Thobbe Englund
Hail to the Priest

Thobbe Englund is a heavy metal guy so it should be no surprise that he is a fan of Judas Priest, it is quite audible in much of the music he does. Now he has put together an album of Judas Priest songs, and some from Halford’s solo, and for a Judas Priest cover album there may be some unusual choices as Thobbe seems to have been looking to avoid the most obvious songs like Painkiller, Breaking the Law and those songs – so the choices are slightly less predictable than you might expect.

Classic heavy metal is obviously the genre of this album, like modern and updated versions of the songs featured. It sounds like it could have been made by Judas Priest themselves, so you shouldn’t expect to hear new interpretations of the songs but rather like updated versions of them. And they are performed in a good way with strong vocals and strong production, the variations of songs are good as well even though it would have been nice with some changes in song selection. It is also good that the album is kept relatively short in playing time so that it doesn’t play for too long and become dull for that reason.

I think the album is good, though it looks better than it sounds. The Ripper is my favourite track here, like it is one of my favourite tracks by Judas Priest, the catchy Between the Hammer and the Anvil from the Painkiller album is another strong song on this album. But there are also some tracks that doesn’t really do much, songs that are just glossed over and not really noticed. That is probably the thing about this alum as well, it is one of those albums that will be pretty fast forgotten and it will make much less of a mark than the original songs recorded by Judas Priest did.

Hail to the Priest is a fine curiosity but not really that amazing as an album, cover albums are a fascinating view into artists and their inspirations but they are better with more personal interpretations and less faithful to the originals than what is shown on this album. Thobbe’s fans will like this, fans of Judas Priest may also find it appealing but in the grand scheme of things it isn’t really an album that makes much of a mark. I doubt it is an album for the top lists of 2019, but it is a pretty fine tribute to Judas Priest.

HHHHHHH