01. Dragonaut 02. Redeemer Of Souls 03. Halls Of Valhalla 04. Sword Of Damocles 05. March Of The Damned 06. Down In Flames 07. Hell & Back 08. Cold Blooded 09. Metalizer 10. Crossfire 11. Secrets Of The Dead 12. Battle Cry 13. Beginning Of The End

Verdict: 7

Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls

Judas Priest if one of the original NWOBHM bands that conquered the world and since then they have influenced an entire generation of young musicians. Albums like British steel, Defenders of the Faith and Screaming For Vengeance are all considered classics and are a must in any old Metalheads record collection.

But Judas Priest lack something that bands like Iron Maiden, Saxon and Motorhead enjoy, the artistic freedom to get rid of all the the silly props.  Judas Priest has become so synonymous with leather and studs and a musical expression that is dead set in the middle of the metal highway (to hell). This is a good and a bad thing all at the same time. The fans know exactly what they can expect from the band (just like AC/DC and ZZ-Top) but on the other hand this must be constraining for a band where the members are close to or has passed the retirement age.

So in a time when Ozzy Osbourne is covering The Beatles tunes, Gary Moore, John Lord and Peter Steel all has passed away, Viv Campbell and King Diamond fights cancer Judas Priest keeps moving along just as subtle as a bulldozer from hell. Since Rob Halford returned to the microphone and the band released the terrific album Angel Of Retribution some ten years back it seems like Judas Priest are destined to pick up the banner of NWOBHM. Nostradamus did not quite convince and some fans were turned of by the ambitious project. The latest effort Redeemer of Souls is yet another chapter in the book of the Metal God, do Judas Priest have the power to deliver or are they about to retire?

The British monster of steel deliver for sure, it seems like Richie Faulkner has been a monstrous vitamin injection in the behind of the heavy metal machine, Redeemer Of Souls is a classy Judas Priest album with some obvious flirts with earlier periods of their career without becoming to cheesy. Tracks like Halls of Valhalla, Sword of Damocles and Beginning Of The End would sit just fine in the live set, Sword of Damocles is quite possibly one of the best songs Judas Priest has made in the new Millennium.

It's a no-brainer, just pick up Redeemer Of Souls you won't be disappointed. It is a solid album by one of the bands that defined what Heavy Metal is, adored and copied but never defeated.

When asked how he feels about the new album Rob Hallford says that Judas Priest still feel good about Nostradamus six years after the album's release.

"If you look at bands of longevity, like Judas Priest, you see the trail of music that we've left, I don't think we could have probably made as great a record as we have with Redeemer Of Souls' if we didn't have 'Nostradamus' as a reference point. It's a stepping stone to the next place.

Every record that we've made, we've tried to give it some distinction, some separate identity. 'British Steel' doesn't sound like 'Stained Class', 'Stained Class' doesn't sound like 'Painkiller', 'Painkiller' doesn't sound like 'Defenders Of The Faith'… So I think everything has its place and has its moments, and we've always fed off these different areas that we've gone into with our metal. So thanks to 'Nostradamus', we've got 'Redeemer Of Souls'."