Hail To The Priest
Metalville, 2019
8/10
A tribute album to the almighty Judas Priest, Thobbe Englund, who many will know as the former guitarist of Finnish metalheads Sabaton, reworks some deeper cuts from Halford and company on this raging listen.
“The Sentinel” gets the album off to a classic metal start with strong riffage, as raw yet melodic vocals flow with the powerful, thundering rhythm section, and “The Ripper” follows with a vocally expressive tune where some high notes are hit as the music is a bit more tame, but no less gripping.
The middle of the album brings us the chugging intensity of the darker spirited “Immortal Sin”, a Halford tune from his time in Fight, while “Burn In Hell” gets eerie and mysterious in all the best ways. The album highlight resides here, as the thumping “Desert Plains” recruits a stadium rock delivery that reminds us of all the things we love about Priest’s guitar work.
Near the end, “Into The Pit”, another Fight tune, recruits a jackhammer, thrash template that’s certainly mosh friendly, and “I’m A Rocker” ends the album with power and melody in a way that brings to mind all the ‘80s metal giants with fluid guitar solos and loud choruses.
Thankfully, Thobbe doesn’t try to imitate Halford and instead puts his own spin on the covers, and while nothing here is better than the original, it’s all damn great, unleashed fiercely and recorded with top notch quality.
Travels well with: Iron Maiden- Powerslave; Megadeth- Rust In Peace