Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Judas Priest
Label: SPV Records
Release: 1998
Runtime: 122:31
Rating: 4.5/5
That’s it. What we’d been missing for a full 8 years since Painkiller came out, we got, and in a triple serving. Judas Priest are back as the most bloodthirsty beast on stage, and the result is a double live album that I no longer dare call too short, not even by accident. We’re talking two full hours of thrashing, smashing and absolute all-metal machine-gunning, or “Priest…Live!” (1987) cubed!
What lifts this album above “Priest…Live!” and “Unleashed In The East” (1979) is, besides the much longer running time, its white-hot liveliness. “’98 Live Meltdown” got very little of the polishing that Judas Priest loved to resort to in the seventies and eighties. That’s why it can easily boast the heaviest stage sound the band has ever had in their career. The whole album is draped in a majestic live atmosphere and stage magic, which Judas Priest left practically untouched throughout the production process. The interplay between the fanatical crowd and the band is outstanding, and it’s one of the main pillars of that fantastic atmosphere. The album carries five tracks from the then-current studio record “Jugulator” (1997), which Judas Priest were presenting live on the world tour. In their studio versions they’re wrapped in an incredible touch of apocalyptic visions and total blackness, but live Judas Priest bring their sound closer to their classics, so it’s bursting with even more sharp metal steel. The tracks Burn In Hell, Blood Stained, Bullet Train, Death Row and Abductors bring an excellent dynamic contrast to the record, and every one of them is a peak of stage aggression. The most exciting material Judas Priest offer comes from the classics off “Painkiller” (1990), like the title track, the high-atmosphere moments Night Crawler and A Touch Of Evil, and the fantastic ultra-shrapnel Metal Meltdown, which opens the second disc.
Judas Priest simply know how to build atmosphere. To that end, they put the classics Hellion/Electric Eye at the start of the setlist, followed by the trio from “British Steel”: Metal Gods, Rapid Fire and Grinder. Then they start whipping the crowd with the extreme Blood Stained, only to soon discharge the mood with a 100% jolt of melody in one of their most beautifully composed songs, The Sentinel. So the atmosphere is constantly fluctuating. The dramatically high mood of indispensable classics like Victim Of Changes or Beyond The Realms Of Death suddenly morphs into the brutalizing of the “Jugulator” tracks, or the torpedo Painkiller is followed by the lighter rocker bomb You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’, which releases the built-up tension once again. In short, the contrasts across the record are extraordinary, both in terms of the stylistic swerves between songs and the choice of setlist.
With “Ripper,” Judas Priest are a whole new story, and their stage presence radiates a completely new chemistry. Ripper is a much more aggressive singer than Halford. He’s also more technically accomplished. Ripper has no trouble pulling off killer “screams” either, and he can hold them at an extremely high pitch for several seconds with undiminished power. Check out Victim Of Changes, or the fantastic reworking of Diamond And Rust, which they play in a new guise at a ballad-like mid-tempo, one that Joan Baez could easily have caught on classical guitar if she’d joined the lads on stage. On the other hand, “Ripper” can easily pass for Halford. In the opening Electric Eye and the pre-chorus verses, for example, he sings with a tone of voice that’s uncannily reminiscent of Rob. It’s thanks to “Ripper” that Judas Priest sound even more dangerous and destructive than ever before. Scott Travis helps this new, generally bigger stage notoriety along too, with a much more aggressive approach and a varied drumming technique. You notice it especially in the excellent use of the double bass pedal within the “Painkiller” and “Jugulator” tracks. Both guitarists, K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, sound fresh and wild, as if Priest weren’t middle-aged gentlemen but a band of youngsters full of enthusiasm and eager to prove themselves. With balls and always full throttle!
This is by far the best Judas Priest “live” album. Objectively speaking. For people who can’t forget Halford it will never be good enough, but that’s their problem. The reborn beast is thirsty for blood and crazier than ever!
Lineup
Tim “Ripper” Owens – vocals
Glenn Tipton – guitar
K.K. Downing – guitar
Ian Hill – bass
Scott Travis – drums
Production
Judas Priest & John Lynch
Tracklist
CD 1.:
1. Hellion (1:08)
2. Electric Eye (3:47)
3. Metal Gods (4:09)
4. Grinder (4:26)
5. Rapid Fire (4:24)
6. Blood Stained (5:09)
7. The Sentinel (5:47)
8. Touch of Evil (5:51)
9. Burn in Hell (5:35)
10. The Ripper (3:52)
11. Bullet Train (5:59)
12. Beyond the Realms of Death (7:14)
13. Death Row (4:22)
CD 2.:
1. Metal Meltdown (5:02)
2. Night Crawler (6:11)
3. Abductors (5:55)
4. Victim of Changes (8:31)
5. Diamonds and Rust (3:55)
6. Breaking the Law (2:36)
7. The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown) (4:53)
8. Painkiller (6:28)
9. You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ (8:35)
10. Hell Bent for Leather (3:49)
11. Living After Midnight (6:01)
Total runtime: 123:30
