JUDAS PRIEST CD REVIEW : INVINCIBLE SHIELD

 Venerable heavy metal legends Judas Priest return with INVINCIBLE SHIELD their 19th studio

album and first since their re-energized return to form 2018’s FIREPOWER. Judas Priest are

composed of guitarist Richie Faulkner, drummer Scott Travis, and the longest tenured core

members, founder Ian Hill on bass, Glen Tipton on guitar, and lead singer “The Metal God” Rob

Halford.

INVINCIBLE SHIELD doubles down on the elements that made FIREPOWER successful, with

Faulkner and Travis the engines powering it to another level. Richie truly shines throughout with

riffs and solos flying from his hands especially on tracks “Panic Attack”, “Serpent and the King”

& “Gates of Hell”. Scott Travis provides a master class in precision drumming adding percussive

thrust to each song. The hi-hat swing and marching cadence reminiscent of “Metal Gods”

powers “Devil in Disguise.” A heavy kick drum stomp and three-fourths time signature propels

“Trial by Fire”. Halford venomously spits out the title lyric “As God as My Witness”, while Richie’s

furious riffing coupled with Scott’s double-bass drum attack meld into a speed-metal classic.

The Glen Tipton penned eerie change of pace “Escape from Reality” and “Sons of Thunder’”,

with its Saxon-like group chorus, are solid additions to the album. The bluesy “Giants in the Sky”

closes out the album as an homage to the metal masters that have passed and been eternalised

by the legacy of music they left behind.

The bonus tracks “Fight of Your Life”, “Vicious Circle” are somewhat generic fillers, while the

odd Broadway-style narrative of “The Lodger” is misplaced compared to the overall tone of the

rest of the tracks.

Equal credit should go to Andy Sneap as not only the producer, but touring guitarist, he has

breathed new life into the Judas Priest sound. With his intimate knowledge of the band Andy

has produced a sonically great sounding album interweaving the razor sharp multi-layered

guitars with the crisp sounding drums and heavy low end adding weight to each track.

Rob Halford sounds inspired as his chameleon-like vocal prowess is in full effect effortlessly

switching between his trademark falsetto and high-powered shriek. The lyrical content reflects

the tumultuous period it was written in. From the attack on social media and its ill effects on

society in “Panic Attack”, “The clamor and clutter of incensed keys/Can bring a nation to its

knees”. To the adversarial in “The Serpent & The King”, “When good and evil go to war we leave it

up to fate/Since time began they fought for man incurring love and hate”. The introspective

“Crown of Horns” Halford sings of the burden that both trapped him and gave him his salvation

“Heavy is the crown of horns that rests upon this head.... Heavy is the crown of horns that gave me

all this life.” And where would a Judas Priest album be without their anthems of rebellion and

unity in the power of metal exemplified by the furious title track “Invincible Shield” “Invincible

our masses our united/Invincible forever and a day/Invincible can never be divided/And nothing

can stand in our way Invincible Shield”.

With INVINCIBLE SHIELD Judas Priest have created an album that can hold its own compared

to the rest of their illustrious discography. Well into their fifth decade of existence, Judas Priest

know what they do best, creating proudly unabashed heavy metal music. If this is to be their

swan song they have gone out in a blaze of glory