Search - Halford :: Live Insurrection

One Of Metal's Best Live Albums

Painkiller | Arlington, MA USA | 07/18/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Live Insurrection is a double album of live material performed by Rob Halford and his Halford band which can stand proudly alongside the legendary live Judas Priest albums Unleashed In The East and Priest...Live! Actually, one could argue that this may even be a bit better than the afformentioned Priest discs due to such a large quanity and wide variety of music being played from so many years (1976-2001) not to mention Rob sounding more talented and invigorated than ever before; he still has all the vocal range and power and the massive supply of energy that he had before and now his voice often has a really raw, raspy sound that just makes him sound even more menacing. His band is excellent as well, not quite Judas Priest but still total professionals. Every song on here is a winner with basically all of them sounding better than the original studio recordings. The Fight material (Into The Pit, Nailed To The Gun) is an especially major improvement on the originals. The Judas Priest material on here sounds as exciting as it ever was; listen to the second guitar solo on Tyrant and you'll swear Glenn Tipton was up on stage playing lead with them. The two songs I think are the undisputed all time classics of Live Insurrection are Made In Hell and Silent Screams. Other material from Halford's Resurrection album is here (Ressurection, Cyberworld, Saviour, The One You Love To Hate with Bruce Dickinson) and it all rules but those two songs are among some of the best that Rob has ever written and on here they become two of the best metal songs ever recorded. Made In Hell is a heavy, midpaced banger with an awesome intro riff and killer chorus and is one of the best odes to the history of heavy metal music ever. Silent Screams - I'm not gonna say anything about, you just have to hear it to believe it - could stand proudly alongside a shortlist of Judas Priest's greatest songs, in my opinion. There are three solid studio cuts at the end of disc two - Screaming In The Dark is solid speed metal not unlike the stuff on the Painkiller album and Heart Of A Lion and Prisoner Of Your Eyes are re-recorded versions of then unreleased Judas Priest songs, both are great. Every Judas Priest fan must have this CD. Anyone who wants to hear live heavy metal at its best, buy this, you won't regret it."

Best LIVE metal album in years...

R. Gorham | 04/17/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the true pioneers of metal is back. Rob Halford proved he is back with "Resurrection", and now his LIVE album (from the "2000 Resurrection Tour") proves his glass shattering high pitched voice can still belt it out to the masses. 94 shows in 7 months and touring thru 20 different countries - Halford & Co deliver the goods. Halford was so good that after he left the opening slot for Iron Maiden's "Brave New World Tour" this past summer, he went on to headline in other North & South American cities, Europe & Japan. Halford helped bring metal back into the new millenium with his 3 decades of material. From the opening track ("Resurrection" - listen to the crowd going nuts) to hard hitting Fight songs (best two are "Into The Pit" and "Nailed To The Gun") to classic versions of Judas Priest ("Beyond The Realms Of Death", "Genocide", "Tyrant", "Stained Glass" and "Metal Gods" to name a few)... the action is fast & furious. Chlasciak & Lachman are blindingly fast & accurate on guitars, but I am always drawn to the drummer (Bobby Jarzombek) and he continues to amaze me. A choice set list of songs. Great sound production. Great fans supporting his tour. Plus 3 new studio tracks which follow in the same "bang yer head here" mentality. Excellent package and worthy of the purchase."

What intensity!!

Muddy Moe | Plano, TX United States | 08/16/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Halford has always been one of my top two or three metal vocalists, along with Dickinson and Dio. But I really thought his best days were behind him. While I liked the studio version of Resurrection, it didn't grab me with the same intensity as this double disk. Metal God indeed! A great selection of Fight songs, Halford solo stuff and Priest tunes. Excellent choices on the later to include songs like "Stained Class" and "Tyrant" instead of the more predictable JP hits like "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" The band is tight as they can be as well. The guitar solos don't exactly redefine the genre or anything, but it's all very competent. This is an exciting release!"