Not perhaps knows enough but it must be remembered that Rob Halford is not the original singer of Judas Priest . The famous group of British heavy metal, to whom we owe everything in terms of pomp and metal culture, has actually had its genesis in a Al Atkins as vocalist. This is also Al Atkins is responsible for the founding of Judas Priest in that distant year 1969, with his accomplices Ian Hill (bass) and Glenn Tipton (guitar), always original members of the Priest of today ' Hui. But in 1973, not seeing the success for his band arrive, Al Atkins, married and father of a little girl, abandons the music to find a "suitable" job. The following year, Judas Priest will release their debut album "Rocka Rolla" , with some songs written not Al Atkins. The rest is known.
So Al Atkins spent the next decades in a factory or an insurance company, whatever, and returned to music only when the prospect of the pension came. Some solo albums in the early 1990s attracted the attention of a tiny circle of amateurs who did not forget that Al Atkins was the creator of Judas Priest. But by the time he returned to the front row to replace Rob Halford when he left the Priest in 1992, there was a step that the other members of the group did not cross.
Left definitely on the sidelines of Judas Priest when Rob Halford returned to the band in 2003, Al Atkins continued his musical projects. First with another solo album in 1998 ( "Victim of changes" ), where he resumed all of Priest songs he had written : "Never satisfied" , "Winter" , "Caviar and meths" and of course " Victim of changes " , fabulous song Judas Priest published the original hard album " Sad wings of destiny " in 1976. Then Al Atkins joins with guitarist Paul May for Atkins May Project which emits into the atmosphere some albums in the 2000s, including " Valley of shadows " (2012) and " Empire of destruction " (2014).
As our comrade Michel Serry in his column on "Valley of shadows" , Al Atkins has rebuilt his reputation original member of Judas Priest focusing all its efforts on the memory. We find this trend on his new album "Reloaded" which exploits again the few songs written by Al Atkins the early days of Judas Priest. Atkins insists on the nostalgia of the Priest by resorting to Ian Hill who comes to lend a hand to the bass as a guest. Other prominent guests, there is Roy "Z" Ramirez (Bruce Dickinson, Halford) on guitar, John McCoy (Gillan) on bass, Stu "Hammer" Marshall (Death Dealer) on guitar, Tsuyoshi Ikedo (Unviel Raze ) on guitar, Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear) on vocals, Chris Johnson (Holy Rage) on guitar and of course the old comrade Paul May on guitar, as a permanent member, accompanied by drummer Rob Allen .
"Reloaded" is the re-recording songs written by Al Atkins during his musical career, of course with a heavy emphasis on Judas Priest period. We thus find new versions of "Winter" , "Never satisfied" and "Victim of changes" , who would have thought. But it is always nice to hear good songs from Judas Priest and as these pieces are naturally excellent, new versions are also played here a pleasure, including the huge "Victim of changes" . The guitarists perform prowess during disheveled solos and all this does a lot of good to the eardrums. It also plays with the rediscovery of songs Al Atkins non-priestiennes but retain the good will of the authentic heavy metal ( "Coming thick and fast" , "Money talks" , "Cradle to the grave" , a "Love at war " very influenced by the " Painkiller " by Judas Priest). Finally, say a word about the title "Mind design" is presented in two versions : a very metal design placed second on the album and extracted a historical version of a demo of Judas Priest at the time when Al Atkins Was the singer. This little extract not very well recorded is one of the rare audio testimonies of the genesis of Judas Priest. Amateurs will appreciate all the more.
Let us therefore salute the persistence of the metallic faith of Mr. Al Atkins, who will turn 70 next year and who still defends - and with good reason - his past as a father founding heavy metal.
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
| Heavy Thoughts CD - £9.99 |
 | Reloaded CD - £9.99 |
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