224. Judas Priest / Demolition. 2001. 2.5/5.

What surprises me most about this album is that what appeared to be glaring mistakes that were made by the band on their previous album Jugulator, in that the band moved away from their roots and fan base and having employed a singer who could do justice to their old material then completely wasted that talent in the songs that were written, were not rectified on this release. The arguments for and against what was written and recorded for the Demolitionalbum can become quite heated if you can find enough fans of what was done here to argue against those that felt Judas Priest was a different band than this. There aren’t many out there. And before you come at me suggesting I am missing the point of the album, just hear me out, because Priest had a real opportunity here to make themselves a viable proposition into the new millennium with their adopted lead singer, and I think they missed a trick through pride and perhaps jealousy.

Halford’s Resurrection hit the shelves the previous year from this being released while Priest were on a World Tour with Ripper on vocals, and it was almost like the Priest album that should have followed Painkiller, It was fast, it was furious, it was powerful, it had heavy guitars, fast drums, and Halford’s trademark screaming vocals. It was exciting, it was heart-thumping, it was Judas Priest metal. Like he had done for Bruce Dickinson before, Roy Z had taken an icon and brought him back from the edge. By now Dickinson had returned to his band Iron Maiden, and many now started hoping for the same reunion for Halford and Priest.
On the back of this, Judas Priest could have easily come up with a back-to-the-roots album, revived the halcyon days of the band, allowed Ripper full range in his vocals to exploit what he could do, and they could have challenged the perception that without Halford they were nothing. Unfortunately, we didn’t get that. Whether it was simply because the writers were happy with the material they were writing, or whether they decided that they needed to remain on the track they were on so as not to be compared to what Halford had released, or whether out of stubborn pride or jealousy they insisted on sticking to their guns and staying in the industrial metal like atmosphere they had created rather than admit that perhaps what they needed to do was move back in the direction their former vocalist had taken – I don’t know. All I know is at the time that this was released I thought they had missed a trick. It didn’t stop me from listening to the album dozens of time in an effort to glean as much from it as I could, but nagging at the back of my mind was the memory of Halford’s scream to start his album, and the opening riff, and how that had grabbed me from the outset, while this didn’t have any of that.
“Machine Man” opens up the album well enough and with enough pace to drag in the faithful for a hopeful renaissance. “One on One” holds the interest because Ripper is able to give it enough attitude and pump to make what is a fairly standard sounding track a bit of bite in the vocals, even given the sometimes dire lyrics. “Devil Digger” is one of the better songs here, while “Bloodsuckers” is the one song that feels as though it has the spirit of the band at its heart. This is the one song where all parts of Ripper’s range are utilised and it is all the better for it. Just three or four more songs like this would have made all the difference in the long run. “Feed on Me”, “Subterfuge” and “Cyberface” all have their moments as well.
On the other hand there are songs such as “Hell is Home” which is a death march, slow sombre and downright dull musically and lyrically. “Close to You” is an abomination, an attempt at a power ballad of sorts but it really misses the mark badly. The rest is not terribly bad but it is also not terribly good either. It doesn’t grab you or excite you.
Still despite all that is said, it is not a completely bad album. I can still put it on and like a lot of it, especially those songs that I mentioned. At 70 minutes it is overlong and could really have been improved by being cut back to about 50 minutes and having four songs cut off completely. Perhaps the producer and the band just weren’t harsh enough on the material they had and thought that more equals better. That is not the case in this instance.

This was the conclusion of the short reign of Tim “Ripper” Owens in Judas Priest and while his live performances kept the band relevant, the material from the two albums he was a part of doesn’t really do him or the band justice. There are sparkles here and there in places on Demolition but this just doesn’t sound like Judas Priest musically which is what hurts it most of all.

Rating:  “I am your darkest hour, I am your fall from power”.   2.5/5