Every Judas Priest Albums Ranked Worst To Best

Released in 2005, Angel of Retribution saw the long-awaited return of singer Rob Halford. Priest fans the world over rejoiced that the claptrap “Ripper Era” was finally at an end and the band could go back to making the sort of music people fell in love with them for.

Halford’s inimitable falsetto roar made its welcome return on an album that pleased both classic fans and critics upon release. The record also managed to be a latter-day commercial success for the band and even won the Metal Hammer award for best album of 2005.

Perhaps even more revolutionary for its time was that Rob Halford had come out as gay in 1998, meaning at the time of the record’s release he was the only openly gay man in Heavy Metal. It was heartening to see both his band and Judas Priest devotees welcoming him back with open arms in what many would agree was quite a homophobic period.

Some standout tracks included Judas Rising, Hellrider and Revolution; all of which made explicit references to the Priest era of yore. This was clearly a celebratory nod to Halford’s triumphant return to the fold, something he had previously said he “would never do”.