JUDAS PRIEST - "REDEEMER OF SOULS" ("Death, doom and destruction rain down upon the forsaken. One being stands alone to save humanity, a soldier born from the past on sad wings of destiny. Powerful, unflinching and bearing the eternal force that will proclaim and assert Metal's deliverance - The Redeemer of Souls!")

JUDAS PRIEST - "REDEEMER OF SOULS"
("COLUMBIA"/"SONY MUSIC"; limited double CD package + free patch)
(Running time: 13 songs in 62:05 minutes. - regular album / 5 songs in 21:45 minutes. - bonus disc)
(Note: I call the fantastic double CD package my own that comes beside the new album with a exclusive five track bonus disc in a just sheer awesome digi book artwork and packaging and that also conatins a free and really damn cool old school styled JUDAS PRIEST patch on top of it as well. - And there's also a double vinyl edition in limited numbers released of this album.)

Review: And the Metal days up here rage on - even for now this means that they rage on only for this very one post here and now more, but however... now my review on the new and for all what I read is announced to be the final album of the almighty Metal Gods in JUDAS PRIEST is next up here, and so here we go: My impression is that "REDEEMER OF SOULS", the newest one of/by JUDAS PRIEST, is especially in the world of Metal and for Metal fans a pretty controversial album that seems to heat up the moods quite a bit, at least that's (like already said) my impression and it's based on a lot of stuff that I've read in (german) Metal magazines and fanzines. But, honestly, I simply don't understand all this bullshit talking and writing, not at least because it seems heavily and feels strongly like nothing else than the substanceless and mouth-running writings and sayings of some too old grown fat grumpy old men trying to act tough, cool, and elité - or to say it that way: It feels like it's all just a bunch of self-proclaimed "die-hard-maniacs" that are bitter that their "favorite" band (and especially themselves) didn't stay that young like back then when "SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE" and "DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH" were released and still can't "forgive" the albums "JUGGULATOR" and "DEMOLITION", and persoanlly such crap simply just heavily annoys me, point and fact, because let's face it: As time goes by we all and also everything changes, and so do bands, their music, their style, and this more or less over all the time like also the persons behind the bands or that make the bands also do change more or less over all the time, okay, and so, only logical, also the albums of bands do more or less change or differ from one and another (at least the albums of good bands that know how to write songs and that can properly play their instruments), yes, and who am I or who is anyone to tell them (which means the bands, in this particular case for example JUDAS PRIEST) to stay the same and what to do when, why, and how, you see, and who am I or again who is anyone to not "forgive" or better just forget some maybe weaker albums... (I hope you got what I wanted to say...) And also let point this out or let's face this: "REDEEMER OF SOULS" is in short the by far very best JUDAS PRIEST album since their iconic and legendary groundbreaking "PAINKILLER" lifechanger (that was and still is one of the top ten and most important Metal and Rock albums in general of all times ever), and also if we keep in mind that over this nearly two-and-a-half-decades long lasting period since "PAINKILLER" was released JUDAS PRIEST maybe have released the anyhow weaker albums of their career here with this very one, with their new the "REDEEMER OF SOULS" album, they drastically changed or tunred the tide, in a radical or drastic manner, and released one hell of a mighty album and definitely one of the strongest records of this year and that also definitely knows how to stand its ground also in the glory-history of the totally unique JUDAS PRIEST. Surely and honestly it can't match up with "SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE", "DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH", "BRITISH STEEL", or "PAINKILLER", for example, but how could it, I mean the mentioned albums had been and still are groundbreaking epic classics and lifechangers, albums that would blast and burst every rating scala, so there's pretty much a zero-to-none-chance for any album to match up and come even close to them, but anyhow, "REDEEMER OF SOULS" does a pretty fucking damn great job in coming as somewhat somehow close as only slightly possible to matching up to/with this lifechanging albums. So, okay, lifechanging is "REDEEMER OF SOULS" not exactly, but still definitely groundbreaking and just a fantastic album filled with amazing songs, and all killers and hell no fillers, and that's on the one hand pretty surprising but on the other hand that doesn't really matter because it just totally rules in a more than "only" supreme and dominant way. The album is filled to the max with great guitar work, incredible high skilled and diverse, varying, and multi-layered like not much else, it drives and pushes forward with fantastic riffs and a great also very natural/organic grooving rhythm work and rhythm arrangements as well as they cultivate and crown the songs and the album with breath-taking leads and just sheer fire-breathing furious unchained solos, they create a fantastic grapping atmosphere and no matter if you listen to epic masterpieces, straight up headbangers, or strong rocking groovy Heavy Metal slashers, the guitars totally stick out and shine bright and light up everything. If you know what (Heavy) Metal should be music-wise first of all about and if you love it then my friend you will love this album and celebrate the eyes, ears, and mouth opening pure platinum guitar work it offers - and the changing of one of the most prominent positions on the guitars in Metal and Rock simply doesn't come anyhow negative into play, hell no, definitely not, point and fact. Beside the guitars next biggest trademark is without a doubt the lead singing of/by Rob Halford, heavily critized (at least in a lot of the scources I've read), hahaha, but honestly, how ridiculous is that?!? Yes, he sounds not anymore like in the 1970's, 1980's or like on "PAINKILLER" in his true glory days because, let's face it, we all get older and so the body and his functions which also includes the voice simply changes more and more when we get older but he still has one hell of an outstanding and totally charismatic voice and also a totally shining and unique delivery and voicing and also high "screams" he still delivers here and there - when needed respectively when they really shine out bright - and this then always also totally on point. It's just amazing, still amazing, so there's no need in loosing more words about it, period. Then there's still the rhythm section, and that guys deliver also one hell of a precise, varying, "winged", tight, and just damn fucking great job, period. Anyhow, any need to tell you how skilled all this guys are shouldn't be needed anyhow. And the songwriting is also just brilliant, it's multi-layered and just exciting and completly grapping, and it's very fresh and up to date and even "REDEEMER OF SOULS" is best - if we look at the approach or the intention (like it seems) of the album - somewhere to be located between "BRITISH STEEL", "DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH" with some few "RAM IT DOWN" marks and even "STAINED CLASS" notes in it, it is definitely no copy-and-paste ripp off of their own glory days retro crap work but instead of this a fresh and exciting new album of its very own, offering from wide range epic power monsters over reduced straight ahead rocking Heavy Metal bangers and fast raging furious slashers to powerful ballads everything you only could ask for. My personal favorites are "HALLS OF VALHALLA", "SWORD OF DAMOCLES", "MARCH OF THE DAMNED", "DOWN IN FLAMES", "HELL & BACK", "COLD BLOODED", "CROSSFIRE", "SECRETS OF THE DEAD", and "BATTLE CRY", and from the first class bonus disc I simply have to name the phenomenal "TEARS OF BLOOD", "CREATURES", and "BRING IT ON", absolute first class material. So go and start your journey to dsicover the "REDEEMER OF SOULS" maybe first with this songs, but don't make any mistakes with thinking now that the not mentioned songs would be anyhow bad or weak songs, because hell no, they are definitely not, they also fucking rule. The production sound also got pretty often critized, but again: Don't ask me why?!? Okay, I guess it's a matter of taste, but my taste is pleased by this reduced, dirty, warm, earthy, and natural/organic yet still heavy and forceful in every positive sense Old School production sound. The very strong lyrics rule and offer far more than you might think at first sight, and the artwork is just a sheer and pure total BEAUTY, without any discussions, period. So, I think I have wrote all what I had to wrote or say about "REDEEMER OF SOULS" and also the review is already damn long and so I will now finally close this review on one hell of an outstanding unrivaled album that I would never ever have expected to come (still this days) from JUDAS PRIEST and that I enjoy and celebrate heavily, and it's one of the best albums of 2014 and you will surely find it on a prominent position in my 2014 best albums list, so watch out for it. And I can not highly enough recommend this album here and now, so just go out and get it if you should really still not have it and don't care about what the naysayers or the haters of the self-proclaimed true old school retro Metal "elité" seems to have to hate, fuck them and get this album, period. All Hail the PRIEST!!! /// Andy
(Rating: 10 of 10 points)
(Homepage: http://judaspriest.com/ - Go there by copying the link into the headline of a new browser tab and then just go there, after Blogger one more time refuses to post the link as a direct-one-click-link to the site.)