THE Judas Priest thread - v. new album and tour in 2024

[kirksnosehair]

Well, I've been a fan of Judas Priest since the first album.  I saw them live with Iron Maiden when Paul Di'Anno was still Iron Maiden's front man.  I think Judas Priest were either touring the Hell Bent for Leather album or Stained Class...about a year after that show Iron Maiden parted ways with Di'Anno over his constant cocaine habit and I saw Priest and Maiden again at the Orpheum Theater in Boston. Iron Maiden opened that show and Bruce Dickinson was really incredible but I have to admit I've always thought Halford was a better, more talented pure vocalist.  In his prime he could reach 4 fucking octaves.  That's freakishly talented. 

What really kind of cracks me up about Judas Priest is all that leather stuff and those poses by Halfold and no one ever questioned his sexuality when I was a kid.   We've come a long way as a society because for a few years he was kind of a pariah when it first came out that he was gay and I was always really bothered by the fact that he was taking all this shit just being who he was. 

[wolfking]

It is quite astounding no one questioned or even thought about Rob and his sexuality back in the day. 

[ozzy554]

Honestly people just weren't paying much attention. The man was actually horrible at hiding the secret. He thought he blew his cover several times but nobody ever picked up on it........or willfully ignored it

[pg1067]

Honestly people just weren't paying much attention. The man was actually horrible at hiding the secret. He thought he blew his cover several times but nobody ever picked up on it........or willfully ignored it

Pretty much.  I was also too young and/or naive and/or sheltered in the 80s to know the association between that look and the "gay scene."  To me, that look was associated with Judas Priest and bikers.

for a few years he was kind of a pariah when it first came out that he was gay and I was always really bothered by the fact that he was taking all this shit just being who he was. 

I don't remember that at all.  My reaction and that of pretty much everyone I knew was sort of a shrug and a "whatever."  I don't know if it would have been different had he still be in Priest when he came out publicly, but I doubt it.

[TAC]

I just looked at the 1990 list and, for me, there's nothing that comes even close to Painkiller.  It was, indeed, a very bleak year.  Anthrax's Persistence of Time was disappointing, Dio's Lock up the Wolves and No Prayer for the Dying were bad. 

Persistence Of Time is amazing, man. That's a great album. Especially after the very weal State Of Euphoria.

And Lock Up The Wolves is excellent too. I remember being really thrown off by it, but it has aged really well. It sounds great, and Rowan Robertson was the last guitarist Dio had that had any personality in his playing. I mean Tracy G had it, but it blew.



Slayer's Seasons In the Abyss was a great 1990 album.

[Grappler]

My memory was that a lot of fans just said "oh, Rob's gay, that's cool....when is he going to rejoin Priest?"   That's how I felt at least, though I also wanted the Halford band to continue, since those albums just smoke.  I do think it was fun to go back and look through the lyrics and laugh at some of the things that Rob was able to sneak in there.   

I'm listening to Firepower right now and it's such a great record.  I also had a thought about Painkiller and realized that it was the band's 12th or 13th record, and for them to be that ferocious, that deep in their career is amazing. 

[gazinwales]

Firepower such a strong record for sure and yes I think we all just wanted Rob back in Priest.
Finally after 39 years I bough 'Point Of Entry' and I think it's a pretty decent album.

[MirrorMask]

for a few years he was kind of a pariah when it first came out that he was gay and I was always really bothered by the fact that he was taking all this shit just being who he was. 

I don't remember that at all.  My reaction and that of pretty much everyone I knew was sort of a shrug and a "whatever."  I don't know if it would have been different had he still be in Priest when he came out publicly, but I doubt it.

Same here. I mean, I became a fan when the deed was said and done and Halford was long gone from the band, but for all the crapfest that is the internet, I have never met a fellow metalhead in person or read anything on the web of the likes of "Yeah, Priest is good, too bad that the singer is gay" or something.

[wolfking]

for a few years he was kind of a pariah when it first came out that he was gay and I was always really bothered by the fact that he was taking all this shit just being who he was. 

I don't remember that at all.  My reaction and that of pretty much everyone I knew was sort of a shrug and a "whatever."  I don't know if it would have been different had he still be in Priest when he came out publicly, but I doubt it.

Same here. I mean, I became a fan when the deed was said and done and Halford was long gone from the band, but for all the crapfest that is the internet, I have never met a fellow metalhead in person or read anything on the web of the likes of "Yeah, Priest is good, too bad that the singer is gay" or something.

Same.

Does this show that metal heads are actually some of the most sensible, open minded and intelligent type of people you'll meet?  I'm thinking so.

[Stadler]

Dream Team, I stole your idea:

Vocals: Priest/Maiden-Sabbath-Metallica
Riffs: Sabbath-Metallica-Priest-Maiden  (I put Sabbath first; the first 8 albums were a riff-o-rama!)
Leads: Maiden-Priest/Sabbath-Metallica  (Dave Murray is my fav guitar player of this group and I honestly think there are too many "widdly-widdly" leads in the Priest catalogue)
Drums: Maiden-Sabbath-Priest-Metallica (C'MON.  Nicko.  Best drummer in the group; I'm giving Ward number two simply because he was a beast up until 1976, and Sabbath had Cozy Powell for a good stretch)
Live: Maiden-Metallica-Priest-Sabbath
Bass: Maiden/Sabbath-Priest-Metallica (I'm all in on Harris, but I gave a tie with Butler, because I saw Sabbath exactly a year apart, once with Butler and once without, and it was like night and friggin' day).
Quantity: Sabbath-Priest-Maiden-Metallica
Songwriting: Maiden-Priest-Metallica-Sabbath (I have to give Maiden the songwriting edge; they are more diverse with the multiple writing configurations.   Alone, though Harris is a better songwriter than anyone else in the group).
Popularity: Metallica-Maiden-Sabbath-Priest

And now you're doing it?!  Ian Hill is by far the worst bass player any of these bands has/had (although I can't really comment intelligently on guys like Jo Burt and Laurence Cottie).

Nah, no argument.  I'd change that without a peep.  I know I'm not all-in on the Cliff hero-worship - he was very good not great, IMO - but that ranking is more a reflection that both Priest and Metallica do not have beasts (no pun intended) like Harris and Butler.   

[pg1067]

I just looked at the 1990 list and, for me, there's nothing that comes even close to Painkiller.  It was, indeed, a very bleak year.  Anthrax's Persistence of Time was disappointing, Dio's Lock up the Wolves and No Prayer for the Dying were bad. 

Persistence Of Time is amazing, man. That's a great album. Especially after the very weal State Of Euphoria.

And Lock Up The Wolves is excellent too. I remember being really thrown off by it, but it has aged really well. It sounds great, and Rowan Robertson was the last guitarist Dio had that had any personality in his playing. I mean Tracy G had it, but it blew.



Slayer's Seasons In the Abyss was a great 1990 album.

I'll give you Persistence of Time, although I was growing uninterested when they really started incorporating elements of rap into their music.  And I've never been into Slayer.  After my friends and I got our licenses, we would regularly stop at a record store after school and just browse.  We would sometimes agree to buy something unknown just based on the cover (or whatever).  I had seen Show No Mercy a few times and thought the cover was funny, so my best friend bought it, which meant we had to listen to it on the drive to and from school.

But Lock up the Wolves is a huge "no."  My Eyes is about the only song I can get through.  Everything else is plodding sludge.  I remember even the concert on that tour was a big stinker.  The crowd wasn't into it, and it seemed like RJD was just going through the motions.

Nah, no argument.  I'd change that without a peep.  I know I'm not all-in on the Cliff hero-worship - he was very good not great, IMO - but that ranking is more a reflection that both Priest and Metallica do not have beasts (no pun intended) like Harris and Butler.   

Cliff was great, but, like Randy Rhoads, his body of work was too small to justify the lofty praise he has received and continues to receive.  And Jason is better than Lars allowed him to be

[EPICVIEW]

Well, I've been a fan of Judas Priest since the first album.  I saw them live with Iron Maiden when Paul Di'Anno was still Iron Maiden's front man.  I think Judas Priest were either touring the Hell Bent for Leather album or Stained Class...about a year after that show Iron Maiden parted ways with Di'Anno over his constant cocaine habit and I saw Priest and Maiden again at the Orpheum Theater in Boston. Iron Maiden opened that show and Bruce Dickinson was really incredible but I have to admit I've always thought Halford was a better, more talented pure vocalist.  In his prime he could reach 4 fucking octaves.  That's freakishly talented. 

What really kind of cracks me up about Judas Priest is all that leather stuff and those poses by Halfold and no one ever questioned his sexuality when I was a kid.   We've come a long way as a society because for a few years he was kind of a pariah when it first came out that he was gay and I was always really bothered by the fact that he was taking all this shit just being who he was.

yup I saw Maiden w Paul open for JP on the Hell Bent tour...and many many times years after   great times

[devieira73]

https://www.kkspriest.com/
From what's announced before, unfortunately Les Binks isn't in the band anymore.
Cool single!

[Grappler]

That song smokes.  The guitars have a very Megadeth-esque tone.   

[devieira73]

According to iTunes, the release date is 20 august. The album has around 50 minutes and two songs on 8 and 9 minutes mark. The first song is just an intro, around 1 minute.

[kirksnosehair]

Meh, that song did nothing for me.  I'll still check this out when it drops but if it's an album full of cliched stuff like that I'm not really interested.  If I want to hear that kind of music I'll put on Firepower. 


Not crazy about Ripper's vocals either.  Too screechy

[EPICVIEW]

Meh, that song did nothing for me.  I'll still check this out when it drops but if it's an album full of cliched stuff like that I'm not really interested.  If I want to hear that kind of music I'll put on Firepower. 


Not crazy about Ripper's vocals either.  Too screechy

agreed    did nothing for me   meh..

[Zook]

As cheesy as the song is, I actually liked it. Ripper sounds great. He always sounds better in other bands where he has no involvement in the writing process. His solo stuff and Beyond Fear are pure cringe. Charred Walls of the Damned was pretty lame too.

Scream Machine from Beyond Fear was the only decent song on that album.

[NoseofNicko]

I stopped the song after a little over a minute. Painfully generic and boring riffs. The riffs on Firepower were pretty generic but much more memorable than that.

[EPICVIEW]

I stopped the song after a little over a minute. Painfully generic and boring riffs. The riffs on Firepower were pretty generic but much more memorable than that.

Firepower can melt magma..... it was awesome   love that album  shockingly great to me

[EPICVIEW]

Well, I've been a fan of Judas Priest since the first album.  I saw them live with Iron Maiden when Paul Di'Anno was still Iron Maiden's front man.  I think Judas Priest were either touring the Hell Bent for Leather album or Stained Class...about a year after that show Iron Maiden parted ways with Di'Anno over his constant cocaine habit and I saw Priest and Maiden again at the Orpheum Theater in Boston. Iron Maiden opened that show and Bruce Dickinson was really incredible but I have to admit I've always thought Halford was a better, more talented pure vocalist.  In his prime he could reach 4 fucking octaves.  That's freakishly talented. 

What really kind of cracks me up about Judas Priest is all that leather stuff and those poses by Halfold and no one ever questioned his sexuality when I was a kid.   We've come a long way as a society because for a few years he was kind of a pariah when it first came out that he was gay and I was always really bothered by the fact that he was taking all this shit just being who he was.

Good times  I was there also   those were amazing shows. I thought Paul was better than Bruce and of course Rob was way above everyone until Geoff and the ep hit.   I remember rob brought the bike out and is was so fkn loud I was sure the place was going to cave in...

Sin after Sin was monumental    I liked it more than Stained Class  but both are unreal...

[NoseofNicko]

I stopped the song after a little over a minute. Painfully generic and boring riffs. The riffs on Firepower were pretty generic but much more memorable than that.

Firepower can melt magma..... it was awesome   love that album  shockingly great to me

Definitely pretty great for a heavy metal band that’s been active since the early 70s.

[EPICVIEW]

I stopped the song after a little over a minute. Painfully generic and boring riffs. The riffs on Firepower were pretty generic but much more memorable than that.

Firepower can melt magma..... it was awesome   love that album  shockingly great to me

Definitely pretty great for a heavy metal band that’s been active since the early 70s.

its perfect and not one bad song on it ,,,,IMO 

[Madman Shepherd]

Seems like Ripper is having trouble holding out the notes. Is he going for vibrato and not hitting it or is he searching for the note and can't find it?  Not a bad song....I guess. Not at all excited for this but will still buy it.

[Peter Mc]

Why did KK leave Judas Priest, just to come back with a poor mans version of Judas Priest?

It starts ok but it just sounds embarrassingly dated with the silly high pitched vocals.  No idea why people keep going to Ripper Owens.

[EPICVIEW]

Why did KK leave Judas Priest, just to come back with a poor mans version of Judas Priest?

It starts ok but it just sounds embarrassingly dated with the silly high pitched vocals.  No idea why people keep going to Ripper Owens.

This ^^

[wolfking]

People in the comments mentioned Nostradamus and holy shit the riff is pretty much identical to that song.

[Zook]

Why did KK leave Judas Priest, just to come back with a poor mans version of Judas Priest?

It starts ok but it just sounds embarrassingly dated with the silly high pitched vocals.  No idea why people keep going to Ripper Owens.

How are high pitched vocals outdated?

[Setlist Scotty]

Why did KK leave Judas Priest, just to come back with a poor mans version of Judas Priest?

Probably not his original intentions. IIRC, he left primarily because they were doing a farewell tour that ended up later becoming not a farewell tour. And he also felt that some of the guys in the band weren't giving 100% effort, unlike him and he was tired of lackluster/phoned in performances. So he went into purchasing and running a golf course, but then that venture failed. And he probably started to get the itch to play again afterward (and maybe he wanted more of a cash flow). So when he got rebuffed by his former bandmates when Glenn stopped touring, he figured he'd put together his own band, and who better than with a pair of former bandmates? I think that's basically how it came about. Perfectly understandable, IMO. The only things I take issue with are the silly band name and this initial track really doesn't offer anything impressive to make me sit up and take notice - very generic. Hopefully the rest of the album will be of far better quality (though the song titles don't suggest that).

[Peter Mc]

Why did KK leave Judas Priest, just to come back with a poor mans version of Judas Priest?

It starts ok but it just sounds embarrassingly dated with the silly high pitched vocals.  No idea why people keep going to Ripper Owens.

How are high pitched vocals outdated?

You don’t think this vocal style sounds dated?  I’m not talking about operatic type singers going for a high note, just this type of thing where it’s high pitched shrieking all the way through.  It sounds almost comedic to me.

[kirksnosehair]

Like I said earlier, I've never been a big fan of Ripper.  Too shreeky for me.  And I agree that style does sound kind of retro these days but we're talking about a 69 year old dude's band here so 

[Stadler]

Like I said earlier, I've never been a big fan of Ripper.  Too shreeky for me.  And I agree that style does sound kind of retro these days but we're talking about a 69 year old dude's band here so 

HAHA. 

[Zook]

Why did KK leave Judas Priest, just to come back with a poor mans version of Judas Priest?

It starts ok but it just sounds embarrassingly dated with the silly high pitched vocals.  No idea why people keep going to Ripper Owens.

How are high pitched vocals outdated?

You don’t think this vocal style sounds dated?  I’m not talking about operatic type singers going for a high note, just this type of thing where it’s high pitched shrieking all the way through.  It sounds almost comedic to me.

What would be better? Growls? That's not dated at all. Shit, if Ripper's vocals are dated, all vocals are dated.

[KevShmev]

I am someone who has little to no interest in new stuff by the band.  Albums like Angel of Retribution and Firepower both had a handful of songs each that I enjoyed and will occasionally give a listen, but 99% of the time, if I am listening to Priest, it is something from 1974-1990.

[Peter Mc]

Why did KK leave Judas Priest, just to come back with a poor mans version of Judas Priest?

It starts ok but it just sounds embarrassingly dated with the silly high pitched vocals.  No idea why people keep going to Ripper Owens.

How are high pitched vocals outdated?

You don’t think this vocal style sounds dated?  I’m not talking about operatic type singers going for a high note, just this type of thing where it’s high pitched shrieking all the way through.  It sounds almost comedic to me.

What would be better? Growls? That's not dated at all. Shit, if Ripper's vocals are dated, all vocals are dated.

Not growls, not at all!  Just not the squeaky high pitched shrieking.  Just my preference obviously, it’s great that you’re into it, I wish I was too.