Tag: concept album
7 Judas Priest – Nostradamus (Release Year – 2008)
In 2008, I have been very anxious for four bands to release their new albums, Whitesnake, AC/DC, Judas Priest and Motley Crue.
Out of the four, I was mostly concerned with the new Judas Priest disc, Nostradamus, as it is a concept album. That style of album rarely turns out well for most hard rock and metal acts.
With this being a two disc set, I wanted to take some extra time before I put my thoughts down in a review. There is over 90 minutes of music over the two disc set. That is a ton of music to take in at once.
I have no problem with the subject matter of Nostradamus that was used for this disc. I thought if Judas Priest wrote the right songs, this album could be something special.
The first disc starts off strong enough, with the first couple of songs. Prophecy, and its intro, Dawn of Creation are pretty good tracks. I also next two songs, Awakening and Revelations. Revelations is full of those trademark guitar riffs that Judas Priest is known for.
Things start to get a little theatrical with the songs The Four Horseman, and War. It picks up the pace again somewhat with Pestilence and Plague. The song doom laden song, Death sounds more Black Sabbath like, than it does Judas Priest. This lengthy metal track has some killer guitar work, but you have to struggle through parts of the song to get to it.
Disc 1 continues to drag on, and I must admit, I had a really hard time getting through the latter half of this disc.
The first song on Disc 2 that I enjoyed was the mid-tempo track Alone. This song is a little long, but pretty good. The rest of material on this disc I felt was very average until I heard the title track, Nostradamus. This song could have easily been on Painkiller. Sadly, their are not enough songs like this, in this two disc set.
If you are looking for another British Steel, or Painkiller album, Nostradamus is not it. If you have an open mind, you may find some songs to enjoy. If you are looking for instant, memorable hits, you will not find those on Nostradamus. This isn’t Judas Priest’s best work by any means. This album has the potential to grow on you, if you give it the proper chance. Nostradamus isn’t a complete disappointment, but I hoped for more from Judas Priest.
You can listen to the song Nostradamus, and download it for free, from the Judas Priest myspace page.
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
Disc: 1
1. Dawn Of Creation
2. Prophecy
3. Awakening
4. Revelations
5. The Four Horseman
6. War
7. Sands Of Time
8. Pestilence and Plague
9. Death
10. Peace
11. Conquest
12. Lost Love
13. Persecution
Disc: 2
1. Solitude
2. Exiled
3. Alone
4. Shadows In The Flame
5. Visions
6. Hope
7. New Beginnings
8. Calm Before The Storm
9. Nostradamus
10. Future of Mankind
Judas Priest is:
Rob Halford – Vocals
K.K. Downing – Guitars
Glenn Tipton – Guitars
Ian Hill – Bass
Scott Travis – Drums
