Jugulator

''Jugulator'' is the thirteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was released in Japan on 16 October 1997 and the rest of the world on 28 October 1997. It was their first studio album since ''Painkiller'' in 1990 and the first of two studio albums to include lead vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens, replacing Rob Halford who left the band in 1992. ''Jugulator'' is the only Judas Priest album that has never been released on any major digital media website, due to German independent record label SPV falling under and going bankrupt around 2009.

The album was reissued as part of the band's limited edition ''50 Heavy Metal Years of Music'' box-set, released on October 2021, through Sony Music Entertainment and Legacy Recordings.

Lyrical content

The lyrics dealt with darker themes than previous releases, including the eponymous mechanized demon which disembowels its prey, and the end of the world in the song "Cathedral Spires". The guitars were also tuned down as low as C# and C, making a shift from the speed metal and traditional heavy metal elements of ''Painkiller'' to a more thrash metal-oriented sound.

"Brain Dead" is written from the perspective of a man who, after a tragedy, has lost the ability to move and speak and is therefore trapped in his mind, having been placed on life support. The footnote in the CD booklet for this song reads "We all have sympathy for those left to care and despair for victims of tragedy but what of the victim himself—trapped inside his body a coffin—unable to move a muscle or blink an eye but aware of the living hell he's enduring and unable to bring it to an end—a man not even a shadow of his former self—a man who wants to be remembered for what he was—not forgotten because of what he has become."

Reception

Reaction to the album was divided among those who enjoyed it on its own terms, those who liked the music but would prefer if Halford had sung it, and those who disliked it on all counts. Glenn Tipton defended the musical changes: "You must remember that two albums went missing between 1990 and ''Jugulator''. To us, it's not the huge leap some people see it as." Tim "Ripper" Owens opines that ''Jugulator'' is a better album than 2008's ''Nostradamus''.

"Some people felt there wasn't enough melody on ''Jugulator''," remarked Tipton, "but we just weren't feeling very melodic at the time."

In 2018, Owens pledged to re-record this album and its follow-up ''Demolition'' as he feels that his era of the band has "been erased". Ever since Rob Halford rejoined the band, songs from both albums have been left off the band's concert setlists, although Halford stated that he is not opposed to performing the songs live.

Promotion

A music video was shot for the song " Burn in Hell", though over two minutes of the song was removed in the final video. "Jugulator" and "Blood Stained" were also included on Judas Priest's box set '' Metalogy''.

Awards and nominations

" Bullet Train" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1999.

Track listing

Personnel

Judas Priest
* Tim "Ripper" Owens – vocals
*Glenn Tipton – guitars
* K. K. Downing – guitars
* Ian Hill – bass guitar
* Scott Travis – drums

Production
* Glenn Tipton – producer
* K. K. Downing – producer
* Sean Lynch – producer
* Recorded and mixed at Silvermere Studios
* Mastered at Whitfield Street Studios
* Mark Wilkinson – cover illustration
* Andie Airfix at Satori – design
* Ross Halfin – photography

Charts

References

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1997 albums
Judas Priest albums
SPV/Steamhammer albums
1990s concept albums
Groove metal albums
Thrash metal albums by British artists