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Nostradamus | 
 enlarge | Artist: Judas Priest
Label: Sony
Category: Music
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $15.99
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New (51) Used (18) from $7.45
Rating:  219 reviews
Sales Rank: 1505
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 730708
UPC: 886973070826
EAN: 0886973070826
ASIN: B0018AK9RA
Release Date: June 17, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | Dawn Of Creation | | • | Prophecy | | • | Awakening | | • | Revelations | | • | The Four Horseman | | • | War | | • | Sands Of Time | | • | Pestilence and Plaque | | • | Death | | • | Peace | | • | Conquest | | • | Lost Love | | • | Persecution |
Disc 2
| • | Solitude | | • | Exiled | | • | Alone | | • | Shadows In The Flame | | • | Visions | | • | Hope | | • | New Beginnings | | • | Calm Before The Storm | | • | Nostradamus | | • | Future of Mankind |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Album Description
This CD contains an insert with an exclusive code for 1 free general admission ticket to Judas Priest on the Metal Masters Tour this summer. Offer good while supplies last.
Album Description
Two CD 2008 release by Judas Priest. In the realm of Heavy Metal, there has never been a double disc concept album that has managed to balance a thought-provoking storyline with metallic thunder. Long in the works, Nostradamus takes epic storytelling to a whole new level, as it recounts the life of this mysterious, world-known 16th Century French prophet. Most bands of this high stature would be happy to play it safe. But not Judas Priest, who continue to take chances and break new ground. No other rock band could have pulled off such a grand statement, and Judas Priest have raised the bar once more with Nostradamus. 23 tracks.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 214 more reviews...
 Much better than I expected! October 15, 2008
Ok, I'll start this review by saying that this album is NOT a typical Priest album... I mean, its very different from their other albums and that's the main reason why some people don't/won't like it.
Now, is the fact that it sounds different from Priest's other albums a bad thing? In my opinion, it isn't. I've always been a big fan of epic music and Nostradamus is one of the most epic albums I've ever heard. Yeah, the music on this album is very epic and its also very melodic, in fact, Nostradamus is probably Priest's most melodic album.
Anyway, lets talk about the songs now. I'll skip the interludes because they are pretty useless, I mean, they aren't bad at all, but I usually skip them unless I feel like listening to the album all the way through.
First CD:
The first song, Prophecy, is one of the best songs on the album, it reminds a bit of Angel Of Retribution, it has a great main riff that is used during the verses and the chorus, the pre-chorus is quite dark and I like it and the chorus is good, but its not one of the best choruses on the album. The next song, Revelations, is even better, the verses are very epic and I love them, the song is very epic and symphonic overall (but so is most of the album). War sounds more like an interlude than a real song, but its a great one, it does sound like a war song, the chorus is very dark, but its not very original, I mean, the riff during it is the typical dark metal riff (you'll understand what I mean when you'll listen to it). After that, we have Pestillence And Plague which is a favorite of mine, a lot of people don't like the chorus because its in italian, they think its cheesy, but personally, I think that its one of the best choruses on the album, its very epic and Rob Halford's vocals during it are great. Next is Death, its quite forgettable, but it has a few great parts, the riff at 2:12 really reminds me of Death (the band), I mean, in terms of harmonies (I'm sure that Death fans will get what I mean)... The part at 5:12 is the best part for me, the synth sounds great. Conquest starts with a pretty catchy riff and like Pestillence And Plague it has a very epic chorus. The next song, Lost Love, is the first ballad on the album and its definitely a great ballad! Its very soft, but its simply beautiful. I'm not a big fan of ballads, but this one is very good. The first CD ends with Persecution which is the heaviest song on the CD, its good, but to me its one of the weakest songs on the first CD... Its one of the songs that sound the most like typical Priest, but you know what? I prefer the epic sound of the other songs.
Second CD:
In my opinion, the second CD is nowhere as good as the first one. Actually, it mostly consists of ballads. The first song, Exiled, is good, but its nothing special really... The next song, Alone, is MUCH better! Actually, its one of the best songs on the album, its a ballad, but like Lost Love from the first CD, its a great one and it has a really memorable chorus (one of the best on the album). Visions is one of the first songs that we all got to hear, when I first heard it, I thought that it was average and I still think that its average... Like Persecution from the first CD, it sounds quite a bit like a typical Priest song, but its simply nothing special, the chorus is very generic... Next, we have, in my opinion, the weakest song on the album, New Beginnings. It isn't bad, but its very forgettable, its just a very average ballad. The title track starts in a very epic way, a lot of people don't like the intro, but personally, I love it! Anyway, its one of the heaviest songs on the album, the riff under the verses really remind of the main riff from Painkiller (which can be a good thing or a bad thing) and the chorus is quite catchy. The last song, Future Of Mankind, is one of the best songs on the second CD, its very epic and the chorus is not overly original, but I love it!
Now lets talk about the musicians. I've never really cared about Rob Halford's voice except when it goes very high, but I have to admit that I like his voice on this album a lot, he doesn't sing very high as much as on the other albums, but his voice is very poweful! We all know that Tipton and Downing are great guitarists, I've always loved their solos, but I must say that I'm quite disappointed with their playing on this album... Tipton's solos have always been very memorable, but his solos on this album are not very memorable. A lot of the riffs aren't really incredible either... I mean, the album has a few great riffs, but the riffs are not what make the album good (the melodies are)... Oh well, to add some positive, a couple of the songs have very cool melodic (melodies, harmonies, ...) sections. Scott Travis is a great drummer and I guess that he's great on this album, but I don't know much about drumming... Ian Hill, well, he's Ian Hill. Last, but not least, the orchestration/keyboard/synth on this album is one of the best things about it! A lot of people think that Judas Priest and orchestration don't go together and maybe they're right, but without the orchestration/keyboard/synth, this album wouldn't be anywere near as good as it is. Its an epic album, it needs orchestration. Seriously, do you really expect an epic album to consist of guitar, bass and drums only?
What about the lyrics? Well, honestly, they aren't bad, but they aren't great either, they're quite cheesy, but lyrics have never been Priest's strong point. Personally, I don't really care about them... Yeah, I realize that the album is a concept album, but the music is great, so I don't really mind the lyrics.
So, overall, Nostradamus is a great album. Its obviously not Priest's best album, but, for me, its better than Rocka Rolla, the overrated British Steel, Point Of Entry, Turbo, Ram It Down, Jugulator, Demolition and Angel Of Retribution. Like I said earlier, its not a typical Priest album, its more epic than heavy, but who cares? Just accept that Priest tried something different. Listen to it with an open mind like I did, don't expect a second Painkiller.
Best songs (in no specific order): Prophecy, Revelations, Pestilence and Plague, Conquest and Alone.
Weakest songs: Visions and New Beginnings.
 Concept Album October 11, 2008
The new Judas Priest isn't bad, I'd say it's better than Angel of Rettibution, Jugulator, DeMOLITION too. Their best album since 1990s Painkiller. Takes a few listens to grow on you. It's what Priest fans have come to expect, an agreesive albeit generic metal album.
Epic Concept Album!! October 10, 2008
A very powerful album with a classical/progressive sound. Judas Priest are successful at creating well balanced and imaginative concept album. I have been playing this exclusively since buying it ,it just keeps getting better every time I listen to it. A great gift to Priest Fans, they have done nothing like this before. A full 5 stars on this one!.
Not easy to review October 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am a Priest fan since 1977, roughly. The first album by them I owned was Hell Bent for Leather, which, strangely, Nostradamus reminds me of HBFL. It has the variety that was on Hell Bent. Remember how you felt the first time you heard "Before the Dawn", it was like what was that? It seemed so out of place. Nostradamus has alot of slow little pre-songs, I guess you could call them. I like that Priest took a chance with this album, I would love to say it is the album of the year or the decade, but it isn't. It is good. It's hit and miss, and sometimes it seems to drag on far beyond the listener's attention span. On the other hand, I find it hard to pinpoint a critical downfall. I think it's a good, solid album that, especially for a veteran band like Priest, really takes a chance that their fans will purchase it without ever hearing it on the radio. It is not a very radio friendly album, which I like. The bottom line, I think, for Priest fans, will be it was a hit and miss album where the band attempted to go beyond what was expected, and sometimes succeeded and sometimes failed. Nostradamus is solid, though, and belongs as an important part of the Priest catalog. It's way, way better than Turbo! If they failed on this album it certainly wasn't because they were trying to be commercial, sometimes the songs seem to suffer from length, or repetition. It actually can be a somewhat boring, lugubrious listen, but it also has some absolutely great moments, and sounds new and classic at the same time.
Gets better with age October 1, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
JP goes in a different direction on Nostradamus...and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Gone are the shredding guitar solos that have been their hallmark for decades. I've listened to this 5 times through now and I can honestly say it gets better with each listen. Fans looking for Painkiller II will be sorely disappointed. This is not a CD you'll want to crank up as you're pulling up to a stoplight to try to impress the hot chick (or elderly couple) next to you with your ability to listen to loud music (btw, no one over the age of 18 is ever impressed with this skill in case you're wondering). However, if you can come in without any preconcieved notions of what Judas Priest should sound like, Nostradamus can provide an entertaining journey, albeit a different one than Priest fans might be used to. It would be hard to deny that JP has earned the right to do what they want with their music after three-and-a-half decades. As far as I'm concerned, if they choose to make a Christmas Album with the Wiggles next, so be it. I certainly don't feel they owe me anything at this point.
For some reason I was never consulted during the creation of this CD. However, had my opinion been requested I would have had a few suggestions. For instance, since they were going in this symphonic direction anyway, I wish they would have taken it a bit further and added more orchestra and choir elements. Especially given the topic, I thought they could have mixed in some more classical material to help bring the listener into a journey through the French Renaissance. I also would have added some haunting choir pieces that would have helped conjure images of the church that was both friend and foe to Nosty at various times. Rob certainly has the voice to pull off the theatrical sound.
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