Nostradamus – Judas Priest

Nostradamus is the first ever concept album to be released by the godfathers of heavy metal, Judas Priest. The album revolves around the life of the 16th century prophet of the same name and his works. The album had been expected back way in 2006, but the release was postponed until 2008. The double disc album comprises 23 tracks split into two acts.

The fragile Dawn of Creation inaugurates the hundred minute trip down memory lane, merging into the Priest friendly Prophecy. The main riff is simple yet ever so effective. Halford’s vocals on the chorus make it palpable that very few vocalists would be able to pull of a track like this with the right amount of venom in its sting.

A very uncharacteristic acoustic Awakening draws in the chunking riffage of Revelations. The synthesized keyboards provided the desired medievalist effect. This is one of the rare occasions that Halford’s vocals seem a bit too nagging. The original twin lead guitar gods Downing and Tipton prove that they have not lost any of their speed with age with their sweep solos.

The Four Horsemen follows in on the trend set on the album thus far where a synthesized short build up is followed by a lengthier and heavier track. War actually has a war-call like sound, courtesy the drum work of Scott Travis and once again the orchestra work. This one is right up the Symphonic Metal alley so to the next track Sands of Time.

One thing, which is quite interesting, is how most of the tracks flow into each other hinting back to the era of album-oriented music. Pestilence and Plague comes closer to a more Priest like sound than compared to the rest of the album. The legendary tag team of K.K. and Tipton make it clear why they are practically worshipped by bands the likes of Slayer. Scott Travis’s fabulous drumming brings back pleasant memories of Painkiller. The track ends with a bell, which rings on into Death. With Death, Mr. Halford highlights the beauty of the darker side with a mesmerizing performance.

One can expect Priest to try something fresh and innovative with every album, even if it means taking a considerable amount of risk. Take for example ballads such as Peace or Lost Love. These tracks may not to be to the liking of all metal heads but it shows the diversity of the band as a whole. Persecuction sounds a lot like some of Halford’s solo career work baring the keyboards, reminiscent of tracks such as Crucible and Golgotha. To the delight of fans of old school metal, the band really lets rip before the end of Act I.

The bands attempt to fuse orchestrated instruments into their music is probably best worked out on Exiled which gets the balance right. Alone is one for the vocalists, a prime example of Halford’s seemingly effortless variations. Shadows in the Flame is a short Blind Guardian style acoustic number, which like many of the previous acoustic numbers burst into hard-hitting rockers. Visions, has the rhythm section of the guitars drowned in the synthesizer for most of the song but the outcome against the lead breaks is divine. New Beginnings starts form an unnatural ending of Hope.

The album until now would have seemed extremely strange to some one who was expecting something on the lines of exciter or breaking the law. However, with the title track the band takes it to the cleaners. Nostradamus features the roaring speed, which came to be associated with the band, one of the pioneers of speed metal. There are hints of Electric Eye on the track, which should put a cheeky smile on the faces of Priest believers. The finale, Future of Mankind sums up the album well. Characterized by singing and instrumentation, which is as good as ever combined with the eeriness of the orchestra work with an aura of medievalism.

Nostradamus as a whole can definitely not be compared to anything out of Priest’s previous works. While the album will most undoubtedly have many takers, it is hard to see fans of traditional hard pounding metal lending a favourable hear to it. The band can well be complemented for experimenting boldly when majority of bands would prefer sticking to the pre tested winning formulas. Forty years into the industry they are showing no signs of letting down, giving the young guns a run for their money.