First there was Judas Priest, then Fight, then the abysmal Two project, then Halford, and back to Priest.

Halford - Resurrection (Metal-Is) 2000 1.   "Resurrection" (3:58) 2.   "Made in Hell" (4:12) 3.   "Locked and Loaded" (3:18) 4.   "Night Fall" (3:41) 5.   "Silent Screams" (7:06) 6.   "One You Love to Hate" (3:11) 7.   "Cyber World" (3:08) 8.   "Slow Down" (4:51) 9.   "Twist" (4:08) 10. "Temptation" (3:32) 11. "Drive" (4:30) 12. "Saviour" (2:57)

Rob Halford interviewing Bruce Dickinson for VH1.

Halford returns to what he does best -- HEAVY METAL!!! After the somewhat abismal Two and all the hype about Rob's sexual orientation, I really lost interest in him. After hearing an advance cassette of this album, I was blown out of my chair, much the same way I was when I heard an advance cassette of Judas Priest's "Bullet Train." Rob leaving the mighty Priest may have dissappointed a lot of people, but it has given us some killer metal releases by both bands. "Resurrection" is sandwiched somewhere between "Painkiller"-era Priest and the two Fight albums. "Night Fall" is especially Priest-like, sounding like an attempt to get some radio airplay. Despite this, it's actually a really good song and might actually succeed as I have heard it sveral times on the local rock station recently. Another pleasant surprise is that Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) makes an appearance sharing lead vocals on "One You Love To Hate." This and the title track are two incredible speed metal songs. The album was produced by Roy Z who has also produced two of Bruce Dickinson's best solo albums. Overall, this is a great album and a return to form for ol' Rob-a "resurrection" if you will.

Halford - Live Insurrection (Metal-Is) 2001

Live Insurrection is a compilation of live tracks from the 2000-2001 Halford tour. According to the liner notes some of the songs are "bonus" tracks that were recorded during sound checks or on off dats. Two of the tracks "Light Comes Out of Black" and "Life in Black" apparently were not played in front of a crowd but fit in well due to some studio tricks. "The One You Love To Hate" is a recording of two soundchecks recorded in London with Bruce doing one soundcheck and Rob doing the other. The last three studio tracks are made up of a new Halford track ("Screaming in the Dark") and two Judas Priest demo tracks ("Heart of A Lion" and "Prisoner of your Eyes"). "Heart of a Lion" was originally recorded by Racer X in the mid-80's, though it was written by Halford/Downing/Tipton. I sort of wish that Rob would have played more Fight material. While I, of course, love the Priest material, it somehow just does not sound the same without the mighty Priest behind the voice. The Fight and Halford material, however sound phenomenal. I have to admit though, that it was cool to hear some obscure classics like "Stained Class" and "Running Wild." Comparing this offering to the last Priest live offering, I'd have to give the prize to Priest, but Halford is only a hair behind. Would love to see these guys resolve whatever differences they have and reform, not unlike Maiden. I mean, come on Rob, you and Priest are an entity. (And in 2004, it happened! Priest and Halford reunited!)

Halford - Crucible (Metal-Is) 2002 1. "Park Manor" [instrumental] (1:11) 2. "Crucible" (4:26) 3. "One Will" (3:32) 4. "Betrayal" (3:04) 5. "Handing Out Bullets" (3:16) 6. "Hearts of Darkness" (3:48) 7. "Crystal" (4:37) 8. "Heretic" (3:49) 9. "Golgotha" (4:20) 10. "Wrath of God" (3:11) 11. "Weaving Sorrow" (3:28) 12. "Sun" (3:48) 13. "Trail of Tears" (5:56) 14. "She" (4:01) 15. "Fugitive " (4:01)

Promotional poster for the Crucible tour that was cancelled in favor of the Judas Priest reunion.

Well, metalheads rejoice for the voice of heavy metal, Rob Halford, has returned with yet another metal opus to bang thy head to. 'Crucible' is the studio follow-up to the incredible "Resurrection". Rob's band, for the most part, looks like a bunch of nu-metal geeks, however it is not the look of the band that counts, but rather the sound. This disc is just as heavy as it's predecessor, if not a bit heavier. Once again, the talented Roy Z (Bruce Dickinson/Rob Rock/Tribe of Gypsies) is brought in to record and write with Rob. His signature sound is all over this disc. Although I did not see any credits on the insert, I would be willing to bet that Roy played guitar on much of this album as well. The guitar solos sound like his work. Rob's vocals are as sharp and piercing as ever, although he does do a lot more of the lower register "tough guy" style singing on this disc than I remember on "Resurrection". Not to fear though, there are plenty of those high falsetto wails to appease even the most skeptical metal fan. "Betrayer" has Halford screaming like he did on "Painkiller". One thing that sets this disc apart from the last is that it seems a tad less commercially accessible. There are no real standout 'hit' tracks that I heard on the first couple listens, whereas "Resurrection" had 'Night Fall' and the Halford/Dickinson collaboration of "One You Love to Hate." Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Take Judas Priest's "Defender's of the Faith" for example. This album lacked any commercial hits as well but was one of the band's finest metal albums. I think in time 'Crucible' has this potential as well. Tracks like 'One Will" and the title track are destined to be classics.

Halford - Live: Disney House of Blues Concert (DEP/CDR bootleg)
Recorded live at the House of Blues, FL, 2002

1. "Painkiller" (6:11)
2. "Jawbreaker" (3:30)
3. "Resurrection" (3:47)
4. "Made in Hell" (4:12)
5. "One Will" (3:34)
6. "Hearts of Darkness" (4:06)
7. "Into the Pit" (3:58)
8. "Golgotha" (4:36)
9. "Cyberworld" (3:13)
10. "Hellion/Electric Eye" (4:08)
11. "Riding on the Wind" (3:46)

Stellar bootleg! I am not exactly sure what the deal is with this one, whether it is just a sound board recording or was recorded for radio, but either way the sound quality here is near perfect, album quality. Excellent track listing as well, although some of these tracks were released on the officially released "Live Insurrection" album. However, I doubt most of these Halford tracks will ever be heard again now that Priest has reunited.

Back to Index