As you know, Rob Halford left Judas Priest in 1992 to pursue a solo-career after dissensions with the band. The first of those was the killing machine Fight, a heavy duty monstrosity influenced by the thrashier likes of Pantera, who Rob also became chummy with at the time. After three years and as many albums he called Fight a closed chapter, teamed up with much dreaded Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and formed the more experimental industry-metal project Two, which rightfully wasn't recieved well by the metal community. With his latest creature, simply entitled Halford, he has taken the first convincing steps back to the music he made a global concern 25 years ago. Now the entire world of metal eagerly awaits his inevitable reunion with the greatest metal band of all time.
Discography
RESURRECTION
What can you say? HE'S BACK! The big man with the big voice finally got his shit together again and realized he was born for rockin'. However, I would like to get down to earth quickly and state that Resurrection ain't what I would call a masterpiece. If you expected another Painkiller, you are mistaken. It's not. It's quality metal - hard, fast, rockin', heavy, metal god, substantial, in-your-face, and most songs are above average (first half in particular), but you've also heard most of it before. Arrangements are a bit on the samey side, so to speak. It's hard to pick any faves here, since all songs are about as good. I'll have to go with Silent screams though, the most complex bastard, and one of the pieces that really takes use of the God's vocal capacity, it rips - one of my favourite of 2000. The title track and the Bruce Dickinson-duet, One you love to hate, are also spectacular. Other songs that contend for "best" status would be Made in hell, Locked and loaded, Cyberworld and Twist. The rest is pretty average, and the bonus tracks (starts EXACTLY alike) I don't find to be anything special, although I'm probably the only one who don't. Some of the lyrics (especially in the title track) may be interpreted as Halford's wish to return to Judas Priest, although I realize that may be just wishful thinking (could be referring to just his wish to return to metal, after the not-as-metal Two-project). It soon becomes quite clear that this album is Rob Halford and Rob Halford alone. The no-names (everyone but Jarzombek who played drums for Riot on a number of albums, including the classic Thundersteel) have to forgive the statement that they are only secondary in this production, because the songs are not written and arranged for them as much as for Halfie himself. No pics of the other fellas (a dozen of the God himself), band name "Halford", and everything else, including his own word. Leads are not overly impressive and the drums virtually non-existent on some tracks. The rhythm guitars are crunchy alright, but kinda dull and nay-saying, most definitely thanks to Roy "most overhyped metal producer of the '90s" Zero's usual dark guitar mixing, which IMHO somewhat damaged most of Bruce's solo material. The gloomy sound makes it kinda hard to listen to the entire album at once, despite the fact that every song kicks butte. I guess I'm a sucker for that classic '80s sound :). Oh well, that's just my opinion, and if nothing else, it's great to hear the GOD scream and yell and just have a good time, like in the ole days. Not a very innovative album, still, it's not as much experimentation this time as the simple statement - Rob Halford is back in business!
Best songs: Silent screams; Resurrection; The one you love to hate
Bonus tracks on Japanese version
LIVE INSURRECTION
After the success with Resurrection, Rob Halford with entourage set sail to subject the world as the God of Metal he is. And here we have the product of that world tour, quite possibly the best darn live album since Decade of aggression. Some dullards may object and say Rob should release a couple more studio albums with his new band before spitting out lives, but who am I to complain? More Priest, more Rob Halford...I'm a sink! The second CD definitely has the upper hand here, cos it mainly deals with Priest classics (heaps of 'em!). It starts with short crowd noise and a bang-up version of Cyberworld, which leads swiftly into The hellion, as if it always were there. If you think I treated the guitarists too harshly on Resurrection, I will have to repent here, because they sound AWESOME on this album! The legendary solo in Beyond the realms of death is performed so well, I almost screamed with power in the air the first time I heard it. Unfortunately, this song suffers slightly from the overuse of "studio magic", in this case too many echoes during the verses. Still fucking brilliant though. In fact, all the Priest selections sound very good (and we know how much Rob likes to screw with live recordings). I saw this posse with Overkill in November last year, and they played ALL the Priest songs that are present here EXCEPT Beyond the realms of death. YOU BASTARDS! (Well, it happens to be one of my three favourite Judas tracks of all time :) ). As far as add-ons go, there's a cheesy rappish section at the end of Metal gods, some unfamiliar lines in Genocide and an amusing "oh-oh-oh-oh" chant in Breaking the what. The last three songs on CD 2 are new studio tracks, all good enough to be on Resurrection. Heart of a lion is my favourite - an unreleased Priest song, and also the most Priest-sounding of the bunch. Excellent. The first CD is very good overall too, and more diverse musically. Three awesome Priest songs, three of the best Fight tracks (Into the pit, Nailed to the gun and Life in black), several great Resurrection compositions (and Bruce Bruce joins Rob on stage for The one you love to hate) and Light comes out of black, which was originally recorded with Pantera on the Buffy the vampire slayer soundtrack. The Fight-era songs may seem rather simplistic for the uninitiated, but their power is hard to withstand (and what's up with the death metal voice at the beginning of Into the pit?). I must also say I like the idea of playing "forgotten" Priest songs. I mean, when was the last time you heard Stained class, Jawbreaker or Genocide live? It is true that Rob's voice sounds different now from the glory days in Judas, because nowadays he has developed a sorta Udo-raspiness to the classic ear-splitter. Of course, not losing any of the power that ruled (and still rule) the likes of Tyrant and Jawbreaker. He can still do THE scream at the end of the former pretty well, 25 years after its initial release. Personally, I think this album is everything Live letdown wasn't. You see, you don't need to be over-loud, over-heavy and over-distorted to keep up with the times, and it certainly doesn't do the classics (which most people come to hear) any good. Production here is vastly superior, and to make a tired point, more Priest than Priest.
Best songs: Beyond the realms of death; The hellion/Electric eye; Breaking the law
CD 1