(Rated this album with 6 out of 10) Reviewed by
Jason Calfee
from KUSATSU, SHIGA Japan
Metal is still trucking along even if their nuts and bolts are getting a little old. Perhap this metaphor might fit Judas Priest, a heavy metal band that has managed to endure the changes in the music industry overall and remain one of the top metal bands despite their loss of Halford. Well, I'll get off that now. You're not reading this to hear another survivor story about bunch of rock star vets. Even with the loyal fan base, is the new Judas Priest album Demolition a worthy listen? It depends on what you're looking for. When I put the cd, I started listening to Machine Man, the first track. I must say I found myself getting into it. The drums are pounding, the guitar riffs are ripping, and Owens' jumps from grinding grunts and growls to blinding screams, which makes for one exciting heavy metal band. I end up listening to the entire album hooked on every song for mainly the same reasons. It's just what I had pretty much for the most part expected from Priest. So, I'm entertained by all this noise. It's pure and it sounds like the traditional heavy metal. And when you consider the lyrics, it fits the stereotype perfectly, and that's the problem. Perhaps the weakest point in the album would be, well, to some extent the production is a little off making it lose some of its power, but it's really the lyrics. I didn't find the lyrics in anyway inspiring, thoughtful, meaningful, and from a certain angle they are downright cheezy and cornier than anything you've ever heard, either annoying or humorously distracting the listener, and consequently stripping the songs of a significant amount of might as well as making it difficult to concentrate on the beauty of its heavy metal purity. Many people who are prejudice against heavy metal have described heavy metal as being this loud, pushy, and noisy kind of stuff, and having this ugly dense sound, having these kind of silly lyrics. Heavy metal is certainly noisy and loud, but that is an aggressive and heartfelt expression to satisfy certain emotional needs. It's a release. But that is a matter of musical tastes anyway that is so subjective that it is as much a waste of time to argue about it as it is to read this review. But when you think about it, when it comes to lyrics, those expressing anti-heavy metal sentiment are way off the mark. The stronger heavy metal stuff is far from nonsensical. There are plenty of songs with thoughtful and serious lyrics to go along with those heavy riffs. But it just isn't here. Now, is that bad? Not necessarily. Personally, I never thought much of Judas Priest as songwriters anyway, though i have to admit this isn't one of their finest moments in that category. But there really isn't any meaning behind what they write. It's mostly fantasy, along the lines of a horror movie, or playing out like a comic book. It's there to entertain. If you want to be entertained, it would be better to just sit back and enjoy the sound, let go and allow yourself to be consumed by it. I listen to Judas Priest for what they are, a solid heavy metal band: a band with screaming wicked vocals, heavy guitar riffs, and thunderous drums. If anything you can see the lyrics as just playful even if they are absolutely shallow and meaningless. This is about having fun. To sum it up, if you are looking for something serious and thoughtful in terms of its lyrical content, this is not for you. If you are just looking for a pure and solid heavy metal band, that can rock you and is there to purely entertain you, then this album has the goods. So, I'll give it 3 stars for great guitar riffs, drumming, and vocals. But for the poor lyrical writing and some needed improvement on its production, I take 2 stars off. The production left something to be desired. When I listen to a Queensryche album, or Pantera, or Nevermore, everything was projected well. Explosive enough it could be, but it could have been projected even better. It didn't sound strong like those bands. That could be another reason why despite all it's efforts with the well crafted heavy riffs, in addition to the weak songwriting, the sound was not projected nor thick enough to have the kind of huge and powerful effect like on a Pantera album. I think it just makes it stronger. Go compare it to Metallica's Ride the Lightning, or Nevermore's Politics of Ecstasy, or a Pantera album to see what I am talking about. And a lot of ideas just seemed undeveloped. Could have used more work. So, if you want a solid heavy metal band who can write better and has a stronger production, then you better not buy this. Otherwise, everything else is there to entertain at in least terms of how they use their instruments.
