 Welcome to the metal voice. Oh my lord. We have an all-star pot a podcast all-star team here today Friends from all across chris achon You've got so many podcasts chris. Just just name them just go through them Well, thanks for having me first of all and of course. I have the classic metal show I have chris achon presents. I have the seth williams show. I'm now doing interviews for charlie kennel's metal shop Um, yeah, I'm busy And an erickson, please give us, you know, what you're up to and what you're doing Yeah, well, my main podcast is audio ink radio and so you can find it just online out of alliance podcast But I don't know if anyone is an nfl fan. You can find that it's called the squad with an erickson All right and ralph Nothing I will say for years i've been a fan of the classic metal show Oh, there you go is awesome. I I love it because they they they have no filter Yeah, just just like almost human. So just tell us tell us Okay, we're never gonna get so and so on our show. So let's bash them. That's right All right, what are we gonna talk about today? Well The big big news is judas priest just released invincible shield It's a big buzz and I thought you know what just an hour ago. I thought to myself. Let me get The best and the brightest minds together. That's you guys Okay, and let's see where this new album fits In the catalog of judas priest it could change but as of today, how do you feel about this album? How does it fit? Where does it fit? Is it one of their best? Or maybe is it one of their worst or maybe it's just right in the middle somewhere So and since it's the first time you're on the show, I'll let you begin Well, thank you for having me. I'm very honored to be among all of you So I'm a big judas priest fan and I was so excited about this record because you know They're at like the stage where you're not sure if they're going to do more records and that sort of thing But I I really love this record. Um, I know firepower I felt like would be difficult to follow up because that was just Such an incredible album and I even really liked redeemer of souls Which I know a lot of people weren't you know as big a fan of that record But I think I would put this inside the top seven of judas priest all-time records I was kind of thinking about it earlier because jimmy you kind of prepped us a few minutes at least and I would put it behind Obviously like screaming for vengeance or british steal or pain killer or hellbent for leather But I mean and I think I would put it slightly after firepower but other than that I really think it's one of their strongest ones Wow top seven that that's big So like if you just go quickly you go, what's your number one album? Was it you said defenders? Sorry screaming for vengeance screaming, but they're also close. They're like screaming british steal pain killer Hellbent for leather. Like they're all really close for me. Okay. All right, chris Where does it sit with you my friend? I love it as well. Uh, it actually ranks higher for me I have it at number six. I went wrote the list. Um, My list is pain killer defenders of the faith screaming british steal point of entry and then invisible invincible shield Right above uh, sad wings of destiny and then you get into you know, jugulator and firepower and all that and Just priests a hard one man because pretty much 16 of the 19 records are amazing You know, I mean the only things that are really not everybody will argue knows tridamus I'll I'll stick with that being the worst but that rockerola ram it down a turbo kind of round out the bottom But yeah, this is nowhere near those this this album is fantastic. I'm stunned at how good it is to be honest Yeah, ralph Where'd you rank it? Well, I don't have the numbers here, but if any of your listeners want to count them up um To me the out and by the way, I do like the album I don't hate it though. I will say that I was a little worried with these singles They were releasing. I wasn't liking it to the last one the serpent the king. I love Then I heard the album. I thought the album was fantastic. There's still not a fan of those singles, but I would put it Uh, like like for me, uh rockerola defenders. That's my favorite That's my favorite priest. Then I would say angel retribution firepower and then this one Up the above the list or below the list And you already heard all this mountain of priest thumbs. I love I would put it above painkillers Wow, that's that's pretty big man Wow If I was gonna rank this defenders being defenders and I guess on any given day, right defenders are screaming We'll be tied on any given day, but if I go defenders screaming And I was really struggling with this painkiller And I know people are gonna hate me for this but demolition, you know, I put it up there I just I kind of I find there's a lot of great music there. I don't know And then I would have British steel and that's what are we at five and I probably at six I would be at invincible shield because Because when you take a look at their 70s album and agree or disagree on this There's only eight songs Right. Mm-hmm and out of those eight songs. There's probably two songs that are so-so So that really leaves six where this album tends to have more than six great songs and agree disagree Yeah, no, I mean, that's a really good point I feel like one of the strengths of this record is that there's no filler like every single track is just Is awesome and you know what I mean? I just feel like that's definitely a strength And I do feel like maybe when I dig back into their catalog That's one thing that there are a few tracks on each record. I'm like, I don't want to hear that one today Chris when you look back at the 70s the 70s albums and and again, you know, you have eight or seven songs Sure, right and you compare it to invincible shield Yeah, you know, I don't know that I would even go so much back into the 70s just as much as I would go into Kind of what what can I listen to and where do I not get bored? And this one just kind of you know, I My listening to it has just been through a playlist. It just kind of cycles And I didn't realize it. I looked right before we came in here and I only got it yesterday so Listening to it and and not really paying attention. I listened to it like nine times Like it because it just kept recycling and I didn't even realize that it was, you know, I never got bored and that's Kind of been the the one thing with priests, especially the like redeemer of souls I can't even listen to that all the way through. It's just too long. It's too Some of those songs don't fit real well This I didn't get bored at all. I mean it sounds great great production Great guitar playing which, you know, we could talk about if you want to but I mean just overall it's just great Totally easy to listen to So Ralph the production you have the 70s production. You have the 80s production Of course, you had that 90s grungy production industrial production, but then you went in we went into the sneak era. We'll call it How does this one compare to firepower in terms of production with that? That is a question you shouldn't ask me now. Well, I'm asking you. I'll tell you this, you know, just to make it quick I am blessed Totally blessed by not having a year for production Because a lot of people complain about the drum mix too low the vocals too high and I'm like Sounds good to me So I'm not one to ask to me firepower and this new album to me sound identical But I don't have a year for production. So I could be wrong All right, right and and firepower versus this album That's difficult because I did put them right next to each other on my favorites list And I mean when it comes to the production I think that one of the reasons bands go with andy. It's because I mean he is like so passionate about the music right I interviewed the guy from sacks and you know about um About their new record which andy produced and it just seems like he's always popping up everywhere I think that that passion really comes through on both of the records I mean, I kind of would give them a tie But I would give firepower just a small edge probably because I've listened to it a lot more And so, you know, you get kind of used to it and you want to hear it again and again But um, I think they're both really strong All right chris firepower versus uh invincible shield Love them both don't like firepower as much again another long record that I kind of got bored with now again Took a long time before I got there, but it I did get to where it's like, all right. I'm sort of done with this record now Um, what did you like what didn't you like about firepower? I didn't say that. I'm not I have firepower my top 10 I just find I find it to be a little law I you know, I just find it, you know much like you were saying about the earlier The earlier albums having eight nine songs. That's kind of perfect for me about 35 40 minutes And I'm good. I know this new one is what an hour hour and five or something like that Probably six months from now if you ask me the same question, I'll probably tell you the same thing I'll probably say yeah, invincible shield. Yeah, it's a little long, you know I'm I'm good for about 40 minutes, but um Then it's firepower was cool the only if I'm gonna pick firepower apart, which I really don't Want to but It's a little more slick than this one. This one feels a little more concert ready, I guess And I like that more I like kind of that when I go see it these songs are gonna kind of sound Much closer than when I did see firepower the songs sounded like a kind of a I don't know less they were less clean. They sounded a little different. That's all all right Ralph Firepower versus this album. Well, I mean, I've only heard this sound three times, you know I got it on thursday, and I'm expecting the vinyl to get here today Um, so it's too soon to say. I mean if you ask me right now, I'll say firepower I absolutely love firepower, but well chris was saying earlier how he used to love it But now he's kind of like yeah, maybe I shouldn't play firepower anymore and continue to love it Well personally, I think it's firepower plus. I've said this many times already And I think it has that sort of the essence of firepower, but it just It dives more into diversity and more musical interludes and it just runs away the guitar runs away like through a whole album And that's what makes it more interesting I don't I don't feel there's songs on the new album as good as traders did or or flamethrower Never surrender, you know those songs all firepower I think are better, you know because those are songs that the first time I heard firepower Damn, I got it and on this new album I hear some great songs. I love the title track. I do love a lot of these songs, but I don't think they're as good as You know traders get what I named out firepower. Sure. Sure. All right. Let's go around the room ranking this Is everybody ready to rank this new album and what do you give it out of 10? Oh, man, you're making us rank. Well, I did review it for audio and radio and I gave it a 9.5 Because I know and you know, I I think part of the reason is because when a band has been around for as long as Judas Priest I feel like it's more difficult to put out good music Not only are they getting older, but it's just you've done so much, right? And so I was so surprised that once again, they pulled off such an incredible record. So I think that I just had to do 9.5 Oh, wow. That's like a classic Chris. Would you put it at? Uh, probably right around there probably about a nine. Uh, you know, I said I said on facebook And I I really think this is true and we'll see if I believe this in six months But it's the best album a band with at least 25 years of history has put out Past their 25 years, you know, anybody I could think of these are these are very interesting points It's one thing to put out one album and spending, you know, six years Making that album. It's another thing to put crank out a hundred and something songs and still have quality music, correct, Chris? Yeah, yeah, exactly right and and I I tried going through my mind of the older bands and You know, when you when you start thinking about it Metallica, no Megadeth. No Anthony X No, you know, I I Judas Priest This you know, we're literally arguing if it's in their top five or not of Of a career that's 50 years long, you know on the 50th year. That's amazing Yeah, it is. All right, Ralph. How much would you rate it out of 10? I'll give it like, uh, I'll give it a nine But if we had the bonus tracks, I'll give it an 8.5 I don't like those one of them's okay, but man, there's a lodger and that first one And I was like, okay, I understand why this ain't on the album. That one's okay, but it's a bonus. It's just a bonus That's what it's a bonus. So not adding those I'd give it a nine. Okay. Wow. Look at that all around I would put it like at 8.7 because I don't know if I could give a nine Until a year has passed. I'm sad with it for that long Well, jimmy, let me ask you. I don't like three songs off it. That would be a nine, right? I would it would that's okay. That's all right. I like how specific you were jimmy 8.7 I like to be specific because because you want you don't want to say nine Because you want to kind of reserve that for a year from now So you just want to go a little bit under right unless unless jimmy you live on the edge like me You do you do I do come on jimmy It's more fun to say something's a nine and then round it off Every fan that you have come back to you and say well, you said this was a nine too and you know And I now that I've given it a ranking. Thanks for that by the way I I can guarantee you I will get 100 emails from the classic metal show people yapping about what you said This was better Guys, it's been a pleasure The metal all-star podcast folks. Thank you so much for being on a pleasure. We'll do it again guys. Have yourself a wonderful day Thanks for having me next round. Thank you