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73 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Judas has Risen, March 1, 2005
ANGEL OF RETRIBUTION opens with a crescendoing, swirling guitar riff which explodes into the welcome return of the classic Halford scream. "Judas is Rising," the first track exclaims. Indeed. They has risen and continue to stand tall and rock throughout all ten tracks on this, their overdue and welcome reunion album.
Priest do not reinvent their sound on this LP. Instead, much like Maiden's BRAVE NEW WORLD, they simply give us a molten slab of the rock we banged our heads against back in the days of BRITISH STEEL, SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE and PAINKILLER. Each track begs for the volume to be turned just a little more to the right and the momentum builds through the album's epic closer duo of "Eulogy" and "Lochness," the latter of which may be derided as a bit over the top in terms of Dio-esque hokiness, but when did these guys ever take themselves too seriously? Of the entire album, only the non-screaming vocals of "Worth Fighting For" leave the listener wanting. Regardless, ANGEL OF RETRIBUTION picks up exactly where PAINKILLER left off and this listener in particular hopes it's the first of another run of at least another dozen or so records by Halford & Co.
Break out the black - both t-shirts and lightbulbs. If you thought Priest of the past was only a memory, you've got another thing comin'.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Metal Gods have risen once again, March 1, 2005
THE BAND: Rob Halford (vocals), Glenn Tipton (guitar), K.K. Downing (guitar), Ian Hill (bass), Scott Travis (drums & percussion).
THE DISC: (2005) 10 tracks clocking in at just under 53 minutes. Included with the disc is a 14-page booklet containing artwork (no band photos), song credits/lyrics, and thank you's. Recorded at Old Smithy (Worcestershire, UK) and Sound City (San Francisco, CA). There are two versions of this disc available - a hard cover case with music disc only, and a 'dual-disc' featuring a single disc with music on one side and a DVD on the other (DVD features a brief documentary and footage from seven live songs on their 2004 "Reunited" tour). Label - Sony/BMG.
COMMENTS: Judas Priest is back on the heavy metal scene in 2005. "Angel Of Retribution" is a very heavy album with a few lighter songs thrown in the mix. It's been a long 15 years since Halford put his name on a Priest album ("Painkiller", 1990). Judas Priest had struggled since the day Halford left the band - putting out only 2 mediocre studio albums with Tim "Ripper" Owens at the helm. The original (4 member) line up is back - Rob Halford's vocals are finely tuned and there are plenty of his demon growls and signature high-pitched screams; dueling axes from KK Downing and Glen Tipton have never sounded better; Ian Hill is steady as ever on bass. Scott Travis (drums - from 1990's album "Painkiller") rounds out the quintet. "Retribution" rocks heavy with the exceptions being "Angel", "Worth Fighting For", and "Eulogy"... these 3 songs are still very good - just slower. Early picks as the faster/harder favorites would be the first two tracks - the intro "Judas Rising" leading into "Deal With The Devil", and track eight "Hellrider". The other tracks will grow on you - it's all chillingly good - no traces of filler. The tracks here are remniscent of old Priest as well as Halford's band in the 90's "Fight". Powerful double-bass drumming and screeching guitars dominate. Plenty of aggression, optimism and energy. Kerrang and Rolling Stone magazines give this disc two postive ball-busting reviews. Not to mention this old Priest line up stealing the show at the 2004 Ozzfest. Any fan of the band or Halford's solo material owes it to him/her self to get this disc. This is an album designed to both delight the faithful and to introduce metal's new listeners (the kids) to the timeless sound of an old classic metal band in top form. Old school metal is back! The flip side of the disc is the DVD - giving you a 40 minute documentary of the making of this album, as well as 7 live tracks (featuring old standards, "Living After Midnight", "Hellion/Electric Eye", "Metal Gods", "Hell Bent For Leather", etc). Is this 2005 release on line with some of their classic 80's material - ALMOST. Some reviewers have bashed the dual-disc and its thickness... I for one have not had any issues playing either side. Great dual-disc package (4.5 stars).
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63 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best REAL metal album since 1990, March 2, 2005
This is the album classic metal fans have been waiting for. Like many other fans, I was nervous about this make-or-break Priest disc but the boys (well, they're in their mid-50s) really pulled it off well!! What a great recording.
"Revolution" is exactly what it seemed to be - a decent, if not spectacular made for radio track amongst an album full of top flight metal. Make no mistake - the rest of Angel of Retribution IS CLASSIC PRIEST! I personally think it is the band's best effort since Defenders of the Faith. If you were to rank all Priest studio albums from best to worst this would definitely be in the top half among other classics like Vengeance, British Steel, Defenders, etc.
The lyrics are typical Priest lyrics - not Shakespeare but hardly cheesy ('cheesy' - a word used by people who grossly overestimate their own cool factor). No pointless profanity this time around. Keeping it clean and fun.
Perhaps most relevant is that it blows out of the water everything put out by current bands like Slipshod, Please-Kill-the-Switch-Engage, Lamb of God-Awful, and Forget-the-Shadows-just-let-the-curtain-Fall. Why? Guitars in proper tuning, solos that rip and convey a melody, and perhaps most importantly there is A SINGER WHO HAS ABILITY AND TALENT INSTEAD OF A HACK THROAT-SHOUTER.
Last fall there was Megadeth's 'The System Has Failed' now we get 'Angel of Retribution' - classic metal is on the rise.
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