I agree.  Thats probably the biggest priest success, and their biggest failure, the variety.  the rabid die hard fan will buy anything they do.  the casual fan, isnt guaranteed to like everything.  someone like me, a "solid" fan, who loves the band, will buy most things they put out, but not everything.
I dont like Rocka rolla.  lots of fans dont like turbo, but to me, the fact that they branch out, grow and evolve is why I like them the most.
they didnt change to folow a trend, or to make money, they changed because they wanted to.

		Bullet- wrote:
		Here's the thing.  Judas Priest has made albums that were a product of what they were experiencing and writing at the time.  Each album is distinctly different from all their previous work.  It can be  frustrating as a fan and some lose interest with the new directions.  I personally didn't like the albums that were written with a specific market in mind (Point of Entry for the US and Turbo for pop metal).  The thing is, they challenge their fans to broaden their thinking on what metal is and where it can go.  People can criticize the  Nostradamus all they like.  I've heard people say it's too long, that it's boring, that the production and sound are sub par.  All of these things are valid for a band whose objective was to sell as many albums as possible.  I'm guessing that all of the objections raised on this board and others were raised inside Epic records before release.  It looks like the band got their way this time because of their success in the past. So we have Nostradamus, a bold new direction for the band.  Like always, some fans will hate it and some will love it.  The ones who love it will defend it like it was one of their children.  I personally love the album and admire the band for taking a risk where they could have easily churned out another Painkiller or Angel and cashed cheques.  For those that don't like the album, fine, listen to British Steel and lament about how JP has lost its way.  Better yet, go out and buy the album of more "reliable" artists, like ACDC, Def Leppard and Aerosmith.  Just don't think that you are the only person that really knows about the quality of the album.  Mugabe supporters? Anybody that says that about Judas Priest supporters is worse than Hitler.