Judas Priest - Nostradamus
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Free Music Notes for Nostradamus
Free Music Review: Best Priest album in ages
Hit: 5 Stars
I was amazed with the Priest daring to release the album that is so good it simply does not fit the formulatic criteria of making heavy metal record expected by media and critics today.
"Nostradamus" takes by suprise as it really shows from the get go the new aspect of Priest's music: the keyboards and orchestration done by no other than Don Airey, one of the best keyboardists in business whose name is linked with such great metal acts as Ozzy, Whitesnake, Deep Purple and are you ready for this, Judas Priest: "Touch of Evil" features Don's input as he added some color to that song some 17 years ago.
The title and the concept of using it as a sort of Rock-Metal opera is not very innovative, it is been done before by Nicolo Kotzev: that record included many familiar vocalists like Jorn Lande, Joe Lynn Turner and Glenn Hughes, plus many more. While it was an interesting record, it failed to catch much of attenton possibly due to the lack of quality songs that could be remembered and called classics and lack of the needed punch to bring all of the elements together.
Judas Priest in turn created their own epic tale of the man whose prophecies are said to come to life and boy did they create one heck of an album. At first it might seem that they went obverboard with the number of tracks and while it is true, almost half of the are neoclassical interludes, however there is plenty of time allocated for the actual songs. There are a few fast heavy metal ones in the likes of Sentinel of Defenders of the Faith, a couple of ballads and the rest is represented by mid-tempo numbers that fill up the 2 discs (for the price of one).
It is a beautiful album. This is the most melodic effort I can recall from the bands' catalog. The music is grandiouse, the songs are pleasure to listen to, Rob Halford's vocals are as good as ever, you can cleraly hear drums, at times bass guitar, and the signature twin guitars are still there as well (sans the interludes).
As expected, many "fans" are not happy with the direction and it shows with the large number of reviewers coming up with 1 star for this album. Their loss. I really don't get why you guys are bashing it. If the lenght of record is too much too handle, omit the inteludes and burn the CD-R with the "traditional" tracks, someone has already mentioned it. I simply don't buy into the argument that there is not enough metal songs on here: compare it to any 80's album, count the actual fast and mid-tempo songs and you will see what I mean. Think about something else: by bashing the album you hurt the bands chances to break through the awful metal scene here in the US still dominated by grunge and hardcore-rap bands, so great jobs guys - this is what the morons at the MTV love to hear.
For the open minded, please give yourself a chance to sink into the world of the excellent rock/metal music (in the face of Priest's "Nostradamus") that has become so rare nowadays. True fans should "Eat this Alive" and promote this work among the non fans. Thanks for reading
Free Music Review: Real Heavy Metal Fans Shouldn't Give Up On This
Hit: 5 Stars
First off, to give you an idea where I'm coming from, it would be difficult to find a bigger fan of everything that is Priest, and everything that is connected to Priest, than I.
I was shaking my head in disappointment the first time I listened to this. It was totally different than I was expecting. I played it at least a 10 times in a row before listening to anything else. At that point I did find myself singing some of the choruses and differentiating most of the songs from each other. I believe most of the poor reviews people have posted here are knee jerk reviews after but a few listens. If I had let myself review it on June 17th after just 2 listens I might have given it 3 stars at best...
Anyway, I tried to let it sit a bit while I listened to other new CDs that were in need of listening. Nostradamus kept begging for more attention; so, that I gave it, after about a week. This time I put it back into the CD player with a different perspective on what I was going to hear. Upon listening again it really brought the whole thing together for me. The work that must have gone into creating this epic was much more obvious, and my enjoyment was multiplied exponentially. The chugging and the changing up of the whole thing; the guitars really started to distinguish themselves; it keeps getting darker and heavier with every listen. Halford, dawning the robe of Nostradamus himself; he took on the role wholeheartedly; his voice unfailing. Yes folks, if you're reading this after you put away your copy of Nostradamus 2 months ago, give it another try. If you have not yet listened to it then I would recommend that you not read any of the reviews that give it 2 stars or less.
Bottom line for me:
First off, the closest past Priest material to this might be the second side of Sin After Sin; think back to how these songs roll together "Let Us Prey - Call For The Priest - Raw Deal - Here Come The Tears - Dissident Aggressor". If you have not heard these songs, or this album, you're probably not reading this review. If you are reading this review and you are not familiar with Sin After Sin, well, I don't really know what to say to that! Anyway, in either case here is another attempt to describe how I believe this album is put together; If you take the first three Priest albums, add Angel of Retribution, then grind them all up, it might feel something like this album.
Sure, many old school Priest fans will have trouble with this album as it is definitely not Stained Class, British Steel or Screaming for Vengeance. However, it contains many hints of past Priest. And, all of the Priest trademarks are still evident here. I have listened to this at least 100 times now. Given opportunity, and in time, I believe this album will go down as one of the most revered works in Heavy Metal History.
Free Music Review: Follow Up To Amazing Reunion Album Turns Out Be Sheer Masterpiece
Hit: 5 Stars
As amazing as "Angel Of Retribution", the reunion album for the classic line-up of Judas Priest, the metal masters from the U.K., is; this album is actually a great follow-up to it. The band really shows their professional and sophisticated sides with this album. There are so many very clever, original, unique, and catchy guitar riffs and solos throughout the whole entire album. K.K. Downig and Glenn Tipton really prove what guitar legends they are once again. The same goes for the excellent bass work from Ian Hill. The drum tempos from Scott Travis are very awesome and lively without losing a beat even once. Rob Halford also brings out each track perfectly with his awesome unique vocals and with the right depth and emotions throughout the whole album. There are also so many great clever unique mixings of the rhythms and melodies with the vocals and different instruments all going together perfectly to create a great unique art to the album.
As the title suggests, the album is based on "The Book Of Nostradamus". The band even mentions on the inside cover:
"Intrigue continues to surround the mystery of Nostradamus. Five hundred years since his passing Judas Priest undertake what is considered to be our most ambitious musical adventure to date."
Their little written introduction covers a decent-lengthed summary of Nostradamus's life and concludes with:
"All of us in Judas Priest have enjoyed an extraordinary experience making our metal form into this man's life and we hope that you, our fans, derive the same feelings now as you listen and let your mind escape with 'Nostradamus'".
The song titles even suggest that the album covers his philosophies on the dawn of creation, his prophecy, his awakening, his revelations, the four horsemen, war, sands of time, pestilence and plague, death, peace, conquest, lost love, persecution, solitude, exiled, alone, shadows in the flame, visions, hope, new beginnings, calm before the storm, and even his predictions on the future of mankind. The lyrics are well thought out and in very good detail. Rob Halford brings each and every one of those tracks out perfectly with the right depth and emotions to add on to his unique vocals. The music also backs him up perfectly with the right sounds, beats, rhythms, tones, and moods. There are no dull moments to this album with no getting sloppy even once and nobody missing a beat even once either.
This album is a true masterpiece and definitely one of the better Judas Priest albums ever. Rob Halford is already expecting a Grammy Award for this album, due to all the hype from a lot of people about it, the many people who pre-ordered their copies before it was released, as well as the great sales and high profits it is continuing to make with spots on different music charts.
Free Music Review: Predicting the Future of this Album
Hit: 5 Stars
I've only become a Judas Priest fan in the last two years or so, but have listened (at some point) to all of their songs and learned about their history, influences, and so on. When I first heard of this album, I was reminded of a scene in the movie Spinal Tap where the band starts talking about "returning to that concept album about Jack the Ripper," except here it's "Nostradamus." When I heard about the rampant synths and keyboards, my skepticism rose further. I imagined a pretentious album with Casio-like synths, over-the-top lyrics, and aspirations to opera.
Wrong!
While this album isn't as classic as Stained Class or as raw as Angel of Retribution, I still enjoyed it immensely and appreciate the scope of the thing. It may be a little cheesy at times, but the synths tend more to complement the vocals and guitar work than distract or substitute for it, and the lyrics are excellent. Halford really seems to have channeled Nostradamus here an gives us a very moving and potent view of this man's life and painful struggles as a seer of the future. We might think "Oh, yeah, it'd be cool to see the future," but this album shows that this can be a curse. The lyrics and Halford's masterfully emotive vocals are enough to bring tears, and even the hard-biting parts are less about head-banging and more about desperation or indignation than hate or revenge.
It's a bit difficult to pick out individual songs here, since this is really case of "the whole being greater than the parts," but a few songs did stand out. My favorite is "Alone," which features a great chorus, lyrics, and great acoustic and electric guitar. This is followed by "Shadows in the Flame," a very short and much softer song that just flows on air. Beautiful stuff. "Future of Mankind" is great, too, a long song that fans of "Lochness" may appreciate for its length and sophistication.
"Prophecy" is a rocking tune that sets up the story of the proud psychic who's about to find his life going downhill (as you'll hear in the next song, "Revelations.") The song "Nostradamus" is similarly heavy. The climax seems to be "Pestilence and Plague," which definitely sounds the most operatic of all the songs here. There's also some interesting moments in "Conquest" that sound almost Eastern. "Lost Love," if you'll forgive me, reminded me occasionally of Air Supply. "Persecution" is definitely worth a listen; I love the sounds at the opening and close, and the solos are flying.
All in all, I liked the album, though it might be best described as "Judas Priest meets Ayreon." It's not for everyone, but if you're looking for a more ambitious Priest album and don't mind the synths, you won't be disappointed with this album.
Free Music Review: Metal Masterpiece
Hit: 5 Stars
Nostradamus is an amazing album. I'm into concept albums/rock operas. When I first heard that there was a Nostradamus concept album, I thought, "That's going to be fantastic, I have to get it." My instincts were right. It's a metal masterpiece. I give it 5 stars because I can't give it 6 stars.
I have to tell you that this is my first Judas Priest album, and therefore any of their previous albums did not bias my review of this album. This is why you should listen to me. I have no prior knowledge of Judas Priest's earlier work. But I do know about other concept albums/ rock operas like Pink Floyd The Wall, Iron Maiden Seventh Son, and David Bowie Ziggy Stardust. Judas Priest's "Nostradamus" blows those other concept albums away. This album is so large in scope that other shorter albums have a hard time standing up against it. It's about 100 minutes in length. From start to finish, it is a very focused album with no filler. There was never a moment where I went, "Why did they do that, I don't get it?" And There was never a moment where the music lost the focus of a rock opera by allowing songs made for easy radio play to creep into the album. There are peaks and valleys all through this album, and never a moment to regret. This is intelligent sophisticated music. It demonstrates the musical mastery of Judas Priest.
I have read other reviews on here and I realize that metal purists aren't going to love this album because of orchestral arrangements of most of the songs. Oh well, their loss. Like I said, THIS IS INTELLIGENT MUSIC. The orchestral arrangements create a very dark and timeless atmosphere that is not present on other concept albums. The atmosphere of this album is incredible. It's like you are traveling through space and time, and every now and then you get a glimpse of heaven or hell. You have to dim the lights to get its full effect.
Now, most importantly. Does this album rock? Hell yes it rocks! Judas Priest made this album. That's probably why it is the best concept album that I have heard. They helped invent metal. What's cool about this album is that the heavy atmospheric music leads into fast rocking, guitar shredding tunes, with deep drum beats. It's awesome! Rob Halford's vocals are intense, dark, and powerful. The guy can sing, even in Italian.
My favorite songs are Prophecy, Revelations, War, Sands of Time, Pestilence and Plaque, Death, Conquest, Persecution, Exiled, Alone, Visions, New Beginnings, Nostradamus, and Future of Mankind. Pretty much the whole album.
This is a great album, Kudos to Judas Priest for having the guts to make something outside of the "heavy metal box."