Redeemer of Souls (Deluxe Version)

Redeemer of Souls is Judas Priest’s 17th studio album and their first without original guitarist K.K. Downing. New guitarist Richie Faulkner does an admirable job alongside Priest’s main guitarist, Glenn Tipton, in recreating the twin-guitar attack that Priest practically invented. Unlike the heavy concepts and synths of 2008’s Nostradamus, Redeemer of Souls is flat-out classic Priest, with a straightforward metal attack that still finds time for singer Rob Halford to show off his stunning vocal range on “Sword of Damocles.” The opening “Dragonaut,” the title track, and “Down in Flames” capture the power chord metal of the band’s classic albums Killing Machine, British Steel, and Screaming for Vengeance. A sense of farewell is built into a number of the songs, though the band, in interviews, maintain they’re not done making albums. “Beginning of the End” means exactly that, the beginning of the end, not the end. The deluxe version adds five songs, including the catchy but still heavy “Snakebite” and the epic and sentimental “Never Forget.”