Judas Priest - Nostradamus - review
Judas Priest - Nostradamus - review
Tracklist
Disc I01. Dawn Of Creation
02. Prophecy
03. Awakening
04. Revelations
05. The Four Horsemen
06. War
07. Sands Of Time
08. Pestilence And Plague
09. Death
10. Peace
11. Conquest
12. Lost Love
13. Persecution
Disc II
01. Solitude
02. Exiled
03. Alone
04. Shadows In The Flame
05. Visions
06. Hope
07. New Beginnings
08. Calm Before The Storm
09. Nostradamus
10. Future Of Mankind
A review by
Baz Anderson September 05, 2008
Now, "Nostradamus" brings a whole new perspective to the world of Judas Priest. This is on a completely different level to anything the band has ever done before. Gone are the clear, razor sharp guitar riffs and straight-forward heavy metal sound the band put out since the "Painkiller" album, and its a hello and warm welcome to an overblown, pompous, slightly dark, theatrical kind of metal. Two CDs of over the top, dramatic stage show music that could easily be turned into a classic piece at a musical theatre in the west end of London depicting the life of Nostradamus. The guitars and the legendary singing of Rob Halford have always been the strongest points in the music of Judas Priest, but on "Nostradamus" both seem to have had the edge sandpapered off them. Both guitars and vocals lack the clarity and piercing qualities they should have, and more focus is placed upon a whole, full, multi-layered, bombastic sound you would imagine from a film soundtrack. The album is also littered with annoying little interludes that prevent any kind of real flow to the album's progression.
This is Judas Priest however, keeping to tradition there will always be quality on a Judas Priest album, you just need to know where to look to find it. Even though the first twenty minutes of the album, although puffing its chest out in grand fashion, is nothing much to keep your attention; most of the actual songs on "Nostradamus" have some of that melodic Priest magic about them we have come to expect. "Pestilence And Plague" has a bit more bite about it and with a magnificent Italian chorus is the first standout of the double album opus. "Lost Love" has an incredibly sad charm, as does the slightly drawn out but pleasant "Alone". "Visions" may be the highest point of the album with its deep guitars and catchy chorus, "New Beginnings" also gently brushes the listeners ears with a slow, sombre but satisfying affair. Title track "Nostradamus" has the most conviction the album sees though, and is the closest you will get to speed metal on this whole overblown, overdrawn musical work.
Indeed, the chocolate chips are buried in the cookie somewhere, the diamonds are lodged somewhere inside this endless mine. "Nostradamus" has the quality expected from a band as such as is Judas Priest, but this quality is just surrounded and cluttered with fillers, interludes, and a few songs that could have done with being dropped at the final cut, which makes the whole two CD final piece a hard pill to swallow in one sitting making it not the easiest album to listen to as a whole. If you have the time and patience, you will be able to appreciate "Nostradamus" and the highlights found within, but if you seek a quick, metallic, speed metal fix you got from "Painkiller" or even "Screaming For Vengeance", then unfortunately "Nostradamus" is definitely not the answer to your problem. One thing is for sure though, and that is that the Priest have put out yet another controversial record that will split fans right down the middle.
Written on 05.09.2008 by
Written on 05.09.2008 by
Member of Staff since 2006 Comments
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| Southern Wind
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 Posts: 12195 |
Posts: 12195
I actually reviewed it for a magazine some time ago and gave "Nostradamus" a 4/10 rating  Imho this is one of the most boring albums I have ever listened to, hands down.
---- About me: "The best out of all the people ever" - Washington Post "We abandoned Christ for Destroyah's love!" - The Watchtower "Simply amazing!" - Rolling Stone
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Posts: 28  |
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I totally agree with Baz (as usual). Nostradamus is in some parts veeery booooring and definitely not good enough for and album of Metal Gods. As Southern Wind says (modified) : get the best parts of Nostradamus, increase speed a lot and then will be the result better...
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The song Pestilence And Plague is really great. Especially as it fades in from the previous one.
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Posts: 29  |
Posts: 29
7?  in my opinion this album should be nominate to the worst CD 2008 boooooring... and there are 23 tracks, 1h 42min of boring, boring, boring music 3/10 ;]
---- www.soundbastards.pl www.musicmetal.org www.rycerze.wp.pl
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 Posts: 10108 |
Posts: 10108
yup, i'm disappointed with this release too, and i'm a rabid fan of theirs. the first two and the last two tracks are the only ones which i would listen to EDIT the first two are awesome and as inseparable as The Hellion and Electric Eye, they work pretty good as a intro, but for concerts, nothing could match Hellion as the intro... too damn epic 
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Posts: 117
I liked the record, and it seems ppl who are used to prog releases will be able to get into this since it requires hell a lot of listens, a clear 8/10 as for me 
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Posts: 268  |
Posts: 268
The first time I listened the album I didn't like it but now I think it's a great album. It deserves an 8
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Posts: 264  |
Posts: 264
as a big fan i was reaaaally disappointed with this album and yes its veeeeerry boring, unfortunately.i really hate the symphonic things in the album, it just doesnt sound right or good. i dont like concept albums anyway, its like they always feel the need to add symphonical things to make it more theatrical but in the end its just lame and boring. besides; an intro before every song is my worst nightmare.i hate intros...any kind of.
---- i'm super, thanks for asking
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Posts: 29 |
Posts: 29
old fans can see difrent between old and new JP... horrible...
---- www.soundbastards.pl www.musicmetal.org www.rycerze.wp.pl
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Posts: 257  |
Posts: 257
yeah, this album wasn't like the old ones, even Angel of Retribution owns the power and force of the JP heavy metal, but this album doesn't have the same concept... at least I think, songs like Persecution or Nostradamus have the closest sound of their "past" concept and style of music... but well, not of my favorites, I really don't like the album at all... 
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Yeah luckily I got a preview of this at my work when I was tempted to buy it, but I found it incredibly boring. Can't say I was too pleased.
---- "I got a lot of really good ideas, problem is, most of them suck." - George Carlin
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Posts: 1689
Oh yeah, you need to listen it many many many times to actually like the entire album jaja (23 songs!!! are you insane?), I liked "Nostradamus" and "Persecution" since the first time I listened the entire thing, but If I were almost dead and had the choice to listen to one last song between Nostradamus and Painkiller you know which one I would choose. Ok ok, fans from hell will like it (and I like Judas too much) maybe as a symphonic album it is... ok, but if you are searching for a more powerful Judas Priest maybe you should listen other releases like "Painkiller" or "Screaming for Vengeance" and even "Ram it Down".
---- "Les vers savent qu'ils n'ont pas d'ailes, c'est pour cela qu'ils se cachent sous terre"
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Posts: 303
ok they change their style from the begining but i really like this album 9/10
---- metal always live in us
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Posts: 3523
I stopped listening or caring about anything Priest after "Painkiller," and this is not even close to changing my mind. Terrible, sloppy, and just a poorly arranged concept. I enjoy a lot of symphonic metal, but this just is not working. Good review in the sense that there is a lot of honest criticism of the album though I guess the only thing that keeps me from being too angry about the album is that I'm just apathetic toward the band now that did so much for me when I was a kid getting into metal.
---- "After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." - Aldous Huxley
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| Emerencios
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Posts: 266  |
Posts: 266
Loooooooooong and boring. My question would be... worst than Demolition? Difficult to answer..
---- http://enumaelis.blogspot.com/
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| sevendeadlysins
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| MortalTheory
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Posts: 10108 Written by Valentin B on 05.09.2008 at 15:24 i take back my words, the album sounds pretty good as a whole, it flows really good, there's not one stop, it's perfect for a musical, but i don't think they would be able to pull it all off, like acting, singing, etc. at the same time, maybe if they had actors and they appeared at certain key points in the show, all the while playing the instruments in the back or something. it seems too much, especially for their age. should be REALLY interesting to see the whole stage show though. Halford said he wants "as much theatricality as possible" 
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| amerislave
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This album has grown a bit inside me, thinking of it Judas Priest have always changed their style when they wanted to, so they do not fear to experiment something new. So by now I think this album is very good in it's own way, it is not the classic heavy metal Judas have always done, it's something fresh and new, at least for the history of the Metal Gods.
---- "Les vers savent qu'ils n'ont pas d'ailes, c'est pour cela qu'ils se cachent sous terre"
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Posts: 180  |
Posts: 180
This album is only at 7.5? that is not cool. I think that it deserves at least an 8.5. It is a new stile for Judas Priest thathas never been shown before. Plus a lot of the songs on this album are great. Sure their are filler tracks but they are all short. Most of the longer songs are great.
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Posts: 40071 Written by IronBlackZepp on 18.02.2009 at 05:27 It was actually rated a 7 by Baz. Btw, I totally agree with that rating.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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The fact that it is something new for a band doesn't make it more special, oftentimes bands try new stuff, add new elements and it doesn't work. So, I think that it should only be a factor when the end result is actually something good.
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Posts: 180 Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 18.02.2009 at 12:24 Actually I was talking about the overall rating, which is currently a 7.5.
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Posts: 40071 Written by IronBlackZepp on 18.02.2009 at 20:05 I find that about half a point too high as well.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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Posts: 180 Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 18.02.2009 at 20:57 Its not that the music on this album is bad. The biggest problem is that their are so many little filler songs. It is true that the band mabey should have made nostradamus a one disc album instead of two. However I still think it is a good album. Their are worse Priest albums out their, in fact their are many metal albums in general that are much worse. You have to admit that this is better then Turbo, Point of entry, Rocka Rolla. And it is certainly better then the stuff they did with Owens.
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