We couldn't have predicted this one

Judas Priest

Nostradamus (Epic)

ESSENTIAL "Future of Mankind"

Brain cells were happily sacrificed during the party heyday of Judas Priest anthems "Living After Midnight" and "Breaking the Law." But the band apparently wants fans to regrow those brain cells for the ambitiously intellectual, post-graduate philosophy of its new double album, "Nostradamus." The party has given way to a bloated epic (though an engaging one if you're a serious Priest fan) about the 16th-century French prophet who dabbled in the occult, endured a plague, and has been given credit by some for forecasting the apocalyptic 1666 London fire and the rise of Adolph Hitler (as noted on Priest's website). Singer Rob Halford and his Priest colleagues go completely over the top in rock-operatic tracks "Prophecy," "Conquest," and "Death" (with a bell tolling), though these are countered with gently contemplative, acoustic interludes. Some of the music is brilliant, some is numbingly indulgent. I'm not sure what it all adds up to, but if you still believe in the thought of an art-metal concept album, then give it a try. [Steve Morse]

Judas Priest plays at Mohegan Sun Arena Aug. 15.