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This Sucks

JUDAS PRIEST RETIRING?

 Tuesday, December 7th, 2010 at 10:00am by

Well here’s some surprising news to start your morning: Metal Underground is reporting that Judas Priest will do one last tour, and then retire as a band.

I kind of don’t believe it, because we hear artists announce their retirement all the time, and then it doesn’t stick, either ’cause they get bored or greedy or whatever (see: Ozzy). And yet, some part of me hopes it’s true. Even if their last couple of albums have been a little lackluster, Priest live shows are still all kinds of awesome, and the band has never done anything to embarrass themselves. It would be nice to see a revered act like JP quit while they’re ahead for a change.

I don’t really know what else to say about such bittersweet news… Weigh in with your thoughts below.

-AR

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  • You Don’t Know Me

    They had a good run. I say end it now before they turn into an embarrassment. Angel of Retribution was a good album but Nostradamus was definitely not one of their better albums.

    I just wish that Metallica would do the same thing.

    • Mac

      It’s definetely to late for metallica, death magnetic anyone?
      But i agree with axl AWESOME live and they need to hang it up before they get washed up

      • You Don’t Know Me

        Death Magnetic wasn’t great but respectable enough that they could retire without embarrassing themselves any further. It’s better than if they retired on St. Anger.

    • cougar party

      I hope they come to the west coast. I have not had the chance to see them live. Never listened to Nostradamus, but Angel of Retribution had some good songs. Judas Rising is fucking awesome.

      • Stu

        Do you really think they won’t do an extensive farewell tour??

  • MoshUntilPanic

    it is time. call it a day.

  • yzermantiis

    Priest really has nothing left to prove. They are the definitive Heavy Metal band. If they hang it up, so be it.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Tommy-Smith/536128956 Tommy Smith

    They’re saying it’s their final World Tour. Doesn’t mean they won’t do an East Coast tour, a West Coast tour, UK tour, etc. I’m not convinced they’re retiring.

    • Brian Roach

      agreed, there is SO much wiggle room in their press release that it’s hard to say. But I also agree with people who say that they have nothing left to prove and have left their mark, and if they want to retire with their legacy mostly untainted, sooner rather than later might be a good time to do that!!

  • James M.

    I sure as hell hope that I can catch them on tour.

  • judas nun

    didnt they retire once before? can they like just retire nostradamus and continue to tour off rest of their catalogue? I probably wont go, but it will make some people happy.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mike-Reagan/520958920 Mike Reagan

    They just needs to take so PAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINKIIIIIIIIIIIILERS

    *crickets chirp*

  • huntermc

    Why is Halford holding the guitar in that picture?

    • \m/Eluveitie\m/

      I wondered that too

    • Bayon

      K.K. Downing looks like he wants it back.

    • http://thatdevilmusic.blogspot.com Rob Liz

      Why not? Rob Halford knows how to play it.

  • Fufkin

    They seem to have decided against the run of Nostradamus dates in the end – good move, risible album.

  • Anthony

    I’m not a huge fan of Judas Priest, but Nostradamus was kind of a lame album, but not like St. Anger lame. So yeah, retire.

  • Driven9

    awesome, it’s about time.

  • http://thatdevilmusic.blogspot.com Rob Liz

    “and the band has never done anything to embarrass themselves”

    Really? Turbo and Ram it Down were not embarrasing?

    I’m glad to see these guys hang it up. They’ve been all sorts of mediocre and terrible for the past 25 years.

    • Pastor of Muppets

      Oh come on, those are two of the BEST power-metal tunes of their time. Are you just bothered by the fact that Rob wants to ram something down your throat and make you his turbo lover?

    • cougar party

      Ok, Turbo Lover is pretty lame. And by pretty lame I mean really lame, but at least it’s lame in a funny way.

      Ram It Down kicks a lot of ass. There’s just no way around it.

    • Vitamin D

      You think those were embarrassing? St. Anger was embarrassing. The unspeakable Iron Maiden albums are embarrassing. Those were not.

      • Ziltoid got caught liking Disturbed

        Yea, they really were. I love Judas Priest, but those albums were awful. Turbo was a pretty blatant sell out record. That said, who cares? I don’t know why metalheads feel the need to slag on a band solely of 1 or 2 bad albums. The good albums far out weigh the bad, so who really cares?

        • Blargh

          Turbo is terrible (uh, Parental Guidance) but Ram It Down is ok. Then, though, they reclaimed a whole fuckton of awesome with Painkiller. So…whatever!

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jeffrey-Adam-Danyleyko/504705386 Jeffrey Adam Danyleyko

      Painkiller came out in 1991, 19 years ago. Jus’ sayin’.

  • el fucko

    I will always love Judas Priest, the only priest that will every get to touch me.

    Megadeth, Metallica and Slayer follow this lead! don’t ruin your legacy which keeps dwindling down with each shitty new record produced by Greg Feldman.

    • Mac

      fuck yea

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Raphael-Pinsker/28400447 Raphael Pinsker

      What about Iron Maiden? They’ve been recycling the same riffs and gallops for a while.

      • el fucko

        they should just retire from the studio. Live show-wise they still are better than tons of other bands live.

  • d00shc00ger

    Musically, they were stagnating, as mentioned, they’ve never really embarrassed themselves (yet), there’s still almost entirely positive memories and associations with this band, let ‘em call it quits. They had a great run, but they ARE getting old, and we know they don’t have another British Steel in them, so might as well stop before you piss all over your legacy (Metallica)

  • Pastor of Muppets

    Angel of Retribution was really good, but I’d like them to put out one more ass-kicking album before going into that good night.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Alejandro-Aldana/683878171 Alejandro Aldana

    man i’ve never seen priest live and i probably never will. they’ll probably come play at msg and tickets will be sold out in like 5 mins.

  • wha?

    All good things end. Kudos to them if this is really it. Makes sense if it is as they aren’t exactly young.

  • http://crescentshield.com Crescent Shield

    They have announced they will stop touring, not making albums. This is horrible news – they still are a fucking amazing live band. The British Steel anniversary tour was AWESOME.

    http://www.heavymetalpower.com/2009/08/judas-priest-live-2009/

    As a live act they are still at the top of the metal world.

  • MeesterDerp

    Taking the Isis route I see. I guess if they feel it’s time, then it’s time. As long as they don’t come back as a full band right after.

  • heemeyer

    this is code for “we want to cash in on a farewell tour and somewhere down the road cash in again on a reunion tour.”

  • http://aaronpoehler.com Aaron Poehler

    Not one person in the world believes ‘farewell tours’ are real who doesn’t also think Santa is real.

  • Dayv

    … I didn’t know they were still together.

  • http://apintfordionysus.wordpress.com/ Grotusque

    I totally get it. It’s been a hell of a run and really, nobody can touch you except your peers (Iron Maiden) or your forebearers (Sabbath, Zep). You can call it a day and anyone who talks shit about you is pretty much wrong.

    That said; I’ve seen every big metal band except Priest and Motorhead and by god I best not be robbed of my chance to do so.

  • shpostal

    I think Judas Priest could have a few more albums left in them, and I like “Angel Of Retribution” more than “Nostradamus”, which gets pompous and dull after a while. Still, better to call it a day with your legacy in place, and the members can always go solo or kick back and take it easy. Some other outfits that need to retire:

    AC/DC They have nothing left to prove and they’re getting older, probably where touring is a major hassle anymore. Retiring now would allow Angus to concentrate on blues music, and this great band would be forever among the greats.

    KISS My God, please go away. Talk about not knowing when to call it a day. I loved these guys in high school, and that was the late ’70′s. They are a nostalgia act now, and that’s too bad.

    AEROSMITH These hairballs should have quit immediately after “Done WIth Mirrors”. They haven’t done one decent album since then, only kept rewriting “Toys In The Attic” over and over. Besides, who isn’t sick of that ugly fucking Steven Tyler?

    METALLICA They may have regained a little credibility with “Death Magnetic” but I’m sick of these spoiled ultra-millionaires. They stopped being musically relevent after ” . . . and Justice For All”, which desperately needs remixing. The “Black Album” was pure alternative and is safe for mothers and babies at the local pediatrician’s office. Hetfield’s lyrics of misery, suicide and the like are not believable and he can’t be too unhappy with that pile of loot. Go away. Now.

  • ryan d.

    they aren’t gonna retire. they’ll be back. just give it some time

  • Fish

    All I ask is that if they do retire, be the first fucking band to stay retired. I hope they tour near me so I can see them one last time.

  • Matt

    In a perfect world, Scott Travis would reunite with Racer X full time and him and Paul Gilbert would start pumping out some speed metal again…

  • Joe

    I understand it, but I don’t like not having the ability to go see Priest every couple years and have some fun.

  • http://www.forex-central.net John

    Kinda bummed about this…wish they would put out one more record before they finish. Hopefully Halford will still tour on his own.

    • Stu

      He’s already said he would.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Anthony-Showalter/100000592087843 Anthony Showalter

    They are my number one favorite band of ALL TIME, regardless of genre of music, I only saw them once when they came down here to SD on the Retribution tour with Anthrax (Anthrax was with Joey Bellodonna and it was awful). Then I missed that British Steel tour, and if this “farewell” tour doesn’t come to SD, then I will regret not going.

  • Jables

    Noooooooooooooooo! That is all.

    Actually, scratch that. I’ve seen them live twice, and they were effing brilliant both times.. Sure, they’ve had some albums that weren’t as good as others (frankly, I never understood why everyone loves British Steel; it certainly doesn’t have the songs or the attitude of Sad Wings of Destiny or Painkiller), but with a career that spans almost 40 years, who wouldn’t?

    But what makes me sad about this is that Priest just may be one of the very few bands who have the good grace and (stained) class to retire and mean it. I’m sure none of them ever have to tour or write another song again; they truly are legends in their lifetime. Stories will recall.

  • http://piercingmetal.com/ PiercingMetal KP

    Well as much as it disappoints me in knowing the news there does come a time in these guys lives where the necessary pace of such an enterprise becomes too much. Halford will be 60 in 2011 and he might not want to be running around the world performing as much as possibly making appearances, recording other music and perhaps even writing a book of his own. I have been enjoying the band for many of their years and feel they deserve it. I’ve enjoyed “most” of their releases but like others have said in these comments, a number of the issues have not been all that great.

    I do think that while this retirement is on their list of to do’s that we shall see one of those lengthy tours like the Scorpions are in the middle of. Their own is set to run three years and we are not yet finished with the first year of that so who knows what Priest’s plan is. The bottom line is that they are not gone yet and perhaps something will change their view and they will stick around a little while longer. Whatever the case may be, I will always be a fan and listening to their music one of the true Metal pleasures in my life.

  • Eric Novak

    After a solid year of listening to Nostradamus, I can say that it is a great Priest record. It has its shortcomings, but it is good. Nostradamus was put together painstakingly and shouldn’t be discarded after one listen. I’m disappointed that it won’t be done live in its entirety.

  • Joe

    Well I heard the news and really shock,but I guess all great things come to an end,well I hope they stop in san antonio for farewell ,would love to take my son to see Jp at thier best.long live the metal gods