'98 Live Meltdown

Ah, another Judas Priest live album. What makes this different from all the rest? Well, Rob Halford wasn’t in the band at this time, instead Tim “Ripper” Owens is filling in the god-like shoes of Mr. Halford. This could be quite the nerve-raking task. Is this live album as good as all the others?

Well, the music itself is performed great. Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing do their part as they always do delivering crazy solos and energy to the stage. Ian Hill, is well, Ian Hill. His bass playing is as good as it gets. Scoot Travis can set fire to a drum set. This leaves one person… Tim Owens. His vocals as a whole are good, but on live performances it just seems like he’s holding something back. It’s sad how much potential he always seems to wasting. In the studio he’s amazing but it always feels like he’s not doing his best on stage. Anyway he does his job here, although he is no Halford he can still pack somewhat of a punch.

The set list itself is typical Judas Priest, which isn’t a bad thing. All time classics like “Painkiller”, Hell Bent For Leather”, and “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” are all present and performed well. The crowd isn’t as loud as you’d expect them to be, but at least there existent. The songs performed off “Jugulator” are better on this album; much more energy and they feel like their performed a little faster.

This is a solid live performance from the extraordinary Judas Priest. Many die-hard fans will hate the fact that Rob Halford isn’t singing, but Tim does do a good enough job. Check it out if you haven’t heard anything from the Tim Owens era, you may find it interesting. Most Judas Priest fans should enjoy this, unless their that upset that Rob Halford isn't singing on it.