Simon RushworthJudas Priest — Invincible Shield (Epic)
When high Priest Rob Halford accepted his band’s long overdue induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, few could have forgiven a frontman who’d just turned 70 for finally calling time on one of trad metal’s greatest ever projects.
Rushonrock was in Los Angeles on that balmy November night, in 2022, to see the trailblazing Brummie crew blaze their way through a thrilling three-song set, against a stunning backdrop at the Microsoft Theatre.
Alice Cooper presented Halford with his band’s richly deserved gong and later the singer joined Dolly Parton on stage — a bizarre collaboration that sowed the seeds for the face of Priest appearing on Parton’s 2023 Rockstar album.
In many ways that glorious night would have represented a fitting finale for the metal gods.
Four years after the critically acclaimed Firepower served up a typically riotous blast of Black Country fury, rumours were rife that the end was nigh.
Why not go out on a high?
But this is Judas Priest. Bassist and founder member Ian Hill had previously insisted the Firepower sessions spawned more than enough molten material for another two records.
And even before the band’s Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame set, Halford hinted that new music was on the cards ‘in a year or two’.
Fast forward to March 2024 and Priest have unleashed one of the most progressive metal records of their career.
Fifty years after ambitious debut Rocka Rolla bridged the gap between Sabbath’s doom-laden heyday and the NWOBHM movement to come, the band’s 19th studio album stands tall against those myriad back catalogue highlights.
Less accessible than Firepower? Perhaps.
The most immersive Priest album since 2008’s Nostradamus? Definitely.
Six years in the making, Invincible Shield protects the Priest legacy. And then some.
Faulkner attacks behind Invincible Shield
Incredibly, it’s 13 years since ‘new boy’ Richie Faulkner arrived on the scene to breathe new life into a British metal behemoth.
And on the third album of his Judas Priest career, K.K. Downing’s assured successor is key to Invincible Shield’s progressive zeal.
Alongside legendary six-stringer Glenn Tipton, the faultless Faulkner rips through 14 diamond-plated tracks as if his life depends on it.
And if Priest do fail to squeeze out one more record then this towering set will stand tall as the former Voodoo Six guitarist’s career-defining high.
Halford, of course, always threatens to steal the show and one of metal’s trademark screams has lost none of its piercing appeal.
Yet Faulkner and Tipton — undoubtedly encouraged by another meticulous Andy Sneap production job — find a way to complement and occasionally eclipse their ageless band mate.
Priest have always been about that timeless twin guitar assault and Invincible Shield is a triumphant example of 12 strings working in perfect tandem.
From the first riff on punchy opener Panic Attack, thru Gates Of Hell’s devilish duelling and into Giants In The Sky’s Flamenco-style noodling, this is a Tipton/Faulkner masterclass.
Sure, enjoy Halford at his foreboding best — and he’s on brilliant form throughout — but Invincible Shield’s an album for the guitar afficionado.
Clocking in at a meaty 63 minutes, there’s a valid argument that this beast of a record is bordering on the bloated.
But good luck settling on the song — or songs — that could or should have missed the cut.
Even set closer The Lodger — a final flurry of Queensryche-esque progressive metal condensed into just shy of four minutes — is a laudable addition to an audacious album.
If Invincible Shield and 2024’s world tour is, in fact, the beginning of the end then this is the sound of a brutally unapologetic swansong.
