Judas Priest – “Jugulator”
O.K. girls and boys, metalheads, headbangers, all of you! The Priest is back! It’s time to stop speculating, wondering, and blabbering. The new singers name is “Ripper” Ownes and “Jugulator” is its first example of where the Priests sound is heading. This opens with the title track. The first thing to notice is the heaviness coming at you. “Painkiller” and Ram it Down”, two of the best releases ever in metal, sound somewhat lighter to “Jug.” The guitar sound is a notch heavier and has a rawer sound than “Painkiller”. Now, the moment every Priest fan was waiting for, the voice. Well, it’s really good, fits the music well. He fits right in, and yes he can scream. He can scream as good as Halford, but Owens sings in his own voice. “Bloodstained” takes you further into the new heaviness, aggression, and tightness of Priest. I really like the total fierceness of the next song “Dead Meat”. Hear you can hear, at least I do anyway, more tinges of old Priest. It’s really catchy. The guitar solos are not catchy, just technical wizardry. This song has a steady pounding rhythm. “Death Row” follows and this is really thrash- like-riffing. It cuts the sound and busts through. Aggressive vocals mark this song. The solos are once again fast, but short. Out of all the songs, “Decapitate” is the song that Owens actually sounds like Halford. Now comes “Burn in Hell”. This is very catchy with its mid-paced heavy metal glory. This album will make you a believer again. The vocals, the guitar, the drums, the passion, the precision, the fury, it’s all here. No need to describe all the other songs. Judas Priest has become heavier, faster, tighter, and younger-sounding. But I hate to say it, they have lost some of the melody they were good for. This is definitely the most different Judas P. album of all the releases. I’m looking forward to see Judas P. live again. The Priest is back with a vengeance!