This week it’s a special one, as we finally have our first taste of the new Judas Priest record. Finally announced for March 8 of 2024, Invincible Shield will be the band’s 19^th album. It features the very colorful album cover shown above.

Panic Attack is the first single released from said album, this hit digital airwaves last Friday, October 13^th. It does appear to be a digital only single, as most are nowadays. The clip on YouTube has already snagged over half a million views since Friday so this is was a pretty well anticipated drop.

One quick thing before I get further into things – I’ve checked out a fair few reviews and reactions to this song and almost everyone is saying that it’s “very long.” Folks, this song is 5:27. It isn’t some huge stretch to have a 5 minute song, I don’t know where people are getting that this is super long or anything. We aren’t in Opeth territory where 8 songs comprise a double live album, this is a fairly average traditional heavy metal song. That one has been throwing me off and I felt the need to say something there.

This one opens with a synth intro for the first 40 or so seconds. It’s not a return to the days of Turbo or Ram It Down, it’s an intro more reminiscent of something from Iron Maiden’s Somewhere In Time, if anything. The intro is fine and there are small but effective uses of electronic effects throughout the song, like sirens here and there and something akin to the “Transformers” sound at transitions between the verses and chorus. These enhancements work out really well and I think add to the song just fine, the base structure of things is still guitar, bass, drums and Rob Halford’s unholy wail.

The proper song is another burner and in keeping with what Priest have been up to on their past few albums – a more straight-on heavy metal attack. It’s fresh and relevant for a band with guys over 70 years old in it, no small feat when many others fall by the wayside at over 50 years into their existence.

There’s a good bit of guitar soloing here, which you would expect from a band famous for its twin guitar attack. And yes, Glenn Tipton is playing here along with Richie Faulkner. But even when not taking center stage, the guitars are kicking out very nice riffs to move the music along.

The star performer here though has to be Rob Halford. 72 years old and he sounds like this? He is in full voice here and also using different parts of his range. Many singers have sadly fallen off as they hit their mid-60’s, but Halford joins Klaus Meine as those who have kept their power and vitality well beyond that. His stint here is something to behold.

Lyrically, Panic Attack is a direct shot aimed at the culture of the 2020’s. It tackles the misinformation, screeching keyboard warriors, opportunistic politicians and all of the dread and hostility surrounding pretty much everything these days. It’s not common for Judas Priest to take on these kind of current issues so directly, but here they go for it full throat. It’s very impressive and they do very well to avoid the now common trap of simply complaining about cancel culture – instead they really get to everything and all of the various issues that come together to create this shitshow we’re currently in.

The one and only “criticism” I have isn’t even really a complaint, it’s just something pretty funny in the song. At one point roughly 3 minutes in, Rob in full high-range wail belts out “World Wide Web.” I got a chuckle out of that, it does seem a bit out of place but then again it’s kind of what the song is about.

Overall I’m very impressed with Panic Attack, and I’m looking forward to exiting the winter that hasn’t even hit yet to get my hands on the full length Invincible Shield. So far it’s lining up to be yet another nice entry in the Judas Priest catalog.