With the news that Rob Halford will be reuniting with Judas Priest not even two weeks old, it's easy to now see where the tell-tale signs of the inevitable began. The summer of 2000 officially marked Rob Halford hanging up the boa and black eyeliner stage ensemble used while fronting his Trent Reznor-associated alternative project, Two, and releasing a new metal album with a band of largely unknown bandmates under the name of Halford. Resurrection promised to return Rob Halford back to the forefront of the metal scene, the same scene in which he disassociated himself after 25 years when he began the Two project. The rumors that Rob was forming the new band had been gossiped about for nearly two years prior to the release of Resurrection.

Skeptics aside, and I remember I was one of them, there were many reasons to believe Rob Halford was committed to his return to the hard-hitting scene largely built around his voice in the early 70's. The imagery of a leather clad Halford riding a motorcycle on the jacket of Resurrection had everything to do with the association of a Halford-led Judas Priest era centered around the Killing Machine days where Rob trotted out the bike while performing "Hell Bent for Leather" on stage. Also, the title of the album surely seemed convincing enough.

Even the label the album was released on, Metal-Is, was a dead giveaway that Halford was a serious metal project considering that the label was a division of Rod Smallwood's Sanctuary Records group. Smallwood is the manager of fellow British metal legends Iron Maiden and carries a reputation of a no nonsense metal executive.

The title track and first song on Resurrection launches into a Painkiller-style sounding assault which fans will remember was the last Judas Priest studio album in which Rob appeared. Wasting absolutely no time in showcasing his falsetto shriek, Halford reveals his past internal struggles and new vow to "resurrect" his metal legacy with this first verse: "I'm digging deep inside this hole/ To bring myself out of this God-damned hole/I rid the demons from my heart/And found the truth was with me from the start." Whoa! This is commitment baby! Let the skeptics be damned! The lyrics only become more direct in exorcising past demons while Halford's voice seeks to penetrate higher octaves as the song roars on.

Proving the first track was no fluke, "Made in Hell" is a song that depicts Rob's personal ascent to "Metal God" status. While Rob states that he took his "scream around the world from London to L.A.", it becomes apparent that the axemen Halford hand-picked for this gig, Patrick Lachman and Mike Chlasciak, were equal to the task in mirroring the sounds of legendary Judas Priest guitarists, K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton.

One might think that that the track order on Resurrection would make more sense if we learned of Rob's ascent to the top of the metal mountain before we learned of his rebirth. To do this would severely undermine the seriousness of Rob's tenuous situation with his fans. Judas Priest fans are a rare breed. They are obsessed with the band's music and they were as scarred with the terms that led to Halford's initial departure from the band as much as any other breakup in recent history.

Furthermore, the track "Silent Screams" is a seven minute romp that approaches the magnitude of "Victim of Changes" ( Sad Wings of Destiny) proportions. As if Rob still needs to beg for his fans forgiveness at this point, he eerily storytells his plight before admitting that he still "screams inside because there's nothing left to do until the end." Mid-song the tempo kicks in, Rob goes falsetto, and the song gallops into another state of chaos.

Interestingly, the song "The One You Love to Hate" features guest vocalist Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden fame. Having Dickinson appear on the album when Rob was last seen collaborating on his recorded works with industrial rocker, Trent Reznor would cause anyone to do a double take. The song is another classic metal assault and should be the last confirmation that the Metal God is serious with his return to the music for which he is best known.

It's easy to be prophetic when writing this review three years after the release of Resurrection and with the current news of Rob Halford rejoining Judas Priest. Simply put, Resurrection was an album created to send a signal out to the metal masses that Rob Halford was back in pure Judas Priest form and with the creative energy to write songs from the heart.

While the songs on Resurrection hold up on their own regardless of the lyrical messages, it is indeed those lyrics and the unconventional musical path that Rob Halford embarked upon after leaving Judas Priest in the early 90's that make this album essential listening for all metal fans. It's a storybook release that has finally been proven to have the fairy tale ending which promises future glory for Rob and his Judas Priest mates.

Rating: A

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