1093. Judas Priest / Jugulator. 1997. 2.5/5

Much has been made of the seven years that stretched between the release of the monster album Painkiller and of its follow-up Jugulator, which incorporated the leaving of Rob Halford from Judas Priest, and the eventual recruitment of the former singer of a Judas Priest cover band, Tim “Ripper” Owens. The lengthy period of time it took to get to this point has always been an interesting point of discussion. Many wondered if Judas Priest would ever record again in any form with Halford’s absence and no doubt this acted as an encouragement for the band to forge ahead. The danger given the length of time between albums was obviously inherent – would their music still be relevant in a world that had changed so much in that time?

I went into this album with a clear head and open mind. More than anything I wanted to like this album so I wasn’t going in with negative thoughts about it. The writing which forever had been composed by the trio of Tipton, Downing and Halford was now a writer short, and there was always going to be differences in the music because of it. Glenn wrote all of the lyrics while both he and Ken wrote the music, but if you take a third of your writing partnership away there is going to be a swing from the centre to one side or the other. And let’s face it, seven years is a long time between albums even if the band was settled, and the drastic swing between metal in 1990 and metal in 1997 created such a vast chasm that it was always going to be hard to overcome. Releasing “Painkiller II” would have been a disaster. Even so, the none-too-subtle change of musical direction between these two albums was a big gulf to accept.
One thing that wasn’t a problem was the vocals. “Ripper” came in with a great set of vocal chords and an uncanny ability to sound and sing like his predecessor, which for live performances was exceptionally handy as the live show barely missed a beat with the back catalogue of songs, something that is rarely the case when a band changes singers. What did have to be achieved was to find the right range for his vocals on the new songs being written, and given the slight change in this album’s direction that may not have been the easiest part to complete.
Despite all of this, what Judas Priest produced for their ‘comeback’ was like nothing they had ever recorded in their career, and that is where the major stumbling block was at the time, and remains to this day. The fact that they chose to record an industrial metal album at a time when industrial metal was at its prominence is not the issue. The issue is that it is so unlike a Judas Priest album that it becomes almost impossible to listen to. And even though as I said above that I went into this with an open mind, and that releasing “Painkiller II” would have been a disaster, you surely have to think that at least a few pieces of the past would make their way into the mix? But it is almost completely wiped away. This is a sound that has almost nothing to do with what Judas Priest had built their career on and it is somewhat shocking, even today. Honestly, to me it has the same mistakes that Dio made in writing and recording their Angry Machines album, in that there was no familiarity at all between that album and anything else they had released that it caused major fractions in the fan base. Much the same can be said about Jugulator.
And it comes from the very beginning. The opening track on a Judas Priest album is usually one of the highlights, the song that drags you willingly into the album. Think of “Freewheel Burning”, “Electric Eye”, “Sinner” and “Painkiller” as just a few examples. But, even though I like “Jugulator” as a song, it just doesn’t have that same drawing power. “Blood Stained” too has plenty of angst and drive to the song, and to be honest if you have made it through the two opening songs and not turned this off, and have also put completely out of your mind that this is a Priest album, you will be able to get more out of it. This album has more of a tame Fear Factory sound to it than any pretence of following the band’s previous doctrine, which is so very strange as it has more in common with the direction that Rob Halford took with two projects after leaving the band, Fight and Two. If both parties were heading down that path, then why part ways? Why remove the brilliant harmony guitars and great solos which act as the strength of the band to just side with the times? I don’t know the answers to these questions.

Anyone who saw the band live during this period knows full well that they were still just awesome, and that “Ripper” was great, but the new material just didn’t gel well with the old stuff. More than anything else that is what harms its overall appeal. There are still some terrific songs on this album, such as “Death Row”, “Burn in Hell” and “Bullet Train”, where when heard away from the rest of the album will garner a positive response. But the album as a whole just doesn’t work in a way that makes it a good Judas Priest album. It is so tied to the era because of the way the songs have been written and recorded that it doesn’t have a chance to stand on its own legs. That is a shame.

Rating: “Changing my course, blurred and scorched, breathing exhaust as we distort”. 2.5/5

1092. Judas Priest / The Complete Painkiller Tour [Live Bootleg]. 1991. 4/5

I didn’t become interested in tracking down bootleg concert recordings until the age of the internet, mainly because I had no way of finding a way into the network that went through such things in my pocketed little corner of Australia. Once the internet became an accessible thing it became something I was much more interested in, and especially from tours that we had not been fortunate enough to have seen here. Amid the reunited Judas Priest of the new millennium I began hunting for anything I could find from the tour promoting my favourite Priest album Painkiller, and that search eventually came up with this gem of a recording.
For the most part, what I was looking for was live recordings of the songs off the Painkiller album, and this doesn’t quite cover it, despite 

proclaiming to have every song from the tour.

As a matter of fact, both “Metal Meltdown” and “A Touch of Evil” were played but they don’t appear on either disc of this album. No big deal, but it still would have been good to have had them as a part of this collection.
Instead what we have here is two performances, one from the start of the tour and one from closer to the end. The first disc is compiled from radio broadcasts of the opening night of the tour in Los Angeles and as such is good quality. This includes the performance of “Better By You, Better By Me” that was at the centre of the court case that the band had spent much of the previous year fighting over the two kids who had claimed the song had backwards messages suggesting they commit suicide. It had delayed the release of the album and the start of the tour, and playing this song was no doubt a little stress reliever for them. Apart from this, the set list contains what you would expect, along with “Between the Hammer and the Anvil” and “Leather Rebel” from the Painkiller album. It’s a good listen.
The second disc is a great audience recording from their gig at Offenbach, Germany in February 1991. This is a true bootleg because the crowd are in the foreground and the band in the background, complete with the crowd nearby the recorder singing along in unison. This is what makes a great bootleg in my opinion, getting a great impression of how the crowd is enjoying the show, while still hearing the songs in there as well. The addition of “All Guns Blazing”, “Night Crawler” and “Painkiller” make this an excellent representation to what is a great disc.

This wasn’t exactly what I was looking for when I went searching for live performances of the songs of Painkiller, but it probably doesn’t exist anyway. What I found instead was an excellent bootleg of two complete gigs from the same tour, where Judas Priest are at the peak of their powers and showcasing their wares to the world. Those that enjoy bootlegs will get a lot from this double album. Those that prefer the crisp live recordings that comes from official releases will still be surprised just how good this sounds.

Rating: “Lightning in the dark!!” 4/5

1091. Alice Cooper / A Paranormal Evening with Alice Cooper at the Olympia Paris [Live]. 2018. 5/5

While Alice Cooper’s output of albums has been remarkably consistent given the length of his career as an artist, over the course of this time there have been less live albums released by his band than you may have expected. Given his legendary status as a live artist this may be construed as unusual, but the scarcity of them actually improves their output. Indeed, when this release was announced I found myself looking forward to it immensely to not only hear what he and his current band sound like live but what flavours we were likely to get from it.

Choosing any set list for any tour is a tough ask, trying to find the balance between the old and the new, the popular and the obscure, the songs you can’t possibly leave out and the ones that the fans really want to hear. There is nothing easy about it, and the longer an artist has been around the more difficult it is. Alice Cooper has 27 studio albums worth of material to choose from and only a finite time on stage in which to play, and given the amazing hits that have been produced over the years it must be a crazy decision to decide what to shoehorn in to that allowed time.
I have always loved A Fistful of Alice because it not only managed to put together a great set list comprising both the great hits from both the past and that present time, but it gave the whole show a modern sound without being detrimental to the source material. It is a great live album. The gratifying thing is that A Paranormal Evening with Alice Cooper at the Olympia Paris is exactly the same. It is a brilliant mix of all pieces of the Alice Cooper story, and every song sounds brilliant in its own way. The band and entourage sounds brilliant, a terrific ensemble of musicians and singers who do justice to every track.
From the very start this clicks into gear with a great selection of songs. Opening with the underrated “Brutal Planet”, you are then hit with three of Alice’s all time classics, the hard rocking trio of “No More Mr. Nice Guy”, the brilliant “Under My Wheels” and the timeless “Department of Youth”. It’s a nice touch having these legendary track opening the set, as well as having “I’m Eighteen” and “School’s Out” closing out the album in style. The way in which Alice mixes the lyrics from the other schoolkid rebellious song of that era, Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall”, into the melody lines of “School’s Out” is a particularly effective way of closing out the show. Within the middle of the set we are also favoured with high energy versions of “Billion Dollar Babies”, “Cold Ethyl” and constant companion “Only Women Bleed”. All of these legendary tracks still hold their own after all of these years, and the versions played here are superb. Most fans know these songs off by heart and are crowd favourites from that era.
However, what makes this such a great live album is that there are plenty of surprises here from the first third of Alice’s career apart from those classic tracks, and each of them comes off superbly. “Pain” from Flush the Fashion, “Ballad of Dwight Fry” from Love It to Death , “Halo of Flies” from Killer and the duo of “Killer” the same album and “I Love the Dead” from Billion Dollar Babies are excellent reminders of the strength of much of the material from the 1970’s that doesn’t always get a look in when the best of Alice Cooper gets thrown around.
On the flipside the modern day material gets a fair showing. Along with the aforementioned “Brutal Planet” there are also excellent versions of “Woman of Mass Distraction” from Dirty Diamonds and “Paranoiac Personality” from his most recent release Paranormal. And as always the two big tracks from his modern day revival come in, with “Poison” and “Feed My Frankenstein”. However, for me the best track on this whole double album is the appearance of “The World Needs Guts” from the Constrictor album. I loved this album as a teenager, and hearing this song given the live treatment is a joy. It is a raucous version too which makes it even better. Thanks Alice just for this!

Do you need a new Alice Cooper live album? The answer is a resolute absolutely! At 70 years of age he shows no signs of slowing down, and this album reminds you of how huge his legacy is and how he has managed to continue to be relevant through so many decades of change in music. There is something here for everyone, for the old fans who have been around for the whole journey, and the young fans who have only cottoned on to the legend in recent times. This is a worthwhile addition to the catalogue.

Rating: “Hey you! Fighting for your life where you’ve never fought before!” 5/5

1090. Judas Priest / Painkiller. 1990. 5/5

Way back in 1990, there was an absolute plethora of albums coming out that have become folklore in the world of heavy metal music. People’s opinions vary somewhat on them, but as a twenty year old trawling the record store shelves it was an amazing year of releases for this genre. While it is hard to go past albums like Megadeth’s Rust in Peace and Slayer’s Seasons in the Abyss as the stand out albums of this year, one album in particular for me was the one that shepherded heavy metal music into the new decade. It also brought life back to the band in question, hurtling them to the top once again with another album that was a star attraction. The band was Judas Priest, and the album of course was Painkiller.

I had pre-ordered this album at the local record store, and came home from work one day to find my mother had picked it up for me. Having done the usual post-work things I took it to my room and put it on and, as I am sure occurred to almost every person who has listened to this album, was completely blown away by the opening drum fill from new Priest drummer Scott Travis. Having heard Scott’s previous work with Racer X it shouldn’t have been a surprise, but that opening is still as brilliant today as it was back on this first listen, especially when guitar scream comes in over the top, before the song descends into the opening riff chords. Everything you need to know about the album Painkiller comes in the opening fifteen seconds of the title track “Painkiller”.
What brought about this ‘revival’ in the band and its music? Was it really a revival? There were plenty of fast and hard tracks on the previous album Ram It Down along with a toning down of the keyboard and synth side of the recordings, something that makes a return in bigger and more bold direction here. No doubt the addition of Travis on drums kindles something that Dave Holland did not. Holland’s drumming was always precision and timing and certainly never detracted from the music. Probably the difference here, as is evident from the opening of the album, is that Travis adds to the music and songs and isn’t just a part of the furniture. It doesn’t just hold the rhythm, it becomes a bigger part of the picture, and this alone does make a difference in the songs produced. The other factor changed here is the re-emergence of Chris Tsangaridis as producer, replacing Tom Allom who had produced every Judas Priest album since Killing Machine. Was his presence alone enough to create the changes that came with this album? Probably not, but the fact that he gave a fresh air of advice along with his success in recent times with many other bands and artists surely added to the changes that came with the writing and recording of Painkiller.
What we got here was a mashing and melding of all of the greatest parts of Judas Priest, and then amplified beyond the normal. There is aggression in the lyrics and the vocals, there is fire in the guitars and bass, and there is speed and double kick to an extreme in the drums. Rob Halford’s vocals, often dormant in regards to his higher range over some albums, are at their most damaging here, so much so that it makes it almost impossible to sing along with him throughout this album. When Rob is reaching for the ceiling you know every effort is going into the song and it brings the roof down. The added power of the drumming of Travis gives these songs a greater punch, and harder and faster feeling than they would without it. Ian Hill’s bass is at its best too, providing the big bottom end that highlights the riffs it is backing while exerting its own rumbling influence over them, especially in songs like “All Guns Blazing” and “A Touch of Evil”. Through it all, the magic of the twin guitars of K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton rule all. The melodic interludes that then get ripped apart by their blazing and blistering solos are the culmination of years of brilliant songs and writing.
Everything here is a triumph. Those faster and heavier songs such as “Painkiller”, “All Guns Blazing”, “Leather Rebel” and “Between the Hammer and the Anvil” are complemented perfectly by the slightly less speed influenced but more heavy groove influenced “Hell Patrol”, “Metal Meltdown”, “Night Crawler” and “One Shot at Glory”, while the moody brilliance of “A Touch of Evil” is still perhaps the show stealer it always threatened to be, the one slight change in appearance that could well have been the benchmark of future writing sessions had the future panned out differently. There is not a weak song here. Everything clips together perfectly, segueing from one brilliant track to the next, exhorting you to sing, chant or scream along in unison while frantically playing those air guitars to a standstill.

This album defined for me where metal was heading back in 1990. Along with those other brilliant albums from the same year, it felt as though this was going to be the new direction that heavy metal was going to take, the morphing of heavy and thrash and speed metal into a monster that bands like Priest, Megadeth and Slayer could paint the decade of the 1990’s with. Of course it all became a final shot at glory, as Priest had almost predicted with their closing track. Grunge had taken seed, and Metallica would further commercialise the genre with the release of Metallica the following year, and bands began to change their sound away from this magnificence to something… less magnificent. Judas Priest of course went on a lengthy sabbatical after this tour, with Rob Halford leaving the band for other ventures, and what should have been the album that provided the springboard to further greatness for the band instead became a lasting monument to their memory and legacy instead, and for a long time looked as though it would be their final chapter. All in all, it would not have been a bad way to bow out.

Rating: “One shot at glory, in the crossfire overhead, fate stands before me, words have all been said.” 5/5