As anticipation mounts for the July 15 release of ‘Redeemer of Souls,’ JUDAS PRIEST are giving us a taste of a third song from the album.
You can stream a one-minute clip of ‘Walls of Valhalla’ above.
As Rob Halford clarifies in the accompanying promo clip just launched to YouTube, the song is indeed “more metal than metal,” and thus it harks back, not only to one of Priest’s quintessential album cuts,
‘The Sentinel’ (from 1984’s ’Defenders of the Faith’), but to the fiery forges responsible for heavy metal’s very foundations, in the iron works of Birmingham…and that can only be a good thing.
An accurate thing, as well, in light of the auditory evidence at hand, which includes a spine-shivering Halford shriek, brief snatches of heroic lyrics, and a blazing fast guitar solo, courtesy of new bandmate Richie Faulkner, from what we can tell — but you tell us if you think Glenn Tipton was responsible.
In any case, evidence continues to pile up, indicating that ‘Redeemer of Souls’ will be a convincingly “vintage,” yet thoroughly modern-sounding JUDAS PRIEST opus for the ages, possibly even akin to their masterful and career-revitalizing ‘Painkiller’ LP, released almost a quarter-century ago.
JUDAS PRIEST have already released two songs from ‘Redeemer of Souls,’ the title track and the first single, ‘March of the Damned.’