Judas Priest – Battle Cry
Epic
www.judaspriest.com

Rating: B+

This gem of a live show, recorded at Germany’s Wacken Festival in front of over 80,000 horns-up metal-heads, is another recorded archive in a long line of testaments to the greatness that is Judas Priest. 

The band features Rob Halford on vocals, Glenn Tipton on guitar and bassist Ian Hill from the band’s glory days, along with long-time drummer Scott Travis and newcomer guitarist Richie Faulkner.  While original guitarist KK Downing is missed, Richie Faulkner does a fine job of filling some huge shoes... well, small sized rock boots, but... you know what I’m getting at....  It doesn’t hurt that Richie is covered in black leather, with long blond locks and plays a Flying V guitar. But image is not everything, and he performs the guitar parts well, ahem, delivering the goods at every stop!

The band does what it does on this sucker.  What can I say?  Battle Cry rocks.  It’s Priest.  Halford is the Metal God, and the band slams out a set of new material mixed with the classic stuff from every era of their career... and the fans lap it up!  Priest is one of the best bands ever when it comes to the original intent and attitude of heavy metal.  They are the most legit band out there flying the flag for the music they love… make that worship.  They send out the amplified notes and the crowd sends back energy and excitement that pushes them onward and upward... and this is never more evident than in this huge live setting.

“Dragonaut” is a track that represents their latest effort, Redeemer of Souls, which I might add is a strong slab of classic Priest metal.  Again, from the new album are equally impressive new tunes “Halls of Valhalla” and the title track “Redeemer of Souls.”  Elsewhere the track list is killer. Hardcore fans will love seeing “Devil’s Child” trotted out as well as “Jawbreaker” and “Beyond the Realms of Death.”  Of course, “The Hellion/Electric Eye,” “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming,” “Metal Gods,” “Victim of Changes,” “Hell Bent for Leather” and “Breaking the Law” are bashed out in furious hair-swinging fashion as well.

The DVD has three bonus tracks recorded live on December 10th, 2015 at The Ergo Arena, Gdansk, Poland.  They are “The Rage,” “Screaming For Vengeance” and “Desert Plains.”

Look kiddies… this is the real deal.  Pure metal.  Loud.  You might need parental guidance. The music is aggressive, yet positive. No need for hate when you have the best ever metal band on stage before your very eyes, doing what they do best... frkkn ROCK! 

All hail the mighty Priest!

Amazon sales links: http://smarturl.it/BattleCryAmzn  
iTunes sales links:   http://smarturl.it/iTunes.BattleCry

Battle Cry CD sequence:
Recorded live on August 1st, 2015 at Wacken Festival, Germany.
1.     (Intro) Battle Cry
2.     Dragonaut
3.     Metal Gods
4.     Devil’s Child
5.     Victim of Changes
6.     Halls of Valhalla
7.     Redeemer of Souls
8.     Beyond the Realms of Death
9.     Jawbreaker
10.   Breaking the Law
11.   Hell Bent For Leather
12.   The Hellion
13.   Electric Eye
14.   You’ve Got Another Thing Coming
15.   Painkiller

Battle Cry DVD/Blu-ray sequence:
1. (Intro) Battle Cry 
2. Dragonaut
3. Metal Gods
4. Devil’s Child
5. Victim of Changes
6. Halls of Valhalla
7. Turbo Lover
8. Redeemer of Souls
9. Beyond the Realms of Death
10. Jawbreaker
11. Breaking the Law
12. Hell Bent For Leather
13. The Hellion
14. Electric Eye
15. You’ve Got Another Thing Coming
16. Painkiller
17. Living After Midnight
 
BONUS TRACKS
Recorded live on December 10th, 2015 at The Ergo Arena, Gdansk, Poland.
18. Screaming for Vengeance
19. The Rage
20. Desert Plains

By Jeb “THE HELLION" Wright