I'm quite split on which album I like the most. Invincible Shield or Firepower. Firepower came out of nowhere, and I came in with other expectations while listening to Invincible Shield. All feelings aside, I really consider Invincible Shield amazing. The songwriting is just as great as it was on Firepower, the riffs are killer, but most of all Rob's vocal performance is really fucking amazing. His performance is really impressive, and imo better than on Firepower.

At the first 4 listens, I would rate this an 8,4 but by now I would raise it to a 8,5. I'll round up and give it a 9. An impressive and great final stand from the mighty Priest!



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Not as strong as Firepower but still a very solid album. Love the production on both of them.

Yeah, this slaps.

While the band sounds vital and gives a great performance this album does very little for me. It's not bad but barely anything stands out either.

A lot more filler then Firepower, tbh I prefer KKs latest to this one

50 freaking years, 19 albums, and they still sound this good! I mean, if any band has signed a deal with the devil, of course it would have to be a band called Judas Priest. What a banger!

Rob can still scream like that, unbelievable

Maybe it has no classic riffs, classic lyric parts, classics letter videos and even classic line up, but Priest are Priest, and no matter there something what you enjoy in their new albums, I enjoy it.
Ozzy boy wanna say goodbye to their fans in Villa Park , Priest when retires maybe should play in St Andrew's Park. (No Richie not in White Hart Lane).

But guys wanna hear a truth , even its not real derby but same time in metal we have no rivery I like KK Priest 2 albums better as this.

Nice staff pick, Nik!

Written by F3ynman on 14.03.2024 at 02:12

Nice staff pick, Nik!

Agreed. Awesome writeup. Judas Priest 50 years in and still burning brighter than a thousand suns.

Judas Priest have been one of my favourite bands for many years now (if not favourite...) - and for me, this is absolutely their best album since Painkiller. It is so quintessentially Judas Priest - it has energy... it hits hard, but it's also memorable and has songs that don't leave your head. The first four tracks especially are all top notch and brilliant in their own different ways. Fantastic album!

I sincerely don’t know how they keep putting out solid releases after all these years. Even more impressive is Halford’s voice. The dude is 72 years old and sounds like he’s still in his twenties.

I can't say I care overly much for this or its predecessor but I just have to agree that the band and especially Rob sound great here, especially compared to other older* bands.

*not to be the Iron Maiden hater that I usually am but this stomps all over anything those chaps have released in the past 30 years.

MAKE THE RATING GREEN AGAIN!1

Written by Zap on 16.03.2024 at 14:44

*not to be the Iron Maiden hater that I usually am but this stomps all over anything those chaps have released in the past 30 years.

Agree to disagree. This album has nothing on Brave New World.

50 years career. Halford is 72. Yet the quality of this album outshines all of what other "big bands" put out. The same holds for their previous efforts the last decades.

Yes, it's not genre defining or the "best metal album ever" but it is amazing nonetheless.

Written by Nejde on 18.03.2024 at 00:48

Written by Zap on 16.03.2024 at 14:44

*not to be the Iron Maiden hater that I usually am but this stomps all over anything those chaps have released in the past 30 years.

Agree to disagree. This album has nothing on Brave New World.

Brave New World is indeed an outstanding album, but after that it's all just mediocre recycling of old riffs and ideas. Making longer songs and trying to be "proggressive" with their sound doesn't necessarily mean it's good.

Don't take me wrong, I love Iron Maiden and their music but they have been musically boring the last 20 years. Judas Priest on the other hand, while they don't necessarily produce something "new" musically, still feel they have the same punch and freshness they had 30 years ago.

Written by Nightmare^ on 18.03.2024 at 17:30

Written by Nejde on 18.03.2024 at 00:48

Written by Zap on 16.03.2024 at 14:44

*not to be the Iron Maiden hater that I usually am but this stomps all over anything those chaps have released in the past 30 years.

Agree to disagree. This album has nothing on Brave New World.

Brave New World is indeed an outstanding album, but after that it's all just mediocre recycling of old riffs and ideas. Making longer songs and trying to be "proggressive" with their sound doesn't necessarily mean it's good.

Don't take me wrong, I love Iron Maiden and their music but they have been musically boring the last 20 years. Judas Priest on the other hand, while they don't necessarily produce something "new" musically, still feel they have the same punch and freshness they had 30 years ago.

I agree there, mostly, because I like Dance Of Death but yeah most of Maiden in the past 20 years is boring as fuck. Though, they give an outstanding live performance still to this day, one of the best veteran band to see live tbh.

Also something that grinds my gear is how the fuck dares this community of awesome people rate Brave New World higher than Killers. This is completely blasphemous.

Anyways, that latest Judas Priest annihilates the past 4 Maiden albums. No contest.

Metallica take notes, this is how you age gracefully!

Very strong album after 5 decades of metal making. Right now my favorite post painkiller era

What a stunning performance.

This has no business ripping as hard as it does.

This is a top quality album, very consistent and a fantastic performance as usual, I'd even say this is on par with Firepower.

Written by Boxcar Willy on 18.03.2024 at 20:49

This has no business ripping as hard as it does.

I know you mean this in a positive way, but it still sounds like you are disapproving of what they did.

Written by Zap on 16.03.2024 at 14:44

*not to be the Iron Maiden hater that I usually am but this stomps all over anything those chaps have released in the past 30 years.

Why compare the music of these 2 bands anyway? When IM debuted, JP released their 6th album, so it's not even the same generation. The music both bands play is quite different within the genre they both represent, the singers are not very much alike either.

Written by Daniell on 20.03.2024 at 14:33

Why compare the music of these 2 bands anyway? When IM debuted, JP released their 6th album, so it's not even the same generation. The music both bands play is quite different within the genre they both represent, the singers are not very much alike either.

#1 and #2 most popular heavy metal bands I suppose?

Written by Daniell on 20.03.2024 at 14:33

Written by Zap on 16.03.2024 at 14:44

*not to be the Iron Maiden hater that I usually am but this stomps all over anything those chaps have released in the past 30 years.

Why compare the music of these 2 bands anyway? When IM debuted, JP released their 6th album, so it's not even the same generation. The music both bands play is quite different within the genre they both represent, the singers are not very much alike either.

The comparison is not that weird to me honestly. Not that it really matters to compare them but what other band with such an extansive career, catalogue, massive success, still kicking it after 40+ years doing trad heavy metal can we truly compare JP to if not Iron Maiden?

Very safe, uninspired music. Cookie cutter type of stuff. It’s not bad but there’s nothing you haven’t heard before.

Written by nonZero on 18.03.2024 at 18:13

Metallica take notes, this is how you age gracefully!

why pick on Metallica out of the blue?!
Also, for me Metallica have redeemed themselves with the last two albums.

Written by John_Doe on 23.03.2024 at 11:31

Written by nonZero on 18.03.2024 at 18:13

Metallica take notes, this is how you age gracefully!

why pick on Metallica out of the blue?!
Also, for me Metallica have redeemed themselves with the last two albums.

Because the last two Judas Priest albums are insanely better than the last two Metallica albums