Judas Priest shocked fans when they announced they were releasing an 18 track album that was over 90 minutes long.
Most bands, especially a founding father of metal, stick to the same formula that they’re comfortable with when putting out new material late in their career. However, Priest has never been a band to shy away from doing exactly what they want to do. They’ve proven this with the synthesizer-driven Turbo and the overly-aggressive Painkiller.
This time around, the group set out to capture the mind of Nostradamus for their very first concept album.
The songs describe predictions of chaos and war engulfing the world, leaving it in ruins and ultimately ending in the fall of mankind. These are the visions of notorious writer, Nostradamus who was supposedly a prophet and had the power to foretell world events.
The story follows his ideas of plagues and mass starvation destroying civilization before becoming an outcast and being chased out of town. He is left isolated and calls for his visions to give him strength and confidence to live. It all ends with the legacy of Nostradamus being carried on by modern-day believers who keep his memory alive.
Instead of going for a traditional heavy metal album, Priest defies expectations and brings in a full symphonic orchestra into their music for the first time. It’s a risky move for any band especially on a double album.
So let’s do a quick recap…
A brand new album that’s an hour and a half long is also challenging listeners with a new style of music.
This formula is begging for criticism!
While it wasn’t their most popular release, it still had substance for those who paid attention.
Apocalyptic catastrophe is the perfect topic for any metal album. The predictions of Nostradamus are also very similar to The Plagues Of Egypt in the Book Of Exodus. This adds a lot of atmosphere to the songs that would otherwise bore the listener.
The only song that sounds like traditional Priest is the opening track, Prophecy. The rest of the album mainly consists of 6+ minute ballads that are introduced with a separate 2 minute intro track. These break up the lengthy songs and introduce the next piece of the story.
Death and Future Of Mankind are the darkest tracks on Nostradamus. Meanwhile, New Beginnings and Alone are the complete opposite. These are ballads that focus on the range of Rob Halford’s vocals and the melodic side of Priest‘s songwriting. It’s different yet musically satisfying.
The real gems on Nostradamus are the title track and Persecution! Extremely heavy and almost sound like they could’ve come from Painkiller. In your face, undiluted speed metal hidden in this overlooked album.
Nostradamus unfortunately suffers from the same criticism that Guns ‘N Roses got for both Use Your Illusions. It’s difficult for most listeners to fully invest themselves in a lengthy story line. Pink Floyd and Rush can pull it off, but some die hard fans aren’t used to a double album from Priest.
When you look at the idea behind the concept, Nostradamus is a success in its own right. It takes the listener through the life of its protagonist, using heavy tracks and ballads to pull it all together. Despite popular opinion, this album is an innovative masterpiece that deserves recognition along with the rest of Priest‘s albums.
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