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Redeemer of Souls
Judas Priest
Label: Epic Records
Release Date: July 15, 2014
Review Date: July 27, 2014

It’s hard to believe that “Redeemer of Souls” is Judas Priest’s seventeenth studio album but it sure as shootin’ is. Also equally hard to believe is that the iconic heavy metal band has been splitting the eardrums of the humanity for forty-five years but they sure as shootin’ have.

The latest incarnatin of Judas Priest consists of vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton (who also co-produced and co-mixed the album) and Richie Faulkner, Ian Hill on the fat strings and Scott Travis twirling the sticks. All of the tunes (eighteen if you count the five on the bonus disc of the review copy I received) were written by Halford and Tipton and will go down in both Judas Priest and heavy metal history as some of the best metal to come out of a studio in this year.

There is absolutely no doubt that the band’s legions of fans will absolutely love any of these tunes performed during the tour in this Fall (October and November). Whether it’s the frenetic “Halls of Valhalla”, the hypnotic “Sword of Damocles” or the uber-dark “Secrets of the Dead”, fans will have these songs seared into their brains from repeated, gleeful playing of the discs.

The album art and design is as intricate dark and heavy as the music inside it. The production quality is top notch and the musicianship that blasts forth from the discs is nothing short of phenomenal.
 
What will be interesting – and only time will tell – is if the new generation of heavy metal fans will love and appreciate Judas Priest and their work on “Redeemer of Souls” and become die-hard fans.  I believe that they will.