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The Gauntlet: Judas Priest |
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Judas Priest Album Review
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Tracklist
Disc 1
1. Dawn of Creation
2. Prophecy
3. Awakening
4. Revelations
5. The Four Horsemen
6. War
7. Sands of Time
8. Pestilence and Plague
9. Death
10. Peace
11. Conquest
12. Lost Love
13. Persecution
Disc 2
1. Solitude
2. Exiled
3. Alone
4. Shadows in the Flame
5. Visions
6. Hope
7. New Beginnings
8. Calm Before the Storm
9. Nostradamus
10. Future of Mankind
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You would think that Judas Priest would have done everything that there is to do in heavy metal by this point, but apparently there was one mountain left to climb: a concept album. The legendary "metal gods" from Birmingham have served up a whopping 23-track platter of pure metallic epicness in the form of Nostradamus, a concept album that chronicles the life and prophecies of the famous 16th-century French apothecary of the same name.
I am not going to pretend to have listened to the album with any prior knowledge of Nostradamus' life, nor will I claim to have done much research after the fact. This review will be based solely on the musical qualities of the new record. With that said, those looking for speedy Painkiller-era Priest or catchy, hard-rocking Screaming for Vengeance-era Priest, will not find what they seek. Rather, the new LP displays a fairly new and modern Priest.
The band finds true symphonic power through extensive use of strings, keyboards and even choirs throughout Nostradamus. The use of all these elements takes the listener on the sort of dynamic journey that one would expect from a concept album. One can easily discern that Nostradamus experienced many trials and tribulations, all of which apparently made him really metal by the end, because the title track, which comes second-to-last on the album, cranks up the tempo to more typical Priest levels. Seeing as the CD is a whopping 23 tracks long, it would be impossible to go into too much detail on each, but one thing is for certain: Priest have once again evolved. Their evolution is not flawless, as there are some portions of the album that drag, or struggle with the cheese factor, but overall the album is a worthy testament to the band's love of all things metal, and desire to continue to influence, and be influenced by the genre.
MetalMonarchy.com
Review by: QMHaigh
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