Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Judas Priest - Invincible Shield (2024)

My gushing praise for JP’s last offering, Firepower was more than justified. With the obvious comparisons to Painkiller there wasn’t much to not like on that 2018 release. Fast-forward some six years and the band continue to defy all expectations with Invincible Shield, which seems a fitting album title when describing the longevity of one of Britain’s finest heavy metal exports. Album number twenty is a remarkable number to get to and the ability to still sound relevant in the metal world after such a long shift is nothing short of astonishing.

That is not say that Invincible Shield is flawless (far from it) and the less than savoury elements will be addressed in the coming paragraphs. However, just sat looking at the promo pictures of the band on Spotify, they may look like a group of pensioners (and one of their sons) on holiday but the energy and passion on this record belies those images entirely. That passion may not always translate into palpable heavy metal tunes, but it is easier to deduct points for form or structure when the heart and determination scores are so high.

Invincible Shield is too long (the same criticism levelled at Firepower). I find most albums that tip the one hour plus mark to be a drain and whilst I get that we may not know how many more albums there are from JP, it still should not mean everything makes the cut. Whilst overall it is a strong album, there is obvious filler here. This filler affliction particularly (predictably) affects the latter half of the album with the drop in quality from after the first five tracks is too obvious for even JP to carry it off. None of the tracks are out right terrible though, just not entirely necessary.

Going back to the positives, the musicianship is top notch across the album. The guitar work standing out as the obvious highlight for me. I cannot comment how much Glenn Tipton contributes to the album given his Parkinson’s condition, but he and Faulkner are still a superb combination. Halford’s voice continues to hold up well even though it is not necessarily at the same quality level of old. Only the drums and bass come off poorly in the mix (not that Hill has ever really had a huge presence on any JP album of old) with the drums sounding muted in the mix overall, notwithstanding that they do have to compete with two strong guitarists and a legendary vocalist of course.

With a trim on track numbers and a little more focus on quality over quantity, Invincible Shield would have been a better album. If I am honest though, it still stands up as is and I cannot say that I am not entertained by the end-to-end experience. Whilst not perfect, the album does no harm to the legacy of JP. I would not like to think how many more years we have from Halford and co and my only hope is that they do not become a parody of themselves at any point. Based on this album that appears to be a minimal risk, however.