There were many Priest fans that felt that the reunion was inevitable. Halford was always going to join up with his old band mates just as soon as the past disagreements were forgotten. It may have taken 14 years, but it was inevitable nonetheless. What wasn’t inevitable however, was that the first Halford-included Priest album in 15 years would be good. It is.
Angel of Retribution is a return to the Grammy-nominated form of 1990’s Painkiller. When put alongside the albums Priest produced after Painkiller, it’s clear to see why they’ve missed Halford. Whilst Ripper Owens certainly gave it his best shot, very few vocalists could match Rob Halford’s amazing ability to turn even the most ridiculous or uninspired lyric into a showcase of aggression and power. Yet that’s not to say that this is a one-man album – the whole line-up performs exactly as we knew and loved them.
It takes just a few seconds to realise that Priest are back to where they left off in 1990. A progressive guitar attack from Tipton and Downing resonates across a trademark Halford scream. Seconds later a skull-thumping riff takes over and there is no doubt: Priest are back.
The first three tracks, ‘Judas Rising’, ‘Deal with the Devil’ and ‘Revolution’ (the first single) are typical Priest tracks; loud, fast and incredibly hard. The opening track in particular is a fantastic tune and will surely be a single if any more are released. The first three songs are relentless and the album takes a welcome breather with ‘Worth fighting for’, a bassy but slower-paced track.
‘Demonizer’ sounds as if it was left off of Painkiller, whereas ‘Wheels of Fire’ is again a much calmer track. It steps down just enough to allow ‘Angel’ to not sound completely out of place. An acoustic track in the vein of ‘Turn On Your Light’, Angel is a good attempt by the band to show their diversity, but probably slows down the album a little too much. It’s certainly the type of song that Priest would have been unable to cut with their previous lead singer.
‘Hellrider’ is yet again dripping with Priestly goodness. The soaring vocals, outstanding guitar and general pace of the track will surely mean that this will be on the set list on the forthcoming tour. Tipton and Downing really do pull out all of the stops on the solo – which would certainly be a treat for the gigs.
Reminiscing about previous Judas Priest releases, ‘Eulogy’ mentions several tracks from past albums and with its dark pianos loads the final track of the album: ‘Lochness’. As Spinal Tap is it could be in name, ‘Lochness’ is anything but when it counts, although in fairness this is just the type of track that haters of the genre would mock. Frankly who cares? Epic throughout, ‘Lochness’ does everything you’d want it to – a fitting end to a timely comeback.
Priest probably did have just the one shot at glory when they released this album and thankfully they hit the target. Fantastic. Let’s hope it’s not the last.
