Nostadamus

The album “Nostradamus” by Judas Priest was like nothing I had ever heard before. It was so lengthy, but I really thought the length was appropriate for the story and the music fit very well. Unlike the album, the review will not be very lengthy due to the fact that the story needs not much explaining. The first half of the album consists of the main character, Nostradamus’ prophecies. Nostradamus was an actual figure who really made prophecies during his lifespan and some have become quite famous and have been said to have predicted things such as World War II. In this section, he predicts things such as War, Pestilence and Plague,and Death.Perhaps afraid of these predictions or believing him to be an abomination to God, the people shun and exile Nostradamus, leading us into the second half of the album. In my opinion, it all starts with Lost Love,which I believe to be strictly Nostradamus’ lost love. It is this love that sends him into despair, and I also interpret that the village or city in which he lived blamed Nostradamus for his love’s death, and persecute him and exile him for this and his predictions, believing them to be evil. I interpret the remainder of the album to be about Nostradamus’ struggles to cope with his loneliness and his ability to prophesy dwindles by the end of the album. However, in Nostradamus,the band hints at his return to fame (or infamy) in the future, and Future of Mankindis up to interpretation, but I believe it to be that Nostradamus’ predictions will be important to the rest of the world and their future, and he will be known forever. Wonderful album, good story, and classic Priest sound.

MY RATINGS:

Music: 9/10

Story: 7/10

Concepts: 7/10

Overall: 7.67/10