10 Underrated Hard Rock Albums Of The '90s

4. Jugulator - Judas Priest

As the alternative movement started to sweep the nation, the era of classic metal had seemed to have fallen by the wayside. Unless you're name was Metallica, a lot of the classic metal acts like Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath didn't really capture the hearts of rock fans anymore. So since Judas Priest was coming off of a changing musical landscape and the departure of vocalist Rob Halford, what prayer did they have in the rock world?

Well, despite many of the Halford defenders over the years, the Priest actually had a fairly compelling record on their hands with Jugulator. Even though Tim Ripper Owens doesn't really bring anything new to the table outside of his Halford-like screams, the riffs on display are a lot more forward-looking than many would have expected from a band who was pushing 20 years old at this point.

While there are some stereotypical lyrical themes and a few bizarre left turns from one song to the next, all the pieces are there for this to be a great Priest album, as Owens hits those high notes that many were questioning if even Halford could hit anymore. Considering that the Priest seemed DOA when they came out with Jugulator, the healthy amount of kickass on display here may have been enough to make Halford a bit jealous.