There is nothing more (or less) interesting than a tribute album. I mean, this is the type of record you like or you hate ... the kind of CD bought by die-hard fans only. As for me, I consider tribute albums as slot-machines - you always lose money at the end. Will it be different for this one?
Judas Priest ... f*cking heavy metal Judas Priest... is reviewed by heavy, true, thrash, black and death metal bands. In other words, a classic tribute. Judas Priest being undeniably one of the greatest heavy metal bands on this planet - someone shout "the best"? - with a long and successful history, this tribute must be a strong one.
Annihilator plays the starter with Hell Bent For Leather : perfect execution and this classic sound/touch of the Canadian thrash band, a real nice cover. It continues with Primal Fear, where Ralph perfectly sings Metal Gods ... but I suppose you're not really astonished. Skid Row is lucky enough to have recorded a live version of Delivering The Gods with nobody else than .... Rob Halford on the stage : in other words, a wonderful live song.
Witchery, with its typical heavy/black sound, has chosen Riding On The Wind and they also deliver a perfect heavy/black Judas Priest lesson. Iced Earth follows with Screaming For Vengeance : Matthew Barlow is one of the best heavy metal voice around and he proves it once again on this cover. Siebenburger is credited for the first "strange" cover (Jawbreaker), where the "toad" vocals of the singer almost kill one of the best Judas Priest classic song. Hammerfall, with Oscar singing Breaking The Law, is another risky choice, but for those of you who have seen the Swedish true metal band on tour, you know that Oscar really loves this song.
Benediction arrives with a death metal Electric Eye, but the fantastic Death metal lesson is delivered by Chuck Schuldiner on Painkiller. Silent Force and DC Cooper attack with All Guns Blazing (what a voice !) while Steel Prophet once again proves their talent for cover songs (Dreamer, Deceiver). Armored Saint (Never Satisfied), Therion (Green Manalishi) and Thunderstone (Diamonds And Rust) close this 14 tracks tribute album, with a special mention to Thunderstone.
The production and the sound from one song to another is definitely not linear - sometimes being poor for bands like Iced Earth or Primal Fear - but the overall is really good. A must for the die-hard Judas Priest's fans out there ... as usual for tribute albums.
(metalreviews.com/reviews/album/1181)