Angel of Retribution

Angel of Retribution is the fifteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released in 2005. It is the band's first album since 1990's Painkiller to feature Rob Halford. The album debuted at No. 13 on the US Billboard 200 chart,[9] which makes it the fourth highest charting Judas Priest album in the US. The album was produced by Roy Z,[3] who co-wrote the song "Deal with the Devil". It won a 2005 Metal Hammer award for Best Album.[10] In the 2005 Burrn! magazine Readers' Pop Poll, it was voted Best Album of the Year and Best Album Cover.[11]

Angel of Retribution
Cover art by Mark Wilkinson
Studio album by
Judas Priest
Released23 February 2005 (2005-02-23)
RecordedOctober–December 2004
StudioOld Smithy (Worcestershire, England)
Sound City (Van Nuys, California)
GenreHeavy metal
Length52:37
LabelEpic
ProducerRoy Z
Judas Priest chronology
Demolition
(2001)		 Angel of Retribution
(2005)		 Nostradamus
(2008)
Singles from Angel of Retribuition
  1. "Revolution"
    Released: 2005
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic69/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blabbermouth8/10[3]
laut.de[4]
Mojo[1]
Now[5]
PopMatters6/10[6]
Rock Hard (de)9/10[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
Uncut[1]

Album information

Angel of Retribution was originally scheduled to be released in late 2004, but the label changed the release date to early 2005, hoping for better sales. Early pressings have the year 2004 printed on the covers. In a descriptive detail about the album, Glenn Tipton explains, "We've got a lot of energy. We're firing on all cylinders and it's obvious on this album. I think it's the most natural JUDAS PRIEST album. A lot of people who have listened to it have said it's timeless. You couldn't really date it." Rob Halford adds, "That decade that we were out of each other's company just seems to have vanished in smoke. When we got together to begin writing the new material for 'Angel of Retribution', it was really a continuation of where we would have been had we made the next record after 'Painkiller'. All the pieces were already in place."[12]

Six of the album's songs have been performed live, with "Hellrider", "Deal With the Devil", "Worth Fighting For" and "Revolution" only appearing on 2005 setlists. "Judas Rising" was also performed in 2005 and returned for the 2011–12 and 2019 tours, and "Angel" being added to the setlist in 2008-9 and then reappearing for a few shows in 2018.

Lyrical references

Within the album, nods to the sound of past albums and songs are found,[3] as well as lyrics that apparently reference earlier songs. The song "Demonizer" references both "The Hellion" from Screaming for Vengeance, as well as "Painkiller" from Painkiller. "Hellrider" mentions the title track of Ram It Down, and "Tyrant" from Sad Wings of Destiny. "Eulogy" references "Stained Class" and "The Sentinel" from the albums Stained Class and Defenders of the Faith, respectively. Finally, "Worth Fighting For" acts as a sequel/prequel to "Desert Plains" from Point of Entry.

The song "Deal With the Devil" can be viewed as an autobiography of Judas Priest, telling their origins from the Black Country of England's West Midlands, mentioning their transitory days gigging around England and practising at the Church of Holy Joseph in Walsall, which is where Judas Priest was effectively born. "Deal With the Devil" also mentions the song "Blood Red Skies" from Ram It Down and "Take on the World" from Killing Machine.

Reception

The album generally received favourable reviews from critics and fans.[13] However, Classic Rock Magazine reviewer Geoff Barton awarded the album three out of five stars in March 2005, dropping the overall score solely due to his dislike of the track '"Lochness". Barton claimed that the track sends 'the entire record crashing down in flames... Lochness is so ill-conceived, so long-drawn out, droning and dismal, that is single-handedly destroys what would otherwise have been a triumphant Halford-led return.'[14] The song, however, has since been reappraised by many fans as underrated.[15]

DualDisc

The album was released on the DualDisc format which had traditional CD content on one side and DVD content on the other side. The DVD side of this album featured a documentary entitled "Reunited" as well as the entire album in an enhanced audio format. It was released as a 2-disc set containing Compact Disc audio and DVD video in Europe, Japan and USA.

Track listing

All tracks written by Rob Halford, K. K. Downing and Glenn Tipton except where noted.[16]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Judas Rising" 4:15
2."Deal with the Devil"Halford, Downing, Tipton, Roy Z3:54
3."Revolution" 4:42
4."Worth Fighting For" 4:17
5."Demonizer" 4:35
6."Wheels of Fire" 3:41
7."Angel" 4:23
8."Hellrider" 6:23
9."Eulogy" 2:54
10."Lochness" 13:28

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes:[16]

Judas Priest
Additional musician
Production
Reunited mini documentary (DualDisc edition)
  • Produced and directed by Aubrey Powell
  • Audio produced and mixed by Tom Allom

Charts

References
  1. "Angel Of Retribution by Judas Priest". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  2. "Angel of Retribution review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  3. Kaye, Don. "Angel Of Retribution Review". Blabbermouth.net. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  4. Cordas, Alexander. "'Metal up your ass'. Punkt. Aus" (in German). laut.de. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  5. Stuffco, Jared (14 April 2005). "NOW: JUDAS PRIEST, Mar 3 - 9, 2005". Now. Archived from the original on 14 April 2005. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  6. Begrand, Adrien (3 March 2005). "Judas Priest: Angel of Retribution". PopMatters. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  7. Kühnemund, Götz. "Rock Hard review". issue 214. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  8. "Angel Of Retribution Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007.
  9. "Album debuts at #13". bravewords.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  10. "Black Sabbath, Slipknot, Motörhead Honored At Golden Gods Awards: Photos Available - Blabbermouth.net". 14 June 2005. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  11. "JUDAS PRIEST Sweep Burrn! Magazine Best Of 2005 Polls - Bravewords.com". Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  12. "JUDAS PRIEST: 'Angel Of Retribution' Cover Artwork Posted Online". Blabbermouth.net. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2005.
  13. "Judas Priest- Angel of Retribution". Metacritic. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  14. Barton, Geoff (March 2005). "Judas Priest- Angel of Retribution". Classic Rock Magazine (171).
  15. KRANNILA, VILLE. "Lochness". kkdowning.net. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  16. Angel of Retribution Liner notes (DualDisc ed.). Epic Records. 2005. p. 15.
  17. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 14 March 2005" (PDF) (785). Australian Web Archive. 20 March 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2005. Retrieved 23 March 2015. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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  29. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
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