Review: Judas Priest’s Invincible Shield

Judas Priest’s Invincible Shield

Drizzle, Drazzle, Drozzle, Drone: Mr. Wizard’s Time Machine brought to us by Judas Priest.

Music is a personal journey, and I love relating my personal experiences and feelings when talking (in this case, writing) about musical snapshots that happen within our lifetime. These snapshots take us to exact moments in the past: a time machine, replete with vivid images, tastes, smells, and most important of all, feelings. For me, Judas Priest, in all their leather, studs, and pointy guitars, are one such impetus to do just that.

In 1984, a 14-year-old yours truly started the summer assembling, fixing, and selling bicycles at the local bike shop in Calumet City, IL. The shop owner’s 3 sons and nephew were the main characters in the shop. They were wrestlers, a bit boisterous, and VERY into Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. The shop manager and another employee played drums and guitar in a local heavy metal band. Another fellow employee played guitar in a New Wave cover band. I entered the pack with a Les Paul copy and love of Led Zeppelin and all the emerging bands featuring fancy guitar work circa 1984.

The smell of the rubber tires. The countless BMX bikes. The hot dog special, pizza puff, or gyros from the greasy spoon a few doors down. The mama jokes. The pranks. The mullets. The metal that blared from our shop stereo in back. The owner, making us turn it down. All as if it happened yesterday. The soundtrack to that summer and so many more after that, featured Judas Priest heavily. Defenders of the Faith was released in January of that year, and I still can’t listen to Freewheel Burning enough! That, my friends, is METAL!!!  

Dokken’s Tooth and Nail was also released that year and had found its way into heavy rotation. As a budding young guitarist, I preferred the new LA hotshots over the NWOBHM, and it seemed that everyone else, even the wrestlers, were digging the new LA music. We all had our favorite bands. We generally seemed to enjoy each other’s music picks because it was all metal. We somehow managed to rotate cassettes without too many hurt feelings. However, when the wrestling boys wanted to listen to music, they got dibs, and it was usually Judas Priest. This didn’t necessarily make me hate Judas Priest, it actually gave me time to absorb and appreciate them. I became very familiar with their catalog, and I even bought Screaming for Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith on cassette for my own listening pleasure. 

All the Flags We Carry

It’s comical to think back about all of the flags we carried back then. Thanks to Hit Parader and Creem (for you youngsters out there, these were actual physical paper magazines we’d get at the local grocery store or by subscription), their covers featured everything and everybody in a constant battle: Bruce Dickinson VS Rob Halford, Ronnie James Dio VS Geoff Tate… Eddie Van Halen VS Randy Rhoads, Jimmy Page VS Ritchie Blackmore… Geddy Lee VS Chris Squire… John Bonham VS Neal Peart.

These were legit arguments, folks. These were debates that would either get you kicked out of, or welcomed into, a group of friends that would last a lifetime. As we got older, most of us realized that it’s ok to love them all, but for a snapshot in time, these were incredibly contentious arguments. Looking back, however, I really wish that our social media was filled with those battles rather than the tripe we see every day. To mock a particular patch on someone’s battle vest or band logo drawn on a Trapper Keeper vs how one voted in the last election would be bliss. But I digress.

Fast-forward to 1986. I’m 16, driving, making money at the bike shop, playing a real Les Paul, and loving all the heavy music! Dokken’s Under Lock and Key came out in late ’85 and Priest release Turbo in April of this year. For all of those outside of my bubble, the criticism that piled on Turbo at that time, I thought, was unwarranted. I purchased the vinyl immediately and practically wore it out.

All of the time I spent listening to Judas Priest had me paying very close attention to the guitar work. From their early releases to that point, Turbo demonstrated what I had been noticing. The guitar work was very modern. In particular, Glenn Tipton seemed to improve his chops constantly and consistently with each new album. Whether by choice or by record company demand, Priest had taken some influence from the LA scene: Halford grew some hair, their wardrobe looked less biker gang, and more Sunset Strip. Additionally, Turbo had some cool guitar stuffs… I was all in! 

Disturbing the Priest

On May 24, 1986, I couldn’t get to the Rosemont Horizon fast enough to see Dokken open for Judas Priest! I spent all day in school absolutely stoked that I was going to see George Lynch and the duo of KK Downing and Glenn Tipton! It’s nearly 40 years since, but I recall a great performance and great time!

As this is cleanandsoberstoner.com, I’d be remiss not to mention that Priest’s excellent performance was, no doubt, in part to Halford’s becoming sober in January of that year.

As a huge fan of Racer X, I welcomed drummer Scott Travis joining Priest when he came on board in 1989. He was undoubtedly the driving force behind Painkiller. Painkiller absolutely CRUSHED and continues to do so to this day. As my musical tastes ebbed and flowed over the past several decades, the Priest stayed on my radar but with all the member changes and drama, I focused on other musical preferences. Halford left and started his own projects then came back. KK either left or got fired, hired Ripper Owens as his singer… blah, blah, blah…

There are so many differences of opinion regarding KK Downing’s quitting/firing that I just reserved judgement, but hoped he’d return. In April of 2011, guitarist Richie Faulkner was announced as Downing’s replacement. It is always rough for die hard fans to see a staple like Downing go and equally as difficult to welcome a newb like Faulkner. 

Sadly, guitarist Glenn Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2008, a condition we didn’t know he had until he revealed it in early 2018. Tipton is still in Priest but in a very limited, almost esoteric capacity. Touring guitarist, Andy Sneap gets the pressure of playing Tipton’s parts live. Faulkner has been embraced by the masses and rightfully so. I’ll be the first in line to say that there is no better guitarist walking this planet that could step into Judas Priest and play the past as respectfully at the same time as carrying the torch into the future as Faulkner. 

When I first saw video of Faulkner several years ago, I was insipidly like, “oh, wow…Priest got themselves a blonde-haired hotshot from LA to replace KK…yawn.” Then I paid attention, which had me a bit more enthusiastically professing, “Wow, this kid has some chops and some stage presence!”

In my usual manner, any time these moments happen, I do the deep dive (thanks Google!) only to discover that my first impressions were a bit off. Faulkner is no LA hotshot, he’s a Brit. As a matter of fact, early in his career, Faulkner was on Steve Harris’ radar. Harris had done some production work for one of Faulkner’s previous projects and insists that if something had happened with one of the Maiden guitarists, Faulkner would have been THE guy to plug into the mighty Maiden. 

For all of the love of Dokken and Judas Priest I had as a teenager, imagine my surprise when I discovered that Faulkner is George Lynch’s daughter’s baby daddy. I’m thinking that family gatherings are probably filled with some cool guitar playing and lots of eye-rolling from the ladies.

Priest were recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but not without a bit of controversy. On my screen, the performance looked like they were one big happy heavy metal family as KK Downing was invited to play with them, doing his ‘thing’ alongside Faulkner. Apparently, there is still quite a bit of bad blood going on between KK and the Priest camp. A conversation that won’t derail this article as there are plenty of stories about the HOF induction and how KK was treated during the whole process all over the web.

Judas Priest’s Invincible Shield

Judas Priest’s Invincible Shield has been a work in progress for several years. According to Faulkner, writing and recording for it had begun just before the pandemic hit. Drums were one of the first instruments to be completed back then and the rest of the songs and tracks came together over the last few years with Tipton in what I can only conclude from my investigating, has a vague role of either active band member or mascot.

Touring guitarist, Andy Sneap produced the album while songwriting credits go to Faulkner and Tipton, with lyrics credited to Halford.  I’m going to take a leap here and assume that Faulkner, along with drummer, Scott Travis, with the blessings of Halford, are the driving force of today’s Judas Priest, and that’s ok. Why? 

This album is killer. Mostly…

If you’re remotely a fan of Judas Priest, this album is your huckleberry. If you’re remotely a fan of Halford’s vocals, I’m telling you that Rob brought it, delivered it, and took no quarter. 

If you dig great guitar riffing and well-executed/tasteful/shreddy lead guitar playing, this album is for you. 

I’m going to break my Golden Rule here and do a quick breakdown of each song. Priest are metal royalty. They deserve our attention. Don’t expect song breakdowns from me in my future reviews. 

The album has 14 songs and is just over one hour (remember, this thing has been in the works for over 4 years, so…).

Invincible Shield Play by Play

Track One: Panic Attack is the album opener and has a bit of a Turbo Lover/synth thing going on underneath a magnificently crafted guitar lick. Definitely an opener that builds and throat punches you. Great song. The main riff is Judas Priest and once Halford comes in, we know that this album has incredible possibility.

Track Two: The Serpent and the King begins with a CLASSIC style Judas Priest riff and continues to pummel for 4:20. Halford’s vocals… holy shit. First listen through puts this as my favorite on the album. 

Track Three: Invincible Shield is the title track. I’m 16 again. Seriously. The riffs are killer… the drums are perfect. Halford is being Halford. I can see why this is the title track. It’s heavy but has a bit of an anthem-ey vibe that isn’t too campy. 

Track Four: Devil in Disguise. Oh man. This song has a stank face groove that takes us to a typical Priest chorus and right back into the groove. Incredibly tasty guitar solos.

Track Five: Gates of Hell begins with classic Judas Priest arpeggiating harmony guitars and dammit if they don’t land on another great groove underneath! Ugh… I’m REALLY beginning to love this album the first listen-through. This is 80’s riffs supporting amazing vocals 101. Faulkner’s solos at this point have me this close to tossing my gear into a campfire… he’s that good and not overplaying. It’s sickening how great he is.

Track Six: Crown of Horns. Oof. This one started strong and took a nosedive into a love song. It’s not a bad song, but it’s not my thing. If this were actually an 80’s album, this would be the single we’d expect to be the first release. Good grooves but, yeah… 80’s love songs don’t hit me.

Track Seven: As God is my Witness. WHEW!!! Priest is back and the last song has already been forgotten! This is a fast little ditty that’s making my head do the thing. These riffs slay. The song builds up magnificently. By the time the solos drop, I’m all in.

Track Eight: Trial by Fire comes out swinging in usual Judas Priest fashion. Great riff, great hook. Not a standout song, but it’s Priest making great music.

Track Nine: Escape From Reality ebbs and flows from “normal” vocals and palm-muted guitar to some pretty varied styles. It’s almost psychedelic in some spots. I’m really enjoying where they are taking me in this song. These guitar solos, once again, are ridiculously good. 

Track Ten: Sons of Thunder. Good grief. To say that this song starts out like a Judas Priest song is getting pretty cliché, but here we are. Another solid start. Driving guitars, killer vocals being “answered” at points by some great leads underneath. 

Track Eleven: Giants in the Sky. Oooh! The guitars have been tuned down!!! Good God man! The guitar tone, the groove… guitar players chime in in the comments when you listen to this one! We DREAM of this tone! Post guitar solo, it breaks down into some classical with Halford very “Diamonds and Rust” for a moment then back at it… This song is massive, and I adore it!

Track Twelve: Fight of Your Life is out of the gate with a groove then Halford & Co. hit hard. At this point, this song is so good and I’m reflecting on what I’ve already listened to on this album and realize that there are 2 more songs to go. The consistency of songs thus far has upped my love for this incarnation of Judas Priest. Back to this song… again, a bit of an 80’s bridge/chorus thing going on that “real” metal guys will call poser, but the song is strong.

Track Thirteen: Vicious Circle keeps with the theme of kick ass riffs, amazing tone, and great songwriting of this album.

Track Fourteen: The Lodger closes the album. This song is quite the departure from the rest of the album. It’s actually VERY Iron Maiden in the way the song presents itself. It’s very story telly. Not my thing. It’s probably some sort of bonus track, so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt that this isn’t ‘officially’ part of the album. 

Metal Gods…

This is the Judas Priest we all expect. After all these years and lineup changes, I’m shouting it from the mountaintops, GET THIS ALBUM! Out of the 14 tracks I listened to, I’d skip 2 of them. The rest are SOLID Judas Priest. A great album. At 54 and some semblance of experience in writing and recording, etc. I didn’t expect such greatness from a band that spans a 5-decade history.

At this point, it would be no surprise for Halford & Co. to “phone it in” and grab a paycheck, do a tour, sell merch, and hit the golf course in a few months. Nope. As mentioned, and not so hinted at above, I think the driving forces in this Judas Priest are Scott Travis and Richie Faulkner.

Die hard Priest fans owe an incredible amount of gratitude to these two for being not only the glue that holds this band together, but for upping their game and creating AMAZING new music! Judas Priest are TRUE Metal Gods!