Made Of Metal / Halford (2010)

1. Undisputed

2. Fire And Ice

3. Made Of Metal

4. Speed Of Sound

5. Like There's No Tomorrow

6. Till The Day I Die

7. We Own The Night

8. Heartless

9. Hell Razor

10. Thunder And Lightning

11. Twenty-Five Years

12. Matador

13. I Know We Stand A Chance

14. The Mower (Album Version)

When I heard that Halford was making a new album, I was wondering what kind of music direction they would head to. The first album was pure "Judas Priest" style heavy metal. The second album had more modern and heaviness taste and somewhat experimental. He also released 2 albums with "Judas Priest". The first one was pure straightforward heavy metal, and the other was an experimental concept album. He has been showing his strong will to carry the name of heavy metal and enthusiasm to open new paths.

Well, if I speak from my conclusion, this record is pretty straightforward heavy metal. However, evaluation of this album can depend largely on what your expectation of Rob Halford. In the most of the time in this album, you don't hear his high tone scream. If that is what you expect of him, you would be disappointed. He is surely getting old. If you are a metal musician, you would have retired long time before his age. Nevertheless, he still choose the carry the name of heavy metal. He uses his mid and low range voice almost entirely in this album. Yet, I think that the quality of songs are pretty high. 

The opening number, track 1, is pretty cool. Track 2 is one of my favorites. The title track and songs such as tracks 5, 8, and 10 are great metal songs. Track 6 is a very unusual song. He is showing his musical enthusiasm. Tracks 11 and 13 are dramatic, and I like them a lot. I would say that he opened a door to the new phase as a musician. I am impressed that how many songs he came up with limited range of voice. Each song has good hook in melodies. Even after the end comes to "Judas Priest", I think he still can continue his career as a heavy metal singer. Only thing bothers me is that sound production. It sounds so light and cheap that I first thought this album was demo...

☆☆☆

Crusible / Halford (2002)

1. Park Manor

2. Crucible

3. One Will

4. Betrayal

5. Handing Out Bullets

6. Hearts Of Darkness

7. Crystal

8. Heretic

9. Golgotha

10. Wrath Of God

11. Weaving Sorrow

12. Sun

13. Trail Of Tears

14. Rock The World Forever (Japanese Bonus Track)

15. In The Morning (Japanese Bonus Track)

"Resurrection" was the album that Rob Halford showed what fans were expecting of him. It received positive feedback from all over the world. Here is the second message of Halford. The first impression was that this album was covered by dark and heavy mood. Sound production got much heavier than the first album. It showed more influence from what he did during 90's. When I listened to the title track 2, I was bit surprised by the sound production. This album really shows his spirit of inquiry. 

Likes of dislikes can be different by each person's favor, but I would say, at least, the quality of each song is very high. Track 4 is a killer tune that all of new metal fans should hail to. Track 3 is a pure metal song. One of my favorites in this album is track 13. It is really dramatic yet heavy. It is really obvious that the band became much tighter than before. The back instruments are making good groove. The sound production is not my favorite, but I think highly of the song composition. In addition, it is not as strange as "Judas Priest" making "Jugulator" or "Demolition". However, the album is not as excited as the last one. But, Rob Halford is singing heavy metal, there is nothing to complain about.

☆☆☆☆

Resurrection / Halford (2000)

1. Resurrection

2. Made In Hell

3. Locked And Loaded

4. Night Fall

5. Silent Scream

6. The One You Love To Hate

7. Cyberworld

8. Slow Down

9. Twist

10. Temptation

11. Drive

12. Saviour

Years 1999 and 2000 became remarkable for metal maniacs. In 1999, Bruce Dickinson returned to Iron Maiden, and Rob Halford returned to the heavy metal music scene in 2000. He strayed off the course in 90's. He formed "Fight" and "Two", which were more modern, industrial, and alternative metal. However, after all of the wander, he returned to the pure metal. I still clearly remember the first time I heard this album, I got goose bumps from the first song when I heard his high tone scream. In the whole album, he plays pure metal that all of his fans expect of him.

From tracks 1 to 7, all of the songs ran through really quickly. The opening song is a killer tune, track 1, that reminds us songs such as "Painkiller". In track 2, we can hear his powerful mid-range voice. He talks about his life story in this song. Track 3 is a cool mid-tempo tune. Track 4 has beautiful chorus. Track 5 is very dramatic and progressive in some degree. After taking a breath for a moment, the album takes us to tracks 6 and 7. Halford collaborated with Bruce Dickinson on track 6. It's an extravagant song for all of metal fans. Track 7 is obviously inspired by "Electric Eye". Then, three mid-tempo songs come in row, so tension gets little loose here, but they kept quality of songs. At the end, they press us with two powerful tunes.

Overall, he played what he was expected from the fans. I could see some influence he had from what he had done in 90's. Nevertheless, it was well sublimed with "Judas Priest" style of heavy metal. Obviously, guitars were down tuned, but it did not bothered me at all. Two guitarists did wonderful job in this album. Perhaps, it is due to the fact that they grew up listening to "Judas Priest". All of heavy metal fans must have this record!

☆☆☆☆☆