Judas Priest - Nostradamus - ***

Three years ago Judas Priest reunited for the well received, if flawed, Angel of Retribution. The metal gods were back but in a conceptual mood. The band described Angel as a sequel of sorts to the 1976 classic Sad Wings of Destiny. Judas Priest was always an ambitious band, but that may have added some unnecessary baggage to what should have been a resoundingly triumphant return.
For the follow-up Priest spiraled further down the conceptual hole for a two-disc metal opera about the life and times of Nostradamus.
At nearly two hours long Nostradamus is going to test the patience of even the most diehard Judas Priest fans. There is far too much filler. The band could easily trim the 23 songs in half, if not further. The short interludes and plodding slower numbers drag fingers to the skip button.
Never mind the story. All of the silly elements – I have to say Spinal Tap, but it goes without saying – detract from the two things that make Judas Priest a classic band. Rob Halford's otherworldly vocals and the guitar interplay of Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing. Halford and the guitar duo save even the less than stellar songs – when they play electric guitars. There is far too many guitar synthesizers in play here, making the record sound like a dated score to an old Castlevania video game.
Priest was obviously aiming for a grand sound to match some hefty subject matter. Certainly an ambitious project. Ambition may have killed the album's momentum. The attempt at grandness dwarfs the band's strengths. Halford is ace throughout the record though. He manages to salvage some generic metal lyrics. His voice does not age and his nuanced performance steals the show, and he can still scream like the baddest mutha in town.
Tipton and Downing rely on the synthesized guitars to the detriment of the record. This is not a modern sound, nor does it reflect the time of Nostradamus I would say. Apart from a few uninspired riffs, the straight electric guitar work – when it shows up – is most welcome.
Applaud Judas Priest for breaking the rules of a rock band reunion. Any band can reunite and tour the state fair circuit on the strength of its past successes. It takes something special to put out a piece of work that, on paper, sounds like it could derail all the good will the reunion generated.
Nostradamus does not destroy any good will, but expect the line to the bathroom to be a little longer when Priest squeezes an album cut in between the hits on this summer's tour.