JUDAS PRIEST Vinyl & CDs

Review: Birmingham metal behemoths Judas Priest make their illustrious return on LP number 19; Invincible Shield. Serving as follow up to 2018's frenetic yet direct Firepower, the material this time around promises to hark back to the more loose, proggy edges of classic 70s cuts such as 'Sinner', whilst simultaneously eschewing the more grandiose experimentation found on the likes of 2008's symphonic Nostradamus. In essence, it's a victory lap of almost every sonic avenue the band have torn through during their multiple decades long tenure and although plagued by pandemic-related delays which then morphed into touring/scheduling conflicts, the six-year wait has been beyond worth it. Riffs = Check. Leather = Check. Rob Halford's sky-piercing vocals = Double Check.

Review: A mere 19 albums, not out. It's almost unfathomable how long Judas Priest have been making noise, with their first steps into heavy metal megastardom taken in the late-1960s, a time when the genre was really just a glint in the eye of hopeful upstarts, including this troupe. More than 50million LP unit sales later, and it's safe to say their legacy is more than written, yet the most defining aspect of their tenure - unstoppable, unflappable - is only really apparent in their continued output. Well, OK, this is the first we've heard from them since 2018's Firepower, but nevertheless, across five decades they've barely taken more than four years off before coming back with new material. In this case it's been six, but there was a 24 month pandemic in and among, meaning you can let them off. So, what does it sound like, this long-awaited 19th long form from the deities of power riffs and juggernaut rhythms? Well, Judas Priest, of course - as if there was ever going to be another answer.

Review: Giving some idea as to how much times have changed since Judas Priest played this monumental concert, the footage was originally released with the simple title Judas Priest Live, and was only available on laserdisc to begin with. A VHS arrived later, before the whole lot was redone as Live Vengeance 1982 on DVD and UMD, landing in 2006. Recorded on the first leg of a massive tour, in December 1982, it's been said before that this represents the heavy metal icons a their absolute peak, storming into the venue - and subsequent dates - off the back of Screaming For Vengeance, one of the group's landmark albums which arrived the same year. If you've even listened to one track from the group it should be pretty clear what that means: huge atmosphere, high energy, backs-to-the-wall stuff.