It would be fair to suggest that in his decade away from Judas Priest Rob Halford inflicted quite a lot of shit upon his fans – 2wo anyone? However, as he’s now taken control of his own work there’s reissues aplenty on the horizon and there’s also this CD as well, a kind of greatest hits from the years when he didn’t actually have any. 

To be fair, someone has excellent taste as these songs are actually probably the best that Halford came up with between 1992 and his return to the Priest. Being a long-suffering fan I fear that Vol.2 may not have very much going for it but this is the proverbial bees’ knees. Essential Vol.1 strongly gives the impression that uncle Rob mined a golden seam of creativity after leaving the Priest even though we all know that’s not the case at all.  

If you never got round to checking Rob’s solo career, this is your one stop shop. It’s brutally heavy in places but also has some wonderful tunes – and again we all know that wasn’t always the case. It also comes with a bonus DVD which, unusually came with the review copy and is quite good, although not essential. 

There are some wonderful songs and performances on this platter of metal. Many of them are as good as anything Halford has ever produced even with the Priest. The man himself is in great voice throughout – certainly better than the last time I saw him perform in Manchester a few years ago. Some of the blood-curdling screams are really quite frightening!

The opening triumvirate of Resurrection, Made In Hell and Screaming in the Dark are metal as f**k and seriously capable of annoying the neighbours. Then we get Golgotha, which, like Trail of Tears has Halford sounding like Ozzy at times. Anyone would think they came from the same place! Even the songs from the Fight band era sound good.

To entice the rabid Halford collectors out there, there are two new songs on offer, namely Forgotten Generation and Drop Out which are pretty good if not overly great – rather like the man’s solo career in fact. If you buy this selection of goodies you can make quite a saving because there’s no need to buy the new versions of the full-length solo albums. Winner!

Let us know your views on Metal God Essentials Volume 1

Track Listing

Resurrection
Made In Hell
Screaming In The Dark
Golgotha
Silent Screams
Crystal
Into The Pit
Nailed To The Gun
Slow Down
Locked And Loaded
Forgotten Generation
Drop Out
War Of Words
Sun
Trail Of Tears

BONUS DVD
Resurrection Behind the Scenes
Live Insurrection Behind the Scenes
Made in Hell
Betrayal
In the Morning
Silent Screams
Never Satisfied
Forgotten Generation