Jugulator

After releasing the finest metal album of all times with his comrades, Rob Halford decided that the old school held no more fascination for him, and decided to check the new possibilities that were opening with the influx of the groovy/grungy/alternative trends. His departure left a huge gap in the Judas line-up; one that took the remaining members quite some time before they managed to fill it in. Quite a few names were tossed around, some of them fairly prominent, but the guys voted to settle for the complete unknown at the time Tim Owens. For the more initiated the man wasn’t a total obscurity as he had taken part in Winters Bane, a fairly cool US power metal outfit, and earlier in the excellent thrash metal formation Brainicide, a forgotten gem from the late-80’s, of whom very few fans out there were, and still are, aware.

Being a most devoted fan to Judas and the Metal God, Owens had his dream come true when he was summoned under the British legends’ banner. This only meant one thing: the veterans were planning to produce a follow-up to “Painkiller”, the metal album to end all metal albums… not the most enviable task in the world at the time which ironically coincided with the emergence of Halford’s new project after the Fight demise, the industrial nonsense Two. The Metal God had already stained his reputation beyond repair… it seemed as though his former colleagues were preparing to head in the same direction… a follow-up to “Painkiller”, are you crazy!?

And not only, but the band’s intentions were only too clear from the very album-title; from “Painkiller” to “Jugulator”, the road least travelled I guess. And a journey most risky for sure which starts with the title-track its creepy steam-rolling beginning only boding well with Owens’ hellish screams nicely adding up to the drama that turns out a fairly pleasing modern power/thrasher with lashing steel guitars the overall delivery not that far from “Painkiller”, truth be told. Tipton and Downing seem in very good form exchanging hard biting guitar duels the whole time, the boosted modern production suiting them only too well. A surprisingly good start, and things only get better from here, first with “Blood Stained”, a pounding proto-thrashing modernizer; and then with “Dead Meat” which is an intense speed/thrashing shredder Owens’ outstanding vocals pouring more pathos into the “furnace”. More “dead”, or rather “death”, stuff with “Death Row” which has a misleading balladic inauguration the latter cancelled by seismic stomping guitars that remain for most of the time, guiding this relatively linear mid-pacer without many ups and downs.

“Decapitate” is the doomy respite, a volcanic heavy number with oppressing, dark atmosphere, and “Burn in Hell” is a brooding mid-tempo piece with an overlong quasi-balladic overture. “Brain Dead” notches up the heaviness again although the several more aggressive digressions threaten to turn it into a headbanging melee at some point. “Abductors” has none of the kind, though, and its doom-laden aesthetics are seldom violated enhanced by a few atmospheric balladisms. “Bullet Train” has to be fast in order to justify its title, and the fans won’t be disappointed as this is a more dynamic composition, a power/thrash hybrid with great piercing leads and an urgent, jumpy rhythm-section. “Cathedral Spires” is an ambitious 9.5-mn saga, something the guys haven’t attempted since their very early days (remember “Victim of Changes” and “Beyond the Realms of Death”). The balladic beginning works fine with Owens suitably emotional and subdued, but the real show stealer are the faster-paced crescendos which elevate this closer to the highlight status, not without the help of the superb memorable chorus and the nearly operatic doomy finale.

It sounded like a mission accomplished to these ears as this “Jugulator” was by no means a flop, and could even be considered a small victory against Halford’s controversial stylistic metamorphoses. At the same time, it didn’t sound radically different from Fight’s “War of Words” which could make one doubtful regarding the reasons about Halford’s departure from the band since some media pointed at “stylistic differences” between him and his colleagues. There isn’t a very big difference in the execution of the two efforts although the preferences may go towards the juggernaut.. sorry, jugulator here due to the still preserved echoes of the classic period. Owens does a very good job almost filling the Metal God’s very big shoes securing him at least one more showing with his idols.

Despite being a huge fan of the band, I can’t act hypocritical and pretend that Judas’ ride has been the smoothest on the field. In fact, their career has had the most fluctuating trajectory among the Big Five, and compared to the discographies, till the early-90’s at least, of the band’s main rivals Scorpions, Iron Maiden, Accept and Black Sabbath theirs has been by far the least consistent one comprising inordinate highs (“Defenders of the Faith”, “Painkiller”) and deplorable lows (“Point of Entry”, “Ram It Down”). In this train of thought the album reviewed here tends to gravitate towards the highs as it saw the veterans sounding totally relevant to the ruling fashions, and more than well equipped to race with the new stars on the field every bit of the way.

With the heavy burden taken off their shoulders, the guys were granted the permission to branch out into the unexpected, and “Demolition” appeared as a result. An album that tried to embrace as many numetal gimmicks as possible, it fell flat on its face prompting the Judas team to reconsider their partnership with Owens, and to let him go eventually. A timely decision that nearly coincided with Halford’s intentions on checking on his former partners, and see whether they were entertaining the thought of a possible reunion. Yes, they were, amazingly, and a few years after Iron Maiden Judas Priest were also back again in full “metal jacket”, being alive and well at present, with three more albums behind their backs. Any ideas or reviving either The Painkiller of The Jugulator? Better not; “monsters” of such earthshaking proportions should be better left hibernating… for good.