No souls are beyond Judas Priest’s powers of redemption, it seems, not even the spirit of the British heavy metal icons’ own earlier records. The band has announced it will release a new album, Redeemer of Souls, on July 15 in the United States via Epic Records. But don’t expect Priest’s first studio LP since 2008’s Nostradamus — and 17th overall — to blaze unfamiliar trails. “From start to finish, Redeemer of Souls is 18 songs of pure classic-Priest metal,” guitarist Glenn Tipton is quoted as saying by the Guardian. The bombastic title track, streaming below, certainly carries through on that promise, with slashing riffs, galloping drums, and a vintage-style, devil-horn-along chorus. Homer Simpson’s going to want to download it, but based on the group’ recent The Simpsons guest appearance, he’d better do so legally. Revisit SPIN’s 2009 Q&A with Judas Priest’s Rob Halford.
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