10 Concept Albums That Make Absolutely No Sense
3. Nostradamus - Judas Priest
In the grand scheme of metal music, it doesn't get any more classic than Judas Priest. Across over 5 decades, Rob Halford's shrieking persona has been able to get even the most casual of rock fans into metal music, whether it was the bringer of pain on Screaming for Vengeance or the amazing stomp of Painkiller. Though they were there since the beginning, it wasn't until the late '00s that they actually went into the realm of power metal with Nostradamus.
On the surface, this looks like it should be a fireworks show from the first minute it opens, since Nostradamus' controversial history is perfect for the outsider genre of metal. Once you sit down with the record though, most of the songs don't really tell a story per se, instead being wrapped around the entire concept of Nostradamus' teachings rather than a dissection of his life.
That's not to say that the regular Priest isn't out in full force on here either, with songs like Pestilence and Plague still showing they have some fire after all these years. However, it didn't even look like the band members themselves were that invested in it, with the song power really starting to run out of steam when you reach the back half of this double album. For as much longevity as Priest have in the game, they might want to leave the more adventurous songwriting to their younger counterparts.