New Judas Priest album recaptures glory days

Everybody's talking about the Motley Crue reunion. And that's cool.

I'm glad those guys are back with the original lineup, and I'm psyched they're coming back to Salt Lake City on Aug. 5.

Fans are holding their collective breath that the band won't implode before the Salt Lake City date. The personalities of singer Vince Neil, drummer Tommy Lee, guitarist Mick Mars and bassist Nikki Sixx go together like oil, water, bolts and nails.

Time will tell. So here's crossing our fingers.

However, this isn't the first time the four original members of the Crue have gotten back together. The last time was in 1997. The band released a mediocre album, "Generation Swine," and took its circus act on tour. However, Lee left a couple of years later, citing intra-band tension.

So, having Mtley Crue back together is cool for classic-metal fans. But there's another band that got back with its original singer that needs to be mentioned — Judas Priest.

Although the band members were over the top and actually contributed to the stereotypical leather-clad metal-rocker dude image, the band was fun and sounded great in the car stereo.

Singer Rob Halford has come back to the fold for the first time since 1991 and is sounding at the top of his game.

The lineup of Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing, bassist Ian Hill and drummer Scott Travis is back for the attack with a new album, "Angel of Retribution."

Halford left because he was tired of the band. He wanted to do new things, so he said goodbye to JP without any inclination of returning. He embarked on an interesting journey. He did some some experimental heavy music, dabbled in techno and eventually announced his homosexuality.

The remaining members of the Priest, on the other hand, tried to keep the fire alive by hiring Ripper Owens, fan-turned-lead singer. In fact, as many metalheads know, the Mark Wahlberg film "Rock Star," was loosely based on Owens' story.

Anyway, Halford and Judas Priest began communicating again because Columbia Records wanted to release a box set of classic Judas Priest material. One thing led to another and the band eventually got back together. (Owens took his leave graciously and is now fronting Iced Earth.)