Nostradamus
Cover art by Mark Wilkinson
Studio album by
Judas Priest
Released17 June 2008[1]
Recorded2006–2007
StudioThe Old Smithy Studio, Kempsey, Worcester, UK
Genre
Length102:48
Label
ProducerGlenn Tipton and K. K. Downing
Judas Priest chronology
Angel of Retribution
(2005)		 Nostradamus
(2008)		 Redeemer of Souls
(2014)

Nostradamus is the sixteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, focusing on the 16th-century writer Nostradamus.[2] It is a double album and the band's first concept album.[3] It was originally intended to be released in late 2006 before being pushed back to a 2007 release,[4] and was finally released on 17 June 2008[1] on Epic Records. It is the last Judas Priest studio album to feature the Painkiller-era lineup with guitarist and founding member K. K. Downing retiring in April 2011.[5]

Judas Priest toured with Motörhead, Heaven & Hell, and Testament on the Metal Masters Tour to promote Nostradamus. The band also performed a world tour in 2008 and 2009 in support of the album.

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic59/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Blabbermouth5/10[7]
The Boston Phoenix[8]
IGN6.9/10[9]
Mojo[6]
PopMatters5/10[10]
Q[6]
Rock Hard6/10[11]
Record Collector[12]
Sputnikmusic2/5[13]

Development

The Nostradamus concept idea originated from manager Bill Curbishley[14] and was pitched to the band while on tour in Estonia in 2005. Guitarist K. K. Downing revealed in a February 2007 interview with Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles that 18 tracks had been recorded with a total length of more than 90 minutes and that there was not much he would like to cut down. Musically, the album contains symphonic orchestrations, including the use of keyboards and choirs, which is unlike anything the band has previously attempted.[4] In November 2007, the band began mixing the album.[15]

Release

In November 2007, singer Rob Halford indicated that it was still undecided whether it would be a double-disc set or not. In April 2008, it was confirmed that the album would be released as a double-CD/triple vinyl LP.[16]

"Nostradamus" sold 42,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 11 on The Billboard 200 chart. This was the band's highest-ever chart position in the US before being surpassed by Redeemer of Souls in 2014, when it took the No. 6 position. According to Billboard.com, the album was released in Europe on 16 June 2008 and 17 June in United States. Three configurations of Nostradamus have been issued. The most common is a regular jewel-cased double CD, but there is also a "CD deluxe hardbound version", which features a 48-page booklet, while a "super deluxe version" includes three vinyl records (in addition to the CD deluxe packaging, plus a poster).[17]

The title track was released on 12 April 2008 as a free download on Judas Priest's website through Epic Records.[18] The second single "Visions" was released on 4 May 2008.

The title track was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 51st Grammy Awards.[19] The song "Visions" was also nominated for a Grammy in the category Best Hard Rock Performance.[19]

The band has repeatedly made mention of a desire to perform the album in full, as part of a theatrical production, but the idea was scrapped, possibly due to the album's lukewarm reception by fans.[20] Only two of the album's songs were performed live on the subsequent tour, "Prophecy" and "Death", with the former reappearing in the setlist in 2011–12.

Reception

Sputnikmusic said that with Nostradamus the band "has cast away both speed metal and hard rock in favour of a more symphonic metal approach", with the album having a "greater emphasis" on synthesizers, but not in the unsatisfying manner of their 1986 album Turbo. The reviewer said he thought it was "painfully obvious" that the band had been struggling to work in an unfamiliar style.[21] Allmusic said that the album represented "epic metal" of the sort previously produced by Iron Maiden in 1988's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. The album was seen to contain Spinal Tap-style clichés such as "melodramatic spoken interludes". "Dated" synthesizer string sounds added to the sense that the band was seeking filler material to make a double album, which "should have been" trimmed down to a single album.[1] The album has sold over 100,000 copies in the US and 500,000 copies worldwide as of 2009.[22]

Reflecting on the album in 2020 memoir Confess, Halford stated that he is fully proud of the album and feels that it will one day be recognised as a classic. He also hopes that Judas Priest will one day present the album in full as a live spectacle, having only played two tracks from the album on their 2008 tour.[23]

Story line

Nostradamus centres on the life and times of the seer. The first disc details various forecasts he has about the future and the end of the world.

Track listing

All tracks are written by K. K. Downing, Glenn Tipton and Rob Halford

Disc one
No.TitleLength
1."Dawn of Creation"2:32
2."Prophecy"5:27
3."Awakening"0:53
4."Revelations"7:05
5."The Four Horsemen"1:35
6."War"5:05
7."Sands of Time"2:37
8."Pestilence and Plague"5:09
9."Death"7:34
10."Peace"2:22
11."Conquest"4:42
12."Lost Love"4:28
13."Persecution"6:34
Total length:56:03
Disc two
No.TitleLength
1."Solitude"1:23
2."Exiled"6:33
3."Alone"7:50
4."Shadows in the Flame"1:10
5."Visions"5:24
6."Hope"2:10
7."New Beginnings"4:57
8."Calm Before the Storm"2:05
9."Nostradamus"6:43
10."Future of Mankind"8:30
Total length:46:45

[24]

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes:[24]

Judas Priest
Additional musicians
Production

Charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[25] 17
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[26] 13
Canadian Albums Chart[27] 9
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[28] 79
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[29] 50
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[30] 17
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[31] 38
French Albums (SNEP)[32] 38
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[33] 3
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[34] 5
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[35] 12
Italian Albums (FIMI)[36] 26
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[37] 31
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[38] 12
Scottish Albums (OCC)[39] 30
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[40] 26
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[41] 5
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[42] 12
UK Albums (OCC)[43] 30
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[44] 1
US Billboard 200[45] 11

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Russia (NFPF)[46] Gold 10,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country Date
Germany 13 June 2008
Australia 14 June 2008
United Kingdom 16 June 2008
Canada 17 June 2008
United States
Japan 25 June 2008

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 James Christopher Monger (17 June 2008). "Nostradamus - Judas Priest | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "Judas Priest Confirmed For Denmark's Roskilde Festival", blabbermouth.net, 10 March 2008.
  3. ↑ "Judas Priest Meets Nostradamus On New CD" Archived 23 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Greg Prato, Billboard, 12 April 2006.
  4. 1 2 Archived 13 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ "News - Judas Priest announce farewell EPITAPH World Tour!!". JudasPriest.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 "Nostradamus by Judas Priest". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  7. ↑ Bergman, Keith. "Review: Nostradamus". Blabbermouth.net. Archived from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
  8. ↑ Brockman, Daniel (17 June 2008). "The Phoenix > CD Reviews > Judas Priest". The Boston Phoenix. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  9. ↑ Kaz, Jim (21 June 2008). "Judas Priest - Nostradamus Review - IGN". IGN. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  10. ↑ Begrand, Adrien. "Judas Priest: Nostradamus". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 9 August 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  11. ↑ Kaiser, Boris. "Rock Hard review". issue 255. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  12. ↑ Geesin, Joe. "Nostradamus - Record Collector Magazine". Record Collector. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  13. ↑ "Judas Priest - Nostradamus (album review 7) | Sputnikmusic". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  14. ↑ "{title}". MTV. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  15. ↑ "Judas Priest Mixing 'Nostradamus'". Ultimate-Guitar.com. 19 November 2007. Archived from the original on 2 February 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  16. ↑ "Judas Priest Begins Mixing 'Nostradamus' - Blabbermouth.net". Roadrunnerrecords.com. 18 November 2007. Archived from the original on 21 April 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  17. ↑ "Judas Priest Finally Takes On 'Nostradamus'". Billboard. 16 April 2008. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  18. ↑ Archived 22 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  19. 1 2 "Grammy 2009 Winners List". MTV. 8 February 2009. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  20. ↑ Saulnier, Jason (16 April 2011). "Rob Halford Interview, Judas Priest Singer talks Rare Recordings". Music Legends. Archived from the original on 4 August 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  21. ↑ Stagno, Mike (14 June 2008). "Judas Priest – Nostradamus". Sputnik Music. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  22. ↑ Browne, Nichola (10 January 2009). "Precious Metal". Billboard. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  23. ↑ Halford, Rob (2020). Confess. London: Headline. p. 314. ISBN 978-1472269300.
  24. 1 2 Nostradamus Liner notes. Epic Records. 2008. pp. 3, 23.
  25. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Judas Priest – Nostradamus". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  26. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Judas Priest – Nostradamus" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  27. ↑ "Judas Priest's 'Nostradamus' Is Band's Highest Charting U.S. Album To Date". Blabbermouth.net. 25 June 2008. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  28. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Judas Priest – Nostradamus" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  29. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Judas Priest – Nostradamus" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  30. ↑ "Danishcharts.dk – Judas Priest – Nostradamus". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  31. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Judas Priest – Nostradamus" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  32. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Judas Priest – Nostradamus". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  33. ↑ "Judas Priest: Nostradamus" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  34. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Judas Priest – Nostradamus" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  35. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2008. 25. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  36. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Judas Priest – Nostradamus". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  37. ↑ "Charts.nz – Judas Priest – Nostradamus". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  38. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Judas Priest – Nostradamus". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  39. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  40. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Judas Priest – Nostradamus". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  41. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Judas Priest – Nostradamus". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  42. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Judas Priest – Nostradamus". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  43. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  44. ↑ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  45. ↑ "Judas Priest Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  46. ↑ "Russian album certifications – Judas Priest – Nostradamus" (in Russian). National Federation of Phonogram Producers (NFPF). Retrieved 28 August 2020.
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