First Scorpions, now Priest...

all good things must come to an end. i would have preferred them to go out with a stronger album than Nostradamus, but i guess that's just how it goes.

Alex Dee Rokket wrote:

The thing about Halford's solo band is that it's not very interesting. It got progressively worse from Resurrection onwards. For me at least nearly all of the Halford albums after Resurrection are very mediocre and seem to just be full of filler material.

He did some great stuff in the 90s with Fight and that's probably his best post-Priest material.

I am not sure whether this will prompt Halford to retire, I think he's still very much interested in doing new things with metal except I think he needs to just do something more experimental and interesting. I don't think Halford needs to repeat the Priest formula in his solo band; I wish he did something in the style of Fight, perhaps modernise it a bit - make it slightly heavier / darker.

I know that may not be to everyone's liking but I'm not so interested in hearing 2nd rate Priest-like tunes. Priest already have a rich enough back catalog of great material, so there's no need for anyone to try to imitate that sound.

Fight was OK, but for me, the Halford discs are much better. Resurrection is a great disc IMO, I also like Crucible quite a bit (even more since it's been remastered). And Made Of Metal is also a damn fine album for the most part, save for a few songs. So, I wish Rob will go on, and I think he will. In the studio, he still got it. Live, he's now very static but still the voice is fine, if he avoids singing tracks like Painkiller...

My second all-time favorite band. This is sad news indeed. I was really hoping for at least one more studio album from them. They will be missed.

But like Ult suggested, this could be a set up for a more massive reunion tour.

The touring aspect doesn't bother me much, as I've been fortunate enough to see Priest live a few times (with both Halford & Owens) already. Coupled with the fact that I don't go to many live shows these days, I won't miss them in that regard.

I wouldn't mind seeing them put out another album or 2. Or just continue on as a non-touring band. They presumably can get by without the revenue that touring & merch sales bring, so why not just "retire" to the studio and put out albums when they feel like it? That would certainly be less rigorous than touring the world.

manny wrote:

Very true sir, still I wanted one more kick ass metal album from them,

Yeah, "Nostradamus" is more of an experimental album than an album that they should end their career on.

Temple of Blood wrote:

manny wrote:

Very true sir, still I wanted one more kick ass metal album from them,

Yeah, "Nostradamus" is more of an experimental album than an album that they should end their career on.

I agree and I admire the fact that this long into their career they would try something new and different, after owning this album since it was first released I am still not sure what to make of it.

manny wrote:

Temple of Blood wrote:

manny wrote:

Very true sir, still I wanted one more kick ass metal album from them,

Yeah, "Nostradamus" is more of an experimental album than an album that they should end their career on.

I agree and I admire the fact that this long into their career they would try something new and different, after owning this album since it was first released I am still not sure what to make of it.

I can't get through both discs. I start zoning out about 45 minutes into disc 1 and rarely make it to disc 2. Too much fluff for me. I agree that it was mighty ambitious of them, just not my cuppa tea.

manny wrote:

Temple of Blood wrote:

manny wrote:

Very true sir, still I wanted one more kick ass metal album from them,

Yeah, "Nostradamus" is more of an experimental album than an album that they should end their career on.

I agree and I admire the fact that this long into their career they would try something new and different, after owning this album since it was first released I am still not sure what to make of it.

I think it is cool they tried something different but aside from a few songs I find it to be boring. And JUDAS PRIEST, for all their faults, are typically not a boring band.

I think Nostradamus has some great songs. However they made the mistake of putting too many intros and outros on the album. If they would have limited this to two instrumentals it would have been much much better. Retiring from concerts might make sense, but why not continue recording?

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

manny wrote:

I can't deny I am getting to be an old geezer, but I do hate the trend where bands tour without releasing new material, I know alot of fans ( which I find odd) do not always care to hear new material from older artist but I feel they should to keep them from becoming strictly an oldies act.

But a "farewell" tour doesn't require new material...it requires a Greatest Hits set...

and I see a 3 CD Career Retrospective with 5 new songs in their future...

A tour where they play only stuff from the 70s would have been cool.

You really think it's the end? They'll take a year or two off and be back. I hope. Shawn is right though, we will be seeing the end of many of these forefathers of metal bands.

exact33 wrote:

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

manny wrote:

I can't deny I am getting to be an old geezer, but I do hate the trend where bands tour without releasing new material, I know alot of fans ( which I find odd) do not always care to hear new material from older artist but I feel they should to keep them from becoming strictly an oldies act.

But a "farewell" tour doesn't require new material...it requires a Greatest Hits set...

and I see a 3 CD Career Retrospective with 5 new songs in their future...

Nah...it'll be a double live album and DVD. They already did the Metaology box.

Or, in your sceario the 5 "new" songs could be previously unreleased live versions...

MetalGuy71 wrote:

manny wrote:

Temple of Blood wrote:

manny wrote:

Very true sir, still I wanted one more kick ass metal album from them,

Yeah, "Nostradamus" is more of an experimental album than an album that they should end their career on.

I agree and I admire the fact that this long into their career they would try something new and different, after owning this album since it was first released I am still not sure what to make of it.

I can't get through both discs. I start zoning out about 45 minutes into disc 1 and rarely make it to disc 2. Too much fluff for me. I agree that it was mighty ambitious of them, just not my cuppa tea.

If they had only cut out the crap and little interludes and brought the collection to maybe the 14 strongest tracks out of the total of 23 on a single disk, that album would be much better. But just like you guys, whenever I reach into my JP collection, I don't touch this album anymore because it's too long and boring.

TheNazgul wrote:

You really think it's the end? They'll take a year or two off and be back. I hope. Shawn is right though, we will be seeing the end of many of these forefathers of metal bands.

I think for allot of these bands, only death will stop them from creating music. Even if they retire from the stage or the band, guys that have been in the game this long know nothing else. And I'm not saying that as a criticism. Making music is what they do. They were fortunate enough to make a career out of it, but they initially made music because they wanted to and because they could. You don't just flip the off switch one day and go sit in the rocking chair, petting your cat and sipping tea, waiting for the warm embrace of death.

Look at some of the old blues players. Nothing short of death is stopping BB King from making sweet, sweet love with Lucille. According to Wiki, he played Morroco back in May at 85. Morrocco!! John Lee Hooker was preparing to tour Europe when death took him at the tender age of 88.

Quote :

You don't just flip the off switch one day and go sit in the rocking chair, petting your cat and sipping tea, waiting for the warm embrace of death.

Steve Perry has....

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

Quote :

You don't just flip the off switch one day and go sit in the rocking chair, petting your cat and sipping tea, waiting for the warm embrace of death.

Steve Perry has....

Why not? That's what retirement is about. You get to relax. If relaxing means sitting in a rocking chair, petting your cat and sipping tea, more power to ya.

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

Quote :

You don't just flip the off switch one day and go sit in the rocking chair, petting your cat and sipping tea, waiting for the warm embrace of death.

Steve Perry has....

Why did he retire anyway? Maybe Steve Perry is sitting in his home studio and recording demos for his own amusement

mc666 wrote:

all good things must come to an end. i would have preferred them to go out with a stronger album than Nostradamus, but i guess that's just how it goes.

This pretty much sums things up for me as well.

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

Quote :

You don't just flip the off switch one day and go sit in the rocking chair, petting your cat and sipping tea, waiting for the warm embrace of death.

Steve Perry has....

Death can't come soon enough for that turd.

Seriously though, I'm not up on my Journey history, but I kinda got the impression that he couldn't sing like he used to and that's why he stepped away from the spotlight. There is a difference between not wanting to and not being able to. And sure, there will always be exceptions to the rules. Did Steve write much of the music when he was in Journey? Does he play an instrument? I know little to nothing about the guy. And do you know if he sits around his house playing acoustic guitar, singing songs to his cats?

My point is, even if you're not putting out music for the public, you're still sitting around, tinkering on the piano, writing love poems on the back of napkins, etc. Once a musician, always a musician. Just as I'm an artist and that's how I make a living, when the day comes that I retire from the business, I don't see how I could stop creating art, even for my own enjoyment. It will only stop when I no longer have the ability.

manny wrote:

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

Quote :

You don't just flip the off switch one day and go sit in the rocking chair, petting your cat and sipping tea, waiting for the warm embrace of death.

Steve Perry has....

Why did he retire anyway? Maybe Steve Perry is sitting in his home studio and recording demos for his own amusement

He may very well be making music for his sheer amusement...but he's not out trying to get it heard.

He retired (unofficially) after he left Journey again in 1997. He ended up having to have hip surgery and he did not want to have it right away. The band was pushing him "have the surgery so we can go on tour" and he did not want to be pushed and did not think that was a band decision. So, the band decided to move on without him.

That's the VH-1 version, anyway...

No!

Fat Freddy wrote:

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

It was bound to happen.

*SIGH* Yeah, I know, I know... I just hate the idea that their last studio album is gonna be the sub-par NOSTRADAMUS... I was hoping that there might be one more killer studio album left in'em before they turned off the lights...

I agree. Nose-tradamus is no album to end a career on...

tul wrote:

A tour where they play only stuff from the 70s would have been cool.

If only they would play the 70's material while in their 70's...

I think the last Scorpions record is a much better album to end a career on than Priest's last one.