"The Serpent and the King" Released: 22 February 2024
Invincible Shield is the nineteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 6 March 2024 by Sony in Japan,[1] and globally two days later through Columbia and Epic Records.[2][3] It was produced by the band's touring guitarist Andy Sneap, who also produced 2018's Firepower, while the album's last two tracks ("Sons of Thunder" and "Giants in the Sky") were co-produced by Tom Allom.
The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, the highest position in the band's discography to date. In the US, it debuted at number 18 on the Billboard 200 and topped the spot for the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums chart, earning 25,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.[4]
Background and recording
In February 2020, the band officially began writing sessions for their 19th album,[5] but as guitarist Richie Faulkner stated later, they "faced some challenges with schedules due to the pandemic" and had not been able to get together and work on new music: "We wanted to keep it the same dynamic as Firepower – as we all got together, played the songs in pre-production before recording them".[6]
In September 2021, after the pandemic restrictions were lifted the band started their 50 Heavy Metal Years world tour. "So the next obstacle, if you wanna call it that, was the tour. We had to go out and tour and record bits and pieces in between the tour legs."[7] Due to ongoing restrictions, the album was recorded in various places: Scott Travis and Richie Faulkner in Nashville, Tennessee (where they reside), Rob Halford in Phoenix, Arizona, and Ian Hill while on tour in various European cities.[8]
In March 2022, Faulkner revealed that the drums for the new record had already been recorded[9] and emphasized that the songs "are a bit more progressive in places" having a few twists and turns musically that Firepower does not have.[10] To avoid misunderstandings Faulkner stated later that the album will not be a musical continuation of the experimental Nostradamus or progressive in a Rush-like interpretation, but "instead of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus, finish, sometimes it goes off and plays it a little... like the old '70s Judas Priest used to, like the 'Sinner' and stuff like that".[11]
In May 2023, after Rob Halford laid down his parts in the studio in Phoenix, Arizona with producer and touring guitarist Andy Sneap, the band stated they had finished tracking and the album had moved on to the mixing and mastering stage.[12] The songs "Sons of Thunder" and "Escape from Reality" were written by Glenn Tipton, and he performed guitar solos on both "Sons of Thunder" and "Vicious Circle."[13][14] The bonus track "The Lodger" was written by Bob Halligan Jr., who has written other songs for the band, most notably "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll".
The album was announced on 7 October 2023 before the band's performance at the first Power Trip festival in Indio, California.[15] The album trailer was then uploaded on the band's YouTube channel containing the intro of "Panic Attack".[16]
The first single, "Panic Attack", was released on 13 October 2023,[17] followed by "Trial by Fire" on 17 November,[18] "Crown of Horns" on 19 January 2024[19] and "The Serpent and the King" on 22 February.[20] The band embarked on a world tour one month after the album's release.[16]
Invincible Shield received generally favourable reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 80, indicating “generally favorable reviews”. At AnyDecentMusic?, which collates critical reviews from more than 50 media sources, the album scored 7.4 out of 10.
Philip Wilding of Louder Sound described the album as “pristine and powerful”, while Sam Law of Kerrang! praised it with a 4 out of 5 stars rating, highlighting its powerful riffs and dynamic vocals. Blabbermouth.net’s Dom Lawson gave it a high score of 9/10, commending the band’s ability to stay relevant and deliver a fresh yet classic heavy metal sound. Sputnikmusic rated it 4.3/5.0, noting the album’s strong songwriting and production quality.
Rich Hobson of Louder Sound remarked that “Fifty years on from their tentative first steps, Priest have produced what may well be the most defiantly, unrelentingly triumphant record of their career”.
↑ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 11.Týden 2024 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
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