Video: Judas Priest To Release Concert DVD/Blu-ray- Battle Cry, Next Month


 Judas Priest, by Melina D Photography

Judas Priest, by Melina D Photography

Judas Priest has named their upcoming concert DVD/Blu-Ray Package Battle Cry, based around their performance ant 2015s Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany. Filmed in front of 85, 000 maniac fans of The Priest, Battle Cry is available on a 15-track CD, with the entire show on Blu-ray and DVD (running over 94 minutes), as well as digital audio and video formats. The DVD and Blu-ray also contains three bonus tracks shot in Poland on December 10, 2015 at The Ergo Arena, Gdansk, Poland. You can watch the trailer at this link or below:

judaspriestbattlecry

Battle Cry CD track listing:

01. (Intro) Battle Cry
02. Dragonaut
03. Metal Gods
04. Devil’s Child
05. Victim Of Changes
06. Halls Of Valhalla
07. Redeemer Of Souls
08. Beyond The Realms Of Death
09. Jawbreaker
10. Breaking The Law
11. Hell Bent For Leather
12. The Hellion
13. Electric Eye
14. You’ve Got Another Thing Coming
15. Painkiller

Battle Cry DVD/Blu-ray track listing:

01. (Intro) Battle Cry
02. Dragonaut
03. Metal Gods
04. Devil’s Child
05. Victim Of Changes
06. Halls Of Valhalla
07. Turbo Lover
08. Redeemer Of Souls
09. Beyond The Realms of Death
10. Jawbreaker
11. Breaking the Law
12. Hell Bent For Leather
13. The Hellion
14. Electric Eye
15. You’ve Got Another Thing Coming
16. Painkiller
17. Living After Midnight

Recorded live on August 1, 2015 at Wacken Festival, Germany.

Bonus tracks:

18. Screaming For Vengeance
19. The Rage
20. Desert Plains

Recorded live on December 10, 2015 at The Ergo Arena, Gdansk, Poland.


The Official Ghost Cult Writers Albums of the Year Top 50: 40-31


The countdown to the Official Ghost Cult Magazine Album of the Year for 2014 continues. Please consume and enjoy the results of our 2014 Writers’ Poll. We hope it will introduce you to some of the incredible works of art you may have missed that we have had the immense pleasure of listening to and writing about this year.

In our second installment we bring you albums 40 through to 31

jfac-new-album-cover-400x40040. JOB FOR A COWBOY – Sun Eater (Metal Blade)

“Evolution from deathcore to a more compact, yet technical, death metal… complex and melodic structures accompany a diversified approach” DIOGO FERREIRA 7/10 Full review here

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39. AGELESS OBLIVION – Pethos (Siege of Amida / Century Media)

Marrying both technical and atmospheric forms of Death Metal, Ageless Oblivion create their own brand of chilling yet punishing aggression, presented in a show of impressive progression.

 

 

Killer-Be-Killed-Killer-Be-Killed-400x40038. KILLER BE KILLED – Killer Be Killed (Nuclear Blast)

“Cavalera, Puciato, Sanders, and Elitch put their stamp on this recording, making a memorable, political-flavored, heavy album that certainly lives up to the hype” KEITH ‘KEEFY’ CHACHKES 8.5/10 Full review here

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37. AEVANGELIST – Writhes In The Murk (Debemur Morti)

“If you’re able to get past the initial disorientation and look inside, you’ll find an album that follows its own perverse ambition flawlessly, with not a shred of compromise, dilution or failure” RICHIE HR 10/10 Full review here

 

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36. FEN – Carrion Skies (Code666)

“Fen are the rawer, rockier, more achingly human cousin to Tombs’ Neurosis-driven thunder, and among the richest and most emotionally expressive Metal albums of 2014” RICHIE HR 9/10 Full review here

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35. JUDAS PRIEST – Redeemer of Souls (Epic/Columbia)

“Judas Priest has released a retrospective that nods to their career, recalling everything that has made them genuine legends of our metal world, Redeemer Of Souls has a beautifully warm and classic Priest feel”. STEVE TOVEY 8.5/10 Full review here

CW_418_lowRes-630x63034. COFFINWORM – IV.I.VIII (Profound Lore)

The phrase “Doom” doesn’t do justice to the ugly, polluted, measured sludgy bludgeon of IV.I.VIII; a beautifully horrible record of nihilistic malevolence, that dissolves doom, death, black and sludge in its fetid path.

 

trap-them-blissfucker-400x40033. TRAP THEM – Blissfucker (Prosthetic)

“My advice? If you have never listened to Trap Them, get on this bandwagon before these guys run you over with it”. TIM LEDIN 8/10 Full review here

yaitw_album32. YOUNG AND IN THE WAY – When Life Comes To Death (Deathwish Inc)

The hardest of hardcore punk fused with the blackest of Darkthrone’s black metal offspring, creating a crusty hell in aural format.

against-me-transgender-dysphoria-blues31. AGAINST ME! – Transgender Dysphoria Blues (Total Treble)

The gutsy pop-punk outfit release a cathartic biographical concept album of frontwoman Laura Jane Grace’s experiences for their sixth album.

Ghost Cult ‘Albums Of The Year’ 50-41 here

Compiled by Steve Tovey


Judas Priest: Live at Foxwoods Casino, Mashantucket, CT


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Judas Priest rolled into Foxwoods Casino Grand Theater like a freight train for their eighth stop on the current Redeemer of Souls tour into what seemed to be a sold out show or at least close to it. And how amazing would it be to see a band like Judas Priest right up front with no barrier? Well if you had always dreamed of that, and you were lucky enough to be seated in the first four rows, then this was your lucky night! The theater is a traditional one with permanent seats on the floor and a small orchestra pit but there was no barrier and the first four rows were allowed to stand right at the stage. And as soon as that huge Judas Priest banner dropped from the ceiling, those who could did and those who couldn’t were envious. To be inches away from Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill and newest member Richie Faulkner? I’d say that is something to remember and brag about for years to come.

rf and rob

 

The show started and the whole theater erupted in screams and cheers. Almost the entire theater stayed on their feet for the near 2 hour set which combined both old and new songs. Rob Halford proved he still has the pipes, hitting the torturously high notes on songs like ‘Victim of Changes’ with seeming ease and power. Even with multiple outfit changes from Rob and the classic motorcycle entrance, the set never lagged once which can be no easy feat for any band let alone one stacked with so much material to cover. Each song brought new waves of excitement through the crowd which never seemed to get enough from the legends. I myself could have and would have watched another hour easily. They sounded amazing and never mis-stepped. Personally I would have loved to hear something off of Rocka Rolla and Stained Class, but you can’t have everything you want.

 

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So it’s been 40 years you say? Well they sure haven’t slowed down much judging by their non-stop, high speed performance and they left us all wanting more, chanting, “Judas Priest!” over an over at the end. I can only hope they come back again, and again, and again. Maybe some more of the early stuff I love so much next time. Go to see them when they come around on this tour and you will not be disappointed.

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[slideshow_deploy id=’9740′]

Judas Priest Set List

Battle Cry

Dragonaut

Metal Gods

Devil’s Child

Victim of Changes

Halls of Valhalla

Love Bites

March of the Damned

Turbo Lover

Redeemer of Souls

Beyond the Realms of Death

Jawbreaker

Breaking the Law

Hell Bent for Leather

Encore:

You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’

Living After Midnight

(Heavy Duty)

Defenders of the Faith

Beginning of the End

Judas Priest on Facebook

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY HILLARIE JASON


Judas Priest – Redeemer Of Souls


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It has been 40 years since Judas Priest released their debut album, Rocka Rolla, a kitsch rock album that showcased little to suggest the career that was to follow. Just take a minute to take that in. Forty years. Four decades in which Priest have, along with Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath, formed an unholy British triumvirate that has influenced every single metal band, bar none, between them. Unlike Maiden, who are at the peak of their popularity in their later years, and Sabbath, who since reuniting with Ozzy are world-wide festival headliners, the Priest never quite received the same level of consistent commercial success, despite tracks like ‘Breaking The Law’ being universally known, and their Painkiller album being one of the greatest metal albums ever released.

 

It has been strongly suggested that Ruby anniversary album Redeemer Of Souls (Epic/Columbia) is going to be their last foray into the recording studio, and that should come as no surprise. Not only has Redeemer been over 3 years in the making, but iconic vocalist Rob Halford and bassist Ian Hill are 62, while guitarist Glenn Tipton is 66. Despite such a lengthy career, his foil and lead sparring partner KK Downing has stepped down from the band due to a breakdown in relationships and doesn’t feature on a Priest album for the first time, unobtrusively replaced by Richie Faulkner.

 

So, against the backdrop of both their own incredible legacy, a confusing and underwhelming last album (2008’s Nostradamus), and recording without a long-term member for the first time, Judas Priest are releasing their swansong.

 

The first thing to point out is that they were never going to re-record Painkiller, itself nearly a quarter of a century old and THE most “metal” album of all time. So, if you’re expecting raging drums, pinch harmonic squeals, full on aggression, this isn’t the Priest album for you. The intention after Nostradamus was to release a more straightforward, down the line summation of what Priest is, does and stands for and what Redeemer Of Soulshas is a beautifully warm and classic Priest feel, not too dissimilar to the vibe embraced by Angel Of Retribution and highly reminiscent of a Sad Wings Of Destiny or Sin After Sin;

 

While Rob Halford’s ear-splitting attack has been toned down to a more mid-range delivery, he is still distinctive and stately over a series of strong rock songs that takes you through the dynamic range of what Priest have offered over the years. Opening triad ‘Dragonaut’, ‘Redeemer Of Souls’ and ‘Halls Of Valhalla’ bring the quick, single note, spiky riffs synonymous with tracks like ‘Nightcrawler’ or ‘Freewheel Burning’ and raise the horns, arms pumping, choruses soaring, an approach that serves ‘Down In Flames’ and the Hill driven ‘Hell & Back’ equally well.

But where Redeemer…really works is in the more mature, considered material like ‘Cold Blooded’, that amalgamates ‘Blood Stone’ with a downer, Heaven & Hell darkness, and ‘Sword Of Damacles’, ‘Crossfire’ and ‘March Of The Damned’, with their looser, head-nodding 70’s vibes. A very consistent album is finished strong with the epic ‘Secrets Of The Dead’, brother-in-arms to ‘One Shot At Glory’ the marvellous ‘Battle Cry’ before a very brave and interesting choice of closer ‘Beginning Of The End’, a reflective number in the vein of ‘Before The Dawn’ or Black Sabbath’s ‘Solitude’, finishes things.

 

Redeemer of Soulsfulfils the role of final chapter capably, as JudasPriest release a retrospective that nods to their career, recalling everything that has made them genuine legends of our metal world. I sincerely feel honoured and saddened to be writing about final release from one of the best there’s ever been; a true great that is signing off with a fitting epitaph.

 

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8.5 / 10

Judas Priest on Facebook

 

STEVE TOVEY