Judas Priest's Reviews
Demolition (Average Rating: 6.22 out of 10)
Death Knell Of The Once Mighty Priest (Rated this album with 2 out of 10)
Reviewed by
Erich Heintzelman
from Orlando, Florida United States
First the departure of the legendary Halford (and reason for decent lyrics), a 7 year lay-off between Painkiller and the awful Jugulator, handing lyric responsibility and production over to Glenn Tipton, and finally a loss of all focus. While Priest did not actually pick up the gun and shoot themselves in the head they dug the grave with this album. It is up to the fans to cover the hole up with dirt.The album kicks off with "Machine Man" which sounds as ridiculous as the song title would leave you to believe. Finally 12 songs later and 70 minutes less left of your life you are left with only two or three worth repeating. "Hell Is Home" is the best track on the album with juvenile but tolerable lyrics and some great high screams from Owens. There is actually some melody discernible in this song. "In Between" is also a decent song which like "Hell is Home" has some clean passages mixed in with the heavy detuned nu metal guitar sound that permeates every single track on the album. "Close To You" shows signs of melody also but is not enough to salvage the album from the dung heap. The rest of the album is characterized by inane lyrics, hopelessly pedantic guitar riffs and unispired chromatic nightmare examples of how not to play a guitar solo. Like Jugulator, Priest adapted to nu metal guitar trends of detuning while singing with a sort of menancing snarl somewhere between speaking and yelling. Expect no melody or brilliance in the guitar work and more of the same pathetic lyrics from Tipton as with Jugulator. Owens is also restrained not being allowed to carry the songs vocally or use the trademark Halford scream very often. Owens may be trying to claim his own identity but he could be in a much better band than Priest is now. The problem here is not Owens, who has shown he can hit the high notes and deliver the ear-piercing scream. The problem is the the lyrics are awful and the guitar work simply thrown together with little harmony or focus on groove and structure. I would like to be able to blame it on these guys all approaching or in their 50's but Blue Oyster Cult just put out one of the best albums of their career and they are all over 50. Please save yourself the pain and keep the nostalgic memories of the former Priest intact and avoid this album.
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