Halford - Halford IV: Made of Metal (2010)

The fourth, and to this date the latest, Halford album saw the Metal God return to what first made his project Halford so awesome, pure and classic heavy metal with a modern touch to it. While the title of the album is really unoriginal and the cover, which features the front of a Nascar car sponsored by Metal God Records, is a little too American for my, and should be for Rob's, taste, it was ultimately the music that spoke to me, and the music really knew how to persuade.

The album was released in 2010, a time when my interest for metal started to grow larger and larger, exposing me to all kinds of new exciting music. I got a hold of "Halford IV: Made of Metal" after hearing the title track, and watching its music video. I still get some good nostalgia watching that video, but I have to admit, it is a really corny video. An Alien coming down to Earth, transforming his spaceship into a Nascar car, competing in a race, all of which was computer animated. Yeah, the video flat out sucks, but you still get a good laugh out of it, and it does not really help that the song fits right in. While having a catchy chorus and some great instrumentation, the songs gets ripped to shreds thanks to the added effects. A good first single, but way too overproduced.

So my nostalgia did not answer back here, but there were other moments in the album that made me go "Oh yeah, I remember this one, and I still love it". "Halford IV: Made of Metal" contains a good package of great songs, showing great variety in the sound. While most of the songs lean towards a more metallic sound, there are a few nods to Rob's Judas Priest days. "Speed of Sound" is the perfect example of that, a classic NWoBHM anthem that is simple, but extremely enjoyable retro metal that would go well with "British Steel" or "Stained Class".

Another nostalgic tune is "Hell Razor" and this one REALLY sounds like it was taken straight from the 80's, even the mix here sounds old but gold. It almost makes me a little bummed that Rob did not go full swing and create a full album with nostalgic tunes, but I do understand that it would not work in full scale. If he did that, then the album would sound like it came out 25 years too late. A clear evidence that while Rob glimpses back to the past, he still has his mind set to the future.

When it comes to the more modern stuff, "Halford IV: Made of Metal" sways like a pendulum, from really good, to simply awful. The opener "Undisputed" kicks ass, a explosive start and a knockout punch already at round 1, while "Matador" tires out the rest with its grand performance towards the end of the album. "Like There's No Tomorrow" is another highlight, and one of Roy Z and Mike Chlasciak's finest moments in Halford history (they are doing some amazing work in this album). But songs like "Thunder And Lightning", "Heartless", and "I Know We Stand A Chance" drags down the momentum of the album, and the overall mood.

One songs stands in the middle of this ever rocking pendulum, and that is the final song of the album, "The Mower". Just like any other Metal God fan, I get a freaking huge boner of Rob's screaming falsetto, and he truly nails it in this song. However, the song falls completely flat thanks to its extremely sluggish tempo and mediocre riffing. What is the point of using this amazing voice if you don't have a song that can match up to its furiosity? Such a shame, this song could have been the icing of the cake, but ended up as burned toast.

When this album first came out, I loved it, and I still do 6 years later, although not as much as before. "Halford IV: Made of Metal" will forever stand as the second best Halford album out there (after "Resurecction"). It has some inconsistencies here and there, but overall, it is a well oiled machine that runs on pure metal, and Rob runs it with an iron fist.  It may not be a pretty album, but it is still pretty good.

Songs worthy of recognition: Speed of Sound, Like There's No Tomorrow, Hell Razor

Rating: 7,5/10 Matadors

Halford - Halford III: Winter Songs (2009)

It was no surprise that Rob Halford's solo project would get in some kind of a break once it was clear that the Metal God was back in Judas Priest, touring and releasing the albums "Angel of Retribution" and *gulp* "Nostradamus". So when he finally got the time to create another album with Halford, he gave us another great curve ball, by making a Christmas album instead. That is right, Rob made a freaking Christmas album. I guess I should be glad that the rest of Judas Priest did not tag along for this ride, but still, weird as hell.

"Halford III: Winter Songs" consists of half original material, written either solely by Halford or together with guitarist Roy Z and producer John Baxter, and metalized versions of classic Christmas songs. All of this brings up one single question. Why? Why would he want to do this? It is pure fact that metal and Christmas rarely go along, especially not for an entire album. During my life, I have heard some good renditions of Christmas songs, like King Diamond's "No Present For Christmas", or a black metal version of "Silent Night", but when someone tries to bring metal into this jolly holiday, it usually ends in a crash that is worse than a Christmas light tangle.

As it turns out though, "Winter Songs" is not completely horrible. By all means, it is not a great record, but it does stay afloat. In fact, if you just listen to it, not thinking about the lyrics or the theme at all, you barely would notice that this is a Christmas record. Halford made sure that the heavy attitude were in the front, and that the jolly spirit would get its space, but not take over completely, making this a true metal record. Sure, we have some slip ups here and there where Christmas takes over too much, but they are few, especially when compared to what others have done. So this is indeed a Christmas record, but the music does not suffer because of it.

Let us start with the re worked songs, which all 6 are more or less well known christian psalms that is often heard of during the holiday. Who has not heard of "Oh Holy Night", "Come All Ye Faithful" and "What Child Is This?"? Not surprisingly, these re works are fairly dull, just the same songs with some heavy guitars added to them. The only one I really dig is "We Three Kings", a song that Steve Ouimette already proved could be metalized brilliantly. Only differences between these two versions are that the Halford version has vocals, and that it has a lot less shredding, but it is still really enjoyable when Roy Z and Mike Chlasciak battle it out. Clearly the front runner among the re worked songs.

When it comes to the original songs, we got a really mixed bag of different styles and sounds. There are only 4 original songs, but they are all completely different from each other. "Get Into The Spirit" starts off the album, and is the heaviest song of the album, only utilizing Rob's patented falsetto in a fairly slow, but heavy, tempo. A cool song that does what the name suggests. Skipping to "Christmas For Everyone", and we got a complete rip off of classic, christian Christmas music. It is hard to believe that this is an original song, but it is, and it is so weird. "Light of The World" could also be considered as a classic Christmas tune, but it is more normal, more modern, and it suits the band much better. Finally, we have "I Don't Care", which could be best described as Alice Cooper in a Santa suit. Yep, not what you would expect from Halford.

If you are tired of "White Christmas", "Do They Know It's Christmas", or that Christmas song by The Darkness, then "Halford III: Winter Songs" might be a suitable substitute for you, but just like any other Christmas themed album made by a rock or metal band, it is kind of meh. Sure, it is one of the better albums I have heard, but it is still far from a master piece, especially since there is no sensible reason to even make it. Maybe Rob tried to play Santa and give everyone a lovely gift, and the thought really counts here, but I am sure that we all would have loved a real album underneath our Christmas trees instead.

So from all of us here at Forsaken At The Gates, to all of you, a very merry Christmas... 5 months in advance.

Songs worthy of recognition: We Three Kings, Get Into The Spirit, Light of The World

Rating: 6/10 Faithfuls

Halford - Crucible (2002)

After the retrospective tour known as "Resurrection", Rob Halford set out his sight for the future instead in his second solo project record, which got the name "Crucible". The album is much more modern and darker in its approach, containing very few elements from Halford's career. Even if it is a different sounding album, "Crucible" is still a smooth evolution, still keeping a heavy core of crunchy riffs and soaring vocals, mixed with some slower creations as well. So yeah, the fans were definitely in for a different, but still familiar journey.

Now, the album was released back in 2002, but was re-released in a remixed and remastered version in 2010 (the same was done to "Resurrection"), and for once, the remaster is better. The main difference here is the track list, that does not only include the four bonus tracks from the limited and Japanese version, but they have also scrambled the order quite a bit. The title track for example starts off the album in the original version, but is on the second half in the remaster. I find the flow to be better on the remaster, the album cover is much cooler, and three of the four bonus tracks are quite enjoyable, so job well done there. Should still be mentioned that my ultimate opinion is about the original version, in case you were wondering.

"Crucible" is certainly more experimental than its two year older brother, Halford trying different ways to utilize his voice and song writing ability. The same goes for the production, which is grittier and rougher than what it was on the predecessor, and yeah, it does not suit the band well at all. It is something about this production that drags this album way down, to the point where it just hurts to listen to. We all know the man's potential, and it goes without saying that it is wasted here, unfortunately.

But if we look past the dreadful sound picture, there are some great hidden gems in here that not only are fantastic metal anthems, but might even be considered as some of the best songs written by the Metal God. "Wrath of God" has the perfect title, it is 3 minutes of pure fury that only Kratos from the "God of War" games can match, while "Sun" uses some really interesting techniques, both on the guitars and the song structure, making it really intriguing even if it holds the same tempo for most of its run time. We also have "Handing Out Bullets", a song where the drums dominate with an infectious beat, something Halford only enhances with his mighty vocals. And for those who missed the old school force that "Resurrection" had, then the gladiator story of "One Will" and the furious "Betrayal" will most certainly satisfy your needs.

As for the more experimental tracks, they are mostly filler, but we can find some good one too, like the previously mentioned "Sun", "Heart of Darkness", and "She". But several songs on "Crucible" are just bland or uninteresting. Songs like "Weaving Sorrow", "Golgotha", the title track (and its weird oriental vibes), and the bonus track "Fugitive" are just incredibly pale, lacking personality and momentum. Now, I do not wanna point finger at anyone, but I wonder how much of an influence the other 4 guys of the band were, and how much they contributed in the writing process. Not blaming them, just saying that they might have led Halford into this path, which in itself is not bad, it just needed some more polished songs to go along.

It is obvious that Halford wanted to do so much with "Crucible", trying to spread out his wings as much as he could here, but the end product falls kind of flat. There is some great material in here that displays the band's true potential, squeezing out every bit of metal goodness that is possible, but the production and good amount of fillers kills the experience for me. Halford did a Icaros here, he flew too close to the sun, eventually giving himself quite a burn that hurts him badly. "Crucible" had potential, but never lived up to it.

Songs worthy of recognition: Wrath of God, One Will, Sun

Rating: 6,5/10 Crystals

Halford - Resurrection (2000)

The title for Rob Halford's first true solo album is no coincidence. After almost a decade of wandering aimlessly, ending up with three fairly mediocre albums from two different project, the former Judas Priest singer was back in his true element, the style of music he was born to sing. Heavy fucking metal! "Resurrection" is without any competition the closest Halford has come to his old band without actually being a part of it, delivering a heavy punch that would take anyone's breath away. A true revival of the Metal God.

All it takes to realize this is a single listen to the opening title track, a incredibly fast and heavy mauler that destroys everything in its path. Halford unleashes his patented screamer voice with such ferocious power that you almost need a hazmat suit to withstand the power it produces. It is a true statement, telling that Rob goes into the 21st century a reborn man that is back with full force, bringing metal to the world.

The album in itself is filled with personal stories and references that fans will surely adore, and they are all accompanied with kick ass music. "Made In Hell" tells both the history of metal and Rob's musical journey, and while some of the lyrics are kind of corny (Unleashed in downtown Tokyo, blew Godzilla away?!), it is still a great tune. We also get to hear about the sad wings of destiny, an obvious reference to the Judas Priest album with the same name, in the bonus track "Sad Wings". The most familiar part about "Resurrection" though is the music, which can be best described as classic Judas Priest from the "Screaming For Vengeance" era and forward, but more modern and not as riff driven.

Yeah, it is Halford that runs the show. He delivers punch after punch, showing an impressive versatility that a lot of vocalists out there would love to master, but only a few can. This diversity might be best displayed in "Silent Screams", where Rob mixes emotional, ballad like tones, but when the song changes to a more furious tempo, Rob takes out his heavier side, a grittier tone that fits so well with the change. It takes talent to handle it all, and he certainly has it.

Rob is not the only talented vocalist on this record though, because in "The One You Love To Hate", he gets a visit from Bruce Dickinson, a man who at the time had been away from Iron Maiden for some time, but returned the year before. While the song is one of the more stale ones in the album, it gets so much better when these two British legends create an awesome duet. A metal fan's wet dream come true.

The quality overall is just so god damn high, very few fillers are in this album, even with the remastered version that contains an additional 4 songs. Almost all of the songs single handedly beats anything that Halford made during the 90's (except the material on "Painkiller" of course"), all because of one simple thing. It is heavy metal at its purest form. No weird industrial vibes, no crazy experiments, just plain and simple kick ass metal. Sure, it is far from the most unique music we have ever heard, but that does not really matter when the music is good, and it is really good. While it technically is not a true comeback, it is a return to form for Halford, going back to the ideals he left behind almost a decade earlier, and delivering a album fit for a Metal God. All hail the Halford!

Songs worthy of recognition: Resurrection, Silent Screams, The One You Love To Hate, Slow Down

Rating: 8/10 Saviours