JT wrote:AOR is not a weak album and i won't say that's opinion i would say that is fact ,If it (Angel Of Retribution) had been released after Defenders, everyone would have been like, WOAH AWESOME! But because it follows Painkiller, it can't possibly live up to old Priest standards even though Painkiller is considered better than anything in their entire catalogue by many. 

I absolutely agree with you and this post 100% JT,100%.  People may not like A.O.R. but is is far from "weak". And "weak" can be traslated as "soft" sometimes and like I said to me,what my ears hear is that Defenders Of The Faith although I LOVE the album I find it "softer" than Angel Of Retribution. The Drums alone on Defenders I think are much more softer than Scotts on Retribution.And not only that,but I feel that there is more "power" on Retribution because on Defenders yes we have Freewheel Burning but again the drums on that album make these tracks much softer,but on Retribution the power and dynamics on Judas Rising and especially Demonizer and Hellrider...those 3 tracks are tons heavier than Freewheel Burning and Heavy Duty to my ears,even Wheels Of Fire and Deal With The Devil seem to have more punch than Jawbreaker and The Sentinel even though I love those songs. 

But thats just all one persons opinion(mine) as I don't expect everyone to like Angel Of Retribution,but to say it is "weak" is absolutely ridiculous because if it is "weak" then what does that make Defenders? Or for that matter,what does that make British Steel,Hell Bent For Leather,Stained Class,Sin After Sin and Sad Wings Of Destiny? Are they all "weak" because they don't have a "Painkiller" sound? And to tell you the truth,I really don't believe the band are capable at this age to create another album as strong as "Painkiller". They are 60 years old,not 40 and times do change.If the band decides to make another traditional heavy metal album I think we will get an album that is in the realm of material like Angel Of Retribution,Defenders Of The Faith and Screaming For Vengeance,I really do.I think an album as strong as Painkiller is out of reach at this point,so we should be happy if they deliver us something traditional.

Jimmy James wrote:The reason people are disappointed with Nostradamus, I think, is because of the stupid subject matter. 

Absolutely "untrue" jimmy. I "liked" the subject matter and I think the Nostradamus concept subject and matter was brilliant,its the fucking "songs" I hate!!!! So I strongly disagree with you on that for shizzle!!!! LOL!

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   (Quoting Message by JT_Small_Deadly_Space from Friday, November 27, 2009 7:07:28 AM)

		JT_Small_Deadly_Space wrote:
		AOR is not a weak album and i won't say that's opinion i would say that is fact. If it's not what you were expecting and for that reason you don't like it then fair enough i can accept that but it's not weak at all. If it had been released after Defenders, everyone would have been like, WOAH AWESOME! But because it follows Painkiller, it can't possibly live up to old Priest standards even though Painkiller is considered better than anything in their entire catalogue by many. Don't you see, Priest can't really churn out what they used to do beacause in todays market unfortunately, it wouldn't survive. Metal has reached new heights and as a result the bands have suffered, they will still receive a massive reception live but that's because people respect them for the hits that they had back in the day. When bands like Sabbath, Priest, Motorhead, Saxon AC/DC, Deep Purple etc release an album now, they aren't going to get the same reaction that they got back in their high days of glory, it doesn't work like that. Plus Priest did try to go back to classic heavy such as Defenders with Ram it Down and as much as i think it worked, many were very disapointed and that's because the world had moved on and wasn't wanting it anymore. Painkiller was so successful because it showed a classic band that could be as heavy and aggressive as any thrash or metal band of the time. AOR is a hybrid album resulting from fans demanding classic Priest and Heavy Priest. That's exactly what Priest gave but that just leaves the fans that want something different, enter Nostradamus. They covered everyone within those 2 albums and yet there are still disapointed fans. AOR is a modern metal masterpiece and i would say it is easily one of their best. Painkiller beats it on heavyness, but AOR beats Painkiller musically by far. When Priest write songs with layers, it works. When they right songs that are just heavy, it works but i know which one i prefer, even for a heavy metal band. That is why i love AOR and i would happily accept another album of the same standard if not better from them.