General Article name: Redeemer of Souls
Genre: Pop englischsprachig Product type: LP (Vinyl) Label: SMI COL Number of tracks: 13 Tracklist LP - 1 1. Judas Priest - Dragonaut 2. Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls 3. Judas Priest - Halls of Valhalla 4. Judas Priest - Sword of Damocles 5. Judas Priest - March of the Damned 6. Judas Priest - Down in Flames 7. Judas Priest - Hell & Back   Tracklist LP - 2 8. Judas Priest - Cold Blooded 9. Judas Priest - Metalizer 10. Judas Priest - Crossfire 11. Judas Priest - Secrets of the Dead 12. Judas Priest - Battle Cry 13. Judas Priest - Beginning of the End   Description Description

"Welcome to my world of steel" sneers Rob Halford on the punchy, surprisingly spartan "Dragonaut," the opening salvo of the venerable New Wave of British Heavy Metal legends' 17th studio long-player, and their first outing without founding guitarist K.K. Downing, who left the group in 2011. The antithesis to 2008's overblown Nostradamus, Redeemer of Souls feels quaint in comparison, eschewing the largely fantasy-driven conceptual style of the ambitious, yet undeniably cumbersome, two-disc set in favor of a more refined, classic rock approach that edges closer to the group's late-'70s offerings like Sin After Sin and Stained Class. New guitarist Richie Faulkner, with his golden mane and tight, controlled riffing, suggests a wax Downing just sprung to life and simply walked out of Madam Tussaud's museum and into the band's rehearsal space, and his tasteful, yet undeniably meaty playing alongside Glenn Tipton goes a long way in helping to restore some of the classic Judas Priest luster, especially on standout cuts like the aforementioned "Dragonaut," the nervy and propulsive "Metalizer," and the rousing title track. Still, this is a band that's well into its fifth decade of being "Hell Bent for Leather"; they've explored, both successfully and occasionally at great cost, nearly every shadowy nook and suspicious looking crevice of the genre, and the album's stalwart yet shopworn 13 tracks reflect that journey. That said, Redeemer of Souls is also the loosest (attitude-wise), leanest (arrangement-wise), and most confident-sounding collection of new material the band has released in ages, and while it will forever tread beneath high-water marks like British Steel and Sad Wings of Destiny, it most certainly deserves to be ranked alongside albums from that era. [Redeemer of Souls was also released on LP.] ~ James Christopher Monger

James Christopher Monger

Contributors Artist: Judas Priest Record Label: Columbia