Goodbye To An Old Friend

Sadly, Judas Priest have hung up the spurs. They might not be your cup of tea but they wrote some fine rock tunes that are melodic, musical which feature excellent guitar work and soaring vocals. While hits like "Breaking The Law", "Livin' After Midnight", "Desert Plains", "Out In The Cold" and "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" are truly great, I enjoy their story setups and monster depictions above all. From the album "Defenders Of The Faith": I love "Jawbreaker" about a mythical beast which features a mind-boggling workout from KK Downing. The futuristic 'Man against Machine' battle saga "The Sentinel" with killer rapid fire trade-offs between KK Downing and Glenn Tipton. The doomsday masterpiece, "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" with a killer chorus and H-Bomb lead breaks. From the "Ram It Down" album: The Terminator styled post apocalypse fight to the death of "Blood Red Skies" with KK Downing again delivering a scorching break that prompted my friend Rob on first listen to blurt out, "He's picking every note!". From the masterpiece "Painkiller": The tale of a nocturnal killing creature "Nightcrawler". The Nuclear reactor disaster scenario "Metal Meltdown" featuring well, lead breaks that sound like reactor cores melting down! The "Ripper" Owens years were not kind sadly because even though he could sing the catalog with incredible authority his lyrical abilities lacked, and the tunes written by Tipton/Downing showed clearly that Rob Halford's pen was the catalyst that pulled everything together. That being said the albums "Angel Of Retribution" and "Nostradamus" with Halford returning showed clear signs that he might have been "cherry picking" from his portfolio, perhaps saving what he thought as better efforts for his band "Halford". When KK Downing departed before the final tour citing an un-workable situation I really wasn't that surprised. I have heard interviews with him and seen his webcam video postings to fans as band spokesperson and he is a class act. I wish him all the best and look forward to his next outing. Judas Priest was his band that he formed with bassist Ian Hill. To all the members of Judas Priest I thank you for so much inspiring work.