First of all if you're looking for Painkiller part two you might as well not even bother buying the album. If you love all of Priest's albums like I do then you'll love it. What is so brilliant about this album is that they mix all of their styles from Sin After Sin to Painkiller! I think alot of that has to do with the numerous lyrical referances to their previous songs.
The album starts out with Judas Rising and it's is one of the best opening tracks I've ever heard on ANY album. The next two (and yes, this does include "Revolution" which is the second worst track on the album next to the filler that is "Wheels Of Fire") worried me a bit but then along came the brilliant ballad "Worth Fighting For". That would be the track four that Ripper (Halford's replacement in Priest) said he didn't care for. I think it's a phenominal song that is destined to be a clasic.
The entire album (with the exception of the aforementioned "Wheels Of Fire") after that is fantastic. "Hellrider" could've easily been on Painkiller. "Angel" is probably in my top three Priest ballads of all time. That one got me all choked up because I started thinking about how much Dime loved Priest (He was buried with their Metalogy boxset) and how he wasn't able to hear the new album. I don't recommend thinking about anything sad when you're trying to have a good time listening to a new album!
Anyway after that one comes my absolute favorite track on the album, "Hellrider". In my opinion if you can't get into that one you're just not a Priest fan and would probably be better suited to pick up one of the latest Nu Metal albums that are polluting everyones ears lately. It is another "Painkilleresque" track that is absolutely devastating. If they don't play it when I see them on this tour I might try and get my money back!
The album closes with "Lochness" and I like to refer to it as a "Judas Sabbath" track because that is exactly the combination it sounds like. It's an epic tune that doesn't feel like 13 minutes at all. Then again I'm an Opeth fan so I have no issue with amazingly long songs!
In closing I know we have the album of 2005 here. Is it their best album? No, but it's definitely made its way into my top three and I am very surprised by that. There are two clunkers (in my opinion) but the other eight more than make up for it. My rating here is an A+ and I'd like to thank Judas Priest for delivering on their promise to bring REAL metal back in 2005.
The album starts out with Judas Rising and it's is one of the best opening tracks I've ever heard on ANY album. The next two (and yes, this does include "Revolution" which is the second worst track on the album next to the filler that is "Wheels Of Fire") worried me a bit but then along came the brilliant ballad "Worth Fighting For". That would be the track four that Ripper (Halford's replacement in Priest) said he didn't care for. I think it's a phenominal song that is destined to be a clasic.
The entire album (with the exception of the aforementioned "Wheels Of Fire") after that is fantastic. "Hellrider" could've easily been on Painkiller. "Angel" is probably in my top three Priest ballads of all time. That one got me all choked up because I started thinking about how much Dime loved Priest (He was buried with their Metalogy boxset) and how he wasn't able to hear the new album. I don't recommend thinking about anything sad when you're trying to have a good time listening to a new album!
Anyway after that one comes my absolute favorite track on the album, "Hellrider". In my opinion if you can't get into that one you're just not a Priest fan and would probably be better suited to pick up one of the latest Nu Metal albums that are polluting everyones ears lately. It is another "Painkilleresque" track that is absolutely devastating. If they don't play it when I see them on this tour I might try and get my money back!
The album closes with "Lochness" and I like to refer to it as a "Judas Sabbath" track because that is exactly the combination it sounds like. It's an epic tune that doesn't feel like 13 minutes at all. Then again I'm an Opeth fan so I have no issue with amazingly long songs!
In closing I know we have the album of 2005 here. Is it their best album? No, but it's definitely made its way into my top three and I am very surprised by that. There are two clunkers (in my opinion) but the other eight more than make up for it. My rating here is an A+ and I'd like to thank Judas Priest for delivering on their promise to bring REAL metal back in 2005.
