Redeemer of Souls
| Redeemer of Souls | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Studio album by Judas Priest | ||||
| Released | 8 July 2014 (US) 11 July 2014 (EU) 14 July 2014 (UK) |
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| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 61:58 | |||
| Label | Epic, Columbia | |||
| Producer | Mike Exeter and Glenn Tipton | |||
| Judas Priest chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 73/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| About.com |   |
| Allmusic |  |
| Blabbermouth.net | 8/10 |
| Drowned in Sound | 7/10 |
| Loudwire | |
| Metal Hammer |   |
| PopMatters | 9/10 |
| Revolver | |
| Rolling Stone | |
Redeemer of Souls is the seventeenth studio album by the English heavy metal band Judas Priest, which was released on 8 July 2014. It is their first album since 2008's Nostradamus and also their first without founding guitarist K. K. Downing, who quit the band in 2011 and was replaced by new guitarist Richie Faulkner. The album sold around 32,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 6 on The Billboard 200 chart, the band's highest charting position in the US after the group's previous album "Nostradamus" debuted at No. 11. This marks the band's first top-10 album debut in the US. It has sold 110,000 copies in the US as of February 2016.
On 27 January 2011, it was announced that Judas Priest was in the process of writing new material for what was thought to be the group's final album due to their previously announced farewell tour entitled the Epitaph World Tour, but the band clarified that the Epitaph tour was "by no means the end of the band." Speaking at a press conference in Los Angeles on May 26, of the new material, Glenn Tipton said, "It's quite a mixed bag. Really, there's more sentiment on this album. In a way, I suppose, it's also our farewell album, although it might not be our last one. There are some anthems on there, which pay tribute to our fans."
In April 2011, founding member K. K. Downing announced his departure from the band, citing differences with the band and management and a breakdown in their relationship as the reason. Richie Faulkner, guitarist for Lauren Harris' band, was announced as his replacement.
In an August 2011 interview with Billboard, Halford explained that he and Tipton had "about 12 or 14 tracks completely mapped out" for a new studio album. He went on to say that four of those were already recorded and mixed and suggested a new album would be out the next year. The year ended, however, without seeing a release. In another interview with Billboard in August 2012, Halford said that the band was taking its time with the album and did not give a definite release date, saying, "I'm of the attitude it'll be ready when it's ready [...] I don't think we're going to slack off. We're determined to do a lot of work and be just as dedicated as we've always been and take a lot of care and attention with all the songs. We're not going to just bang this one out, so to speak."
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