'No rust on this metal mayhem' - Judas Priest album review

Good heavy metal hits the bloodstream like a drug, and Priest are one of the finest practitioners of the genre’s dark arts.

Formed in 1969, the blue-collar Brummie band peaked in the 80s with platinum albums and hit singles like United, Living After Midnight and Breaking The Law.

Singer Rob Halford pioneered the S&M biker look years before anyone realised what it meant, and had his bullwhip banned by worried Top Of The Pops producers.

Now, 16 months after they were inducted into America’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame, Priest are back with a 19th studio album packed with banging tracks.

Panic Attack kicks off proceedings, its deceptive synth-enhanced opening building magnificently into a rampaging aural assault.

The relentless driving riff gets hearts pumping and heads banging, as Rob condemns modern social ills, like the “blind synthetic wisdom” of AI and Twitter.

“The clamour and the clatter of incensed keys, can bring a nation to its knees,” he sings.

“When the masses condone pompous fools and the scales of justice tips in disarray.”

Richie Faulkner adds a fluent lead guitar break that winds and builds to a mighty climax.

There are 11 songs in all (14 if you buy the deluxe vinyl edition which comes with a bonus EP).

Halford shows off his still impressive vocal range on the title track while the church bells and gravitas of Trial By Fire prove there is still a place for power ballads in metal.

However, Priest are at their best on epic numbers like The Serpent And The King which opens with a bludgeoning riff and charges into action full-tilt like the Scots Greys at Waterloo.

This is the band’s most electrifying outing since 1990’s Painkiller.

A fine testimony to the music that never died.