Judas Priest "Angel Of Retribution"

Angel of Retribution is the 15th studio album by British 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, which makes it the fourth highest chart of a Judas Priest album (the third being Nostradamus, the second being Redeemer of Souls and the highest being Firepower). The album was produced by Roy Z, who co-wrote the song "Deal with the Devil". It won a 2005 Metal Hammer award for Best Album. In the 2005 Burrn! magazine Readers' Pop Poll, it was voted Best Album of the Year and Best Album Cover.

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."

Within the album, nods to the sound of past albums and songs are found, 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.

Track listing

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

1. "Judas Rising" 4:15
2. "Deal with the Devil" Halford, Downing, Tipton, Roy Z 3:54
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

Producer Roy Z also has a co-writing credit on "Deal with the Devil".

The bass intro to "Revolution" is actually a thoroughly remastered recording from an old cassette tape from some time in the 70s.

"Judas Rising" was originally composed during the sessions for "Screaming for Vengeance" and demoed with a working title of "Earth, Wind and Fire". KK Downing revisited it and brought it to the recording sessions for "Angel of Retribution".

"Demonizer" is also a revisited song from an earlier writing session.

Three editions were released:

- The regular CD

- limited edition digibook that come with a Bonus DVD that includes: 40 min Documentary and 7 live tracks.

- Dual-Disc version (DCD), with the CD on one side and the DVD on the other. The Dualdisc version only contains a 30 minute documentary, plus the live songs listed below.

Was supposed to be released in late 2004, but the label changed the release date to early 2005, hoping for better sales. That's why it does have year 2004 printed in the covers.

Recording information:

Recorded at The Old Smithy, Worcestshire, UK & Sound City, California, USA.

Mastered at Precision Mastering, California, USA.