Thursday, June 19, 2008 | midnight
Just how cheesy is Judas Priest’s two-disc concept album about the life of 16th-century French prophet Nostradamus? Let’s put it this way: If there isn’t an amateur theatrical production of it within a year, then no one’s paying attention. Because, seriously, this awesomely ridiculous album reveals the leather-clad heavy metal titans as closet musical-theater geeks, and sounds like it could be the cast recording to one of the most over-the-top Broadway productions of all time.
The band’s second album since reuniting with singer Rob Halford, Nostradamus is a big leap forward in ambition after 2005’s solid but unremarkable Angel of Retribution, but its grandiose scope and self-serious tone slip easily and regularly into self-parody. Check out these groan-inducing lyrics: “Your future lies within my eyes/What I predict will terrify,” Halford sings on “Prophecy,” the first proper song after the opening prelude (there are a lot of tracks here that qualify as preludes). He sells it all with a mix of his trademark metal wail and a very theatrical, over-enunciated tone that suggests a painfully earnest stage actor.
Guitarists Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing layer synthesized orchestration over much of the music, but still provide metal punch on songs like “Prophecy” and the title track. Nostradamus may very well be a Spinal Tap album come to life, but it’s crafted with such dedication and disregard for musical trends that you can’t help but respect it even as you mock it.
The bottom line: ***
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