Judas Priest have in their line-up, the metal god. The band has been around for 50 years of screaming, thrashing, raging and making some of the best British metal the world has ever seen. Along with Iron Maiden, they are a band that is synonymous with the birth of the genre. Just like Iron Maiden’s 2021 album Senjutsu sent the metal world into a breakdown, expect nothing less from British Steel. This is Judas Priest’s 19th LP, Invincible Shield.
Look, this band has been around for 50 years. That means, it is a legacy band. The band alone are twice my age, most members are born between 1945-52. Though I can say age is just a number, it is an important number when you’re a touring metal band. These guys are still touring. Since their 2018 album Firepower, they have been waiting to prove that good metal just takes time to be forged. Despite all the circumstances, they have made one incredible album, and no one expected any lesser from them. Lyrically, Halford and Co. have maintained that legacy of blending mythology, war and the indelible human spirit in their music. It is what adds a certain timeless nature to what they are singing about. Though several metaphors are drawn from the real world, who will keep it more metal than them? The hell patrol arrives with a bang.
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It is also exciting to hear them experiment with more electronic elements as well. The way they compose using such elements is very different from a band that had it in their initial codex. The opening single Panic Attack has it as a latent essence, all those years of riffage along with the additional melodic splits that the band has worked on. As the chorus approaches, you hear the same tunes as Breaking the Law. It is a powerful testament to where the band has reached now, and the decades of legacy metal they have treated us to.
Since K.K Downing’s departure and Glenn Tipton’s limited involvement, Judas Priest have done the best they can with the line-up. Andy Sneap has picked up Tipton’s duties live, and Richie Faulkner picks up lead guitar duties as well. The enigma is still how all the members think of these brilliant riffs which are so “j-priesty”. You can identify them all at the very moment they begin, and the choruses will have a choral chant from the crowd that is regular at their concerts. The spectacle of the visual is felt in the audio as well; their first album in 6 years is catching up with the things that have happened in 6.
Scott Travis has been mauling the drums like a cocaine bear, and it’s amazing to listen to. Since his Painkiller fills, that is all people have asked him to do, and it’s great that he gives such explosive releases in this album. Now, don’t get me wrong. Their riffs are to many, many degrees, very similar to many riffs of their previous songs. It probably has to do with the Judas Priest scale, and how the band’s sound is now identified with that. As a matter of brand loyalty, I love it. When I’m listening to it as a metal fan, I would sometimes want some more.
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Invincible Shield builds itself to an all-time favourite within the album. It has the riffage, the tempo and Halford’s top-shelf vocals to keep your blood warm. Harmonic solos throughout the album show us that double trouble is the best. Armed with Halford in the higher spectrum, you’ll hear brilliant blends you would have never experienced. An established band experimenting in their legacy years? Who would have thought?
Riffs from songs like Gates of Hell are entertaining to listen to, yet change the gears. Pick up Rocka Rolla (1974) now, and listen to Rob Halford yell. He’s kept his voice so incredibly versatile while maintaining range, inspiring metal and adding to the element of immortality on his CV. Crown of Horns makes the kind of riff entry which you’d expect from old-school metal bands, with certain finesse and detail.
Now if this is your first time listening to Priest, welcome to the fraternity. Leather and denim jacket patches for you for an eternity. If this album made you want to pick up a guitar and start learning, great. If his vocals, untethered by mortal rules made you gawk in awe, unbelievable. What is worth respecting is that in all of the years of releasing music and touring, Judas Priest has been one of those bands that proves that metal can be as relentless as it is melodic. Having Halford in the ranks helps a lot, let’s forget the “Ripper” years even though they didn’t have the same energy. They couldn’t. The God was on sabbatical.
I had tears in my eyes listening to Trial By Fire. That is the power of Nu Wave of British Metal, all these years later. Something still keeps it new. Something immortalizes it. It’s like, they’ve forged for themselves, an invincible shield.
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