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Here's a couple of "album of the decade" lists, RUSH tops one, PRIEST tops the other


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https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-50-best-rock-albums-of-the-decade/5

 

1. Rush - Clockwork Angels (2012)

 

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For a band whose US album sales are right up there with the Beatles and the Stones, Rush keep a pretty low profile. But in just the past decade, their mainstream status has noticeably shifted. Having been deeply absorbed by popular culture, 50 years in, Rush have reaped the rewards for being themselves.

 

And with this cultural rebirth, a creative one. 2007’s Snakes & Arrows was a convincing musical statement, with new producer Nick Raskulinecz encouraging the band to take chances and reconnect with their essence as a progressive rock band. And what better way to seal the deal than to follow that up with their first full concept album.

 

Neil Peart’s story for Clockwork Angels percolated through many literary seams, notably steampunk. Filtered through the Victorian fiction of HG Wells and Jules Verne, this idea of ‘a future as seen from the past’, had been championed by writers including Peart’s friend, Kevin J Anderson. On Rush’s 20th album this was used, as the drummer put it, to “tell a story set in an alternate timeline, with alchemy, clockwork, and steampunkery”.

 

So, we followed a character on a quest through an antique sci-fi world teeming with pirates, anarchists, explorers and carnival dwellers. It was a heady theme, and Rush cranked up their nonpareil power trio smarts to set it to some of their toughest music.

 

Caravan set a swaggering, funky tone. ‘I can’t stop thinking big,’ sang Geddy Lee, establishing the character and the world ‘lit only by fire’. Alex Lifeson’s swathes of crunchy tone and a blues-drenched solo backed this up. Hewn from the type of riff Muse would kill for, BU2B set the story on a cosmological scale, its hard, hyperactive groove leading to the title track, which floated in on exotic tones and shimmering clean guitars before bursting into life.

 

It was a thoroughly modern record but, as ever, Peart’s ear for the mythic added Xanadu-like grandeur to the music. Seven Cities Of Gold was inspired by tales of Spanish conquistadors, and it was a monolithic, shifting rocker that heralded the character’s entry into the belly of the beast, El Dorado. Blessed with beautiful clean lines and a refrain that ‘Sometimes you have to be wary of the miracle too good to be true’, The Wreckers was accessible, with a light, major-key simplicity (not bad for a song inspired by pirates who deliberately ran ships aground).

 

Marvel at Clockwork Angels for one or all of its many levels: its literary depth and steampunk cool; its creators’ unity of purpose and preternatural musical sense; its lip-curling rock grooves and girthy production.

 

In the blue sky of their creative Indian summer, and with a cultural tailwind behind them, Rush channelled the impulse that made them so special all along on a modern progressive album which sat right up there in their canon.

 

Our score: 9/10

 

http://audioinkradio.com/2019/12/best-albums-decade-rock-metal-2010s/

 

 

1. Judas Priest, “Redeemer of Souls”

 

Judas Priest has been crafting towering metal music for nearly five decades, and they’re still putting out some of their best work.

 

Of course, “Firepower” is an incredible record, but “Redeemer of Souls” has that old-school Priest vibe. “Redeemer of Souls,” which came out in 2014, showcases Rob Halford’s vocals, which are stronger than ever, and an incredible assault of instrumentals, including guitarist Richie Faulkner’s contributions for the first time. With the perfect mix of emotion and skill, “Redeemer of Souls” is a heroic cry to keep metal at the forefront of music, and for that, it’s Audio Ink’s top album of the decade.

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I had seen that link for Clockwork Angels in a different thread...and as for Priest, Redeemer is one of the few albums of theirs that don’t own, and have never heard! I need to.
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I had seen that link for Clockwork Angels in a different thread...and as for Priest, Redeemer is one of the few albums of theirs that don’t own, and have never heard! I need to.

Oh yeah you need to get that one, it's underrated especially in comparison to Firepower which got a ton more accolades. It's a great album with lots of variety. Don't forget to get the deluxe edition with the 2nd disc, it has 5 extra tracks.

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I had seen that link for Clockwork Angels in a different thread...and as for Priest, Redeemer is one of the few albums of theirs that don’t own, and have never heard! I need to.

Oh yeah you need to get that one, it's underrated especially in comparison to Firepower which got a ton more accolades. It's a great album with lots of variety. Don't forget to get the deluxe edition with the 2nd disc, it has 5 extra tracks.

 

Will do...I listened to some of Firepower, and thought it was good, but not great. So I will take your suggestion!

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I had seen that link for Clockwork Angels in a different thread...and as for Priest, Redeemer is one of the few albums of theirs that don’t own, and have never heard! I need to.

Oh yeah you need to get that one, it's underrated especially in comparison to Firepower which got a ton more accolades. It's a great album with lots of variety. Don't forget to get the deluxe edition with the 2nd disc, it has 5 extra tracks.

 

Will do...I listened to some of Firepower, and thought it was good, but not great. So I will take your suggestion!

Both albums are great for me. They both feature a lot of different Priest styles and presentations, with some new types of Priest songs such as Flame Thrower which doesn't sound like any other Priest tune.

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