Review Summary: Priest go dark and heavy with a new vocalist, this time doing it correctly.
The main thing that strikes you when you first discover this album is that Rob Halford is absent because he left in the early 90s and was replaced by a Judas Priest tribute singer named Tim 'Ripper' Owens. However, this is by no means an attempt to write another Painkiller just because they have a similar sounding vocalist. Ripper's vocals are fresh and original and give new life to the aged squawking Halford who shrieked his way through Painkiller. This album uses drums and guitars of varying speeds which is especially evident in the title track, which opens the album and is an intense tune. It begins with a strange kind of rhythm that sounds like machines clattering together, which is followed shortly by sinister guitar riffs and drums. 'Ripper' delivers many spoken word and sung parts in a lower octave throughout the album. But of course, he also shows off his high vocal range by screaming and wailing much like Halford, yes his high singing is put to good use rather than just being there for the sake of it.
There are songs like "Dead Meat" that remind me a little bit of bands like Pantera and Slayer, who are generally labelled groove metal and thrash metal. "Bullet Train" certainly wouldn't feel too out of place as a Slayer song, either. Of course, I'm only making comparisons because of the musical influences on this album. At no point do I feel like Priest are ripping them off. It's tracks like "Dead Meat" and also "Brain Dead" that I feel use the down tuned guitars the most effectively; the lyrics explore themes such as the apocalypse, non-conformity, and death. The band makes something of a statement in "Brain Dead" that a man shouldn't live off a machine, incapable of doing anything and trapped in his thoughts due to the loss of any physical functionality. It's part of what makes this album much darker than their past material with Halford. We hear almost-demonic vocals from Ripper in "Burn In Hell", a song that starts out quiet and builds up to heavy guitars and drums, like many other songs on this album, and is the best song on the album easily. What a powerful track indeed. Yes.
One of the best songs is the closing track, "Cathedral Spires", which is a 9-minute epic. The first part of the song is perhaps the first time the music actually feels sad. Up until this point, the music sounded consistently angry, whether it was slow, fast, quiet, or loud. It's a song about the world ending, about how we should "rise up and retire / watching as the world expires". It carries on from the lyrical topics of the end of the world and evil that were explored in previous songs. It's fairly slow but still containing the heavy down tuned guitars. The song ends with a repeated chant of the chorus' lyrics before the music ends with a crash, like the world has exploded.
Overall, Jugulator is a strong effort from a band faced with the challenge of replacing a key member. For fans of groove/thrash metal and fans of Priest, this album is worth picking up. You may end up really enjoying it. Their next and final album with 'Ripper' Owens, Demolition, is more of a mixed bag, experimenting with other styles, but still has several moments of brilliance. It is overall miles ahead of the overrated Painkiller and Ripper's vocals are miles ahead of the infamous "retard falcon" shrieks of Painkiller. In fact, I think the only reason people beat on this album is because their nostalgic idol Halford is not at the microphone. Ignore that fact and you'd probably say it's among Priest's best.
Pros
Heavy riffs
Good vocals
"Burn In Hell"
"Bullet Train"
"Cathedral Spires"
Cons
Lame lyrics
