Judas Priest – Nostradamus

Judas Priest - Nostradamus

Hard to believe, but Judas Priest has been around for 38 years now, their first album coming out 35 years ago.  A lot has changed since then, both with the band and with music in general.  Though Priest may have been eclipsed by bands they’ve helped to shape and influence, they’re still at it and have plenty to offer.  So, what does a band who has released 15 studio albums over the course of 35 years do?  They take a chance and go in a slightly different direction for their 16th outing.

Nostradamus is not quite like what you’ve heard from Judas Priest before.  And it works…

R.I.P. George Carlin

Just found out George Carlin died yesterday, a little over nine hours ago.  Gotta say, comedy won’t be the same without him.  Controversial, offensive and funny as hell, I’ve always liked to hear what he had to say.  Great man with a lot of great material.  Not for everyone, to be sure.

Rest in peace, George.  Your next gig should be an interesting one.

Upcoming Stuff

Just a few upcoming releases that I have my eye on…

Judas Priest – Nostradamus [June 17]

Ordered the Deluxe version.  I almost went for an import version with the album on 3 LP’s, but couldn’t justify the cost (just over triple the price).  Yet.  Not sure when it’s coming, but I don’t think it’ll arrive this Tuesday.  At least I can still go listen to it over at VH1’s The Leak until my copy arrives.  I like it so far, so I’m looking forward to hearing it in better quality.

Or so I thought.  The stream has been taken down and when I checked last, my order with Nostradamus is lurking somewhere in Ohio and isn’t expected to get here for at least a few more days.  *sigh*

Metallica – Death Magnetic [September]

Not so keen on the title, but I’m going to give it a shot anyway.  Haven’t ordered it yet, but I will.  I’m not delusional enough to believe that it’s going to be a return to their early days, but I’m hopeful that it’s a step in the right direction again.  We shall see.  Hey, solos are back, as is the old Metallica logo.

Stargate: Continuum [July 26]

Since it’s unlikely that Stargate SG-1 will be picked up again to continue its run, we have to settle for the direct to DVD releases, which isn’t so bad.  Stargate: Atlantis can only offer so much, and I don’t know when Stargate: Universe is starting up.  The Ark Of Truth was pretty good; the bigger budget and longer shooting schedule certainly helped, making it better than the majority of the last two seasons of the series.

Fallout 3 [October?]

A game I’ve been looking forward to for a while.  The change to Bethesda (the maker of the Elder Scroll series) may seem a put-off to some, but I think they can pull it off.  I haven’t decided what version to get yet, but I don’t think I’ll settle for just the standard edition.  I might have to upgrade a couple parts of the computer (if not get a replacement and use this one for other tasks), but I’ve wanted/needed to do that anyway.  I don’t get to play games when they’re released very often, but I think I’ll make the effort to change that for Fallout 3.

Testament – The Formation Of Damnation

Testament is back, with their first new studio album since The Gathering from 1999, as well as their first under Nuclear Blast.  The album has been out for a while now, and I figure I may as well get thris write-up done and out of the way.  The next one won’t take as long to write and publish.