest made this album. Now, most importantly. You have to dim the lights to get its full effect.
It's about 100 minutes in length. It demonstrates the musical mastery of Judas Priest. I have read other reviews on here and I realize that metal purists aren't going to love this album because of orchestral arrangements of most of the songs. I'm into concept albums/rock operas. Hell yes it rocks.
Does this album rock. That's probably why it is the best concept album that I have heard. They helped invent metal. The guy can sing, even in Italian.
This is why you should listen to me. It's awesome. This is intelligent sophisticated music. Oh well, their loss.
What's cool about this album is that the heavy atmospheric music leads into fast rocking, guitar shredding tunes, with deep drum beats. Pretty much the whole album.This is a great album, Kudos to Judas Priest for having the guts to make something outside of the "heavy metal box."
My point being, you can still like a band's work if it is very different from their other albums. What I think adds to the album as well is that before some of the long songs, there is a 1 or 2 minute song that slows things down and "leads" you into the next song. just forget about finding your standard Priest metal on this album. As to my second suggestion. In order to get into this album by these veterans of Metal, you have to do 2 things in my opinion. This is unfortunate. Probably, if any of the band members shine it's Halfords vocal performance and the unique drum beats that are used. But the keyboards help paint this "mystical vibe" about the life of Nostradamus and are quite catchy in spots.
Generally speaking, Disc 1 is overall the better of the 2 and worth the money just by itself.Ironically, the die-hard Priest fans are probably not going to buy it/like it, and yet someone who probably WOULD like this non-standard metal album won't buy it because. It is STILL a guitar album. A) Read up or watch a documentary on Nostradamus and B) forget that you are listening to a Priest album.The story of Nostradamus is very interesting and it helps to know what the lyrics are referring to. This is also part of the whole "concept" idea. This album is very keyboard heavy - although there are several songs with good "catchy" guitar riffs. not to worry. it's JUDAS PRIEST. and probably true because it's been out almost 2 years and has yet to even go gold according the RIAA.
Too much of todays metal features bad singing , limited playing and little melody which is for me is barely tolerable live but not to listen to anywhere else. This cd is melodic and features good playing and singing. I really enjoyed this one and I am glad the boys are still at it making great music. To me the best metal was from the 70's- 1980's so this one; which is similiar to that sound but still updated was a good listen to me.
Allmusic gave the album a quite negative review (2.5/5 ) and Popmatters was also lower then I expected. Nostradamus being Judas Priest first concept album and is similair to such releases such as Kraftwerks Autobahn and The Who's The Wall and they mix heavy metal and symphonic metal without it sounding trite or forced. The booklet is quite elaborate with linernotes written by the band, all the lyrics are included and very beautiful artwork that fits right in with the theme. The lyrics are well-written and the melodies are astounding with great guitar solos. 4/5.
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