Halford
Metal God Essentials vol. 1

July 2007
Released: 2007, Frontiers Records/Zink Music
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: Anders Sandvall

This is the first collection based on material from the band Halford and Fight that has been released by the metal icon Rob Halford. And Halford is a man that needs no further introduction. The compilation includes 16 songs and a bonus DVD with a lot of goodies for all fans. And to make the album even more attractive there are two new brand new solo tracks and remix versions of the songs “Redemption” and “Silent Scream” in a demo version from 1999.



When I listened to the album it stroked me once again how great this singer is. It has been a while since I listened to his albums and even though he’s not one of my personal heroes I am the first to admit he’s one of the greatest singers of all time.



The first album contains 16 tracks where the most material is taken from the Halford album, only 3 songs are taken from the Fight albums. The strongest songs are taken from the RESURRECTION release by Halford. My favorite tracks are “Made In Hell”, “Resurrection”, “Slow Down, “Locked and Loaded”. But also tracks from the second album CRUCIBLE like “Golgotha”, “Crystal” and “Sun” are worth to mention.



The songs from the Fight albums are unfortunately not that great but the bonus tracks “Forgotten Generation” and “Drop Out” are quite good. The songs are in midtempo and Halford sings more ordinary and has left out all the high screams. Those tracks prove that Halford still has a lot to give. One song that should not have been featured at all is the strange mix of “Redemption (European Mix)” which is a plain industrial remix. Why the Metal God has done such a lame remix is beyond my understanding. On the second bonus DVD Halford treats us to shorter sequences taken behind the scenes for the making of the album RESURRECTION plus a few videos.



Even if you’re not a hardcore fan of Halford I can assure you that there are a bunch of goodies that await the buyer of this album. Even if I’m not a big fan of the Metal God I’m going to dig out my old Halford albums to listen to them once again because that man sure can sing the ass of almost everyone out there.





http://www.zinkmusic.com