JUDAS PRIEST – Live In London

You folks must have the impression by now that I am not really a fan of Judas Priest, or that I think Ripper Owens sucks completely and want Rob Halford back at all means. In that case; you are wrong, but I can understand you, as I gave the last studio album nothing but a solid dose of vomit.

Fact is, I love Judas Priest. I have every record they ever made, including a few bootlegs and the remasters box. Does that mean I have to swallow shit and praise anything they release? Oh no, 2001’s Demolition was nothing but pure rubbish, and it made Jugulator a killer CD in comparison – just like this Live In London can not stand tall next to the killer live CD from 98, 98 Live Meltdown. This is a redundant piece of laser, that no one needs.

First of all, I firmly believe that whatever Judas Priest (meaning; Ian Hill, Glenn Tipton and KK Downing) do nowadays, it is all to kill time and wait for Halford to return. My bet is that they will tour the summer festivals in 2004 with a massive success, then retire after collecting the money from that run. This is not fair to Ripper, who certainly has given Priest a run for their money. Ripper is right now the only member of Judas Priest with pure motives, I believe, but the fact that the other guys don’t care much will eventually freeze his ass one day. (My other prediction but the way; Chris Caffery from Savatage and Ripper will form a band when Rob rejoins Priest.)

But back to Live In London, which was a killer DVD. Someone must have thought that releasing a CD with more songs would make the fans happy and very excited. That someone is an accountant, I bet. Truth is; this CD contains only one song that 98 Live Meltdown doesn’t have (except for the new stuff, but who cares about that?). It doesn’t sound half as good as 98 Live Meltdown, even a bit uninspired at times. I guess I found the DVD great because of the filming and editing – and of course; Ripper rules! This is just to steal money from the fans, who will buy anything the band releases. And actually, I am sorry to admit, I belong to that mass of people. Believe it or not.