For My Sunday Song #291, we are kicking off a 10 Song Set of Judas Priest songs with “Halls of Valhalla” off their 2014 album, ‘Redeemer of Souls’. The album came out on July 8, 2014 in the U.S. and debuted at #6 making it their first album to debut in the Top 10…ever!! That would get topped with their next release ‘Firepower’. “Halls of Valhalla” was not a single, but it was the standout track for me so I thought it was as good a place to start as any.
The song was inspired by the TV Show ‘The Vikings’. The got Rob Halford thinking about Scandinavia, the North Sea and all the mythology of that part of the world. The word “Valhalla” came to mind at 4 in the morning and that turned in to the focus of the song. The song is about sailing around the North Sea searching for the Halls of Valhalla. According to Songfacts…
In Norse mythology Valhalla is a giant hall, where the souls of warriors slain in battle are taken by the Valkyries. A form of heaven where they are ruled over by the god Odin, the fallen combatants spend their days fighting safe in the knowledge of never being permanently harmed.
This song for me might be the shining achievement of the ‘Redeemer of Souls’ album. The dramatic guitar opening is then filled with a brutal guitar riff and Scott’s thundering drum. Rob comes screaming in and that classic Priest piss and vigor is back. A cross between old Priest and Black Sabbath, we are treated to brilliant metal masterpiece. Rob really stretches his vocal range giving it a full workout and that is all we want to hear. He goes from a guttural growl to the highest of highs almost effortlessly. When I hear the mention of Asgard in the lyrics, I expect Thor to show up or hell, even Loki, but that doesn’t happen.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 