Jugulator
title: "Jugulator" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1997-albums", "judas-priest-albums", "spv/steamhammer-albums", "1990s-concept-albums", "groove-metal-albums", "thrash-metal-albums-by-british-artists"] topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugulator" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox album"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Jugulator |
| type | studio |
| artist | Judas Priest |
| cover | Judas_Priest-Jugulator.jpg |
| caption | Cover art by Mark Wilkinson |
| released | |
| recorded | 1996–1997 |
| studio | Silvermere, Surrey, England |
| *Heavy metal<ref name | Review/ |
| *groove metal{{cite web | url |
| *thrash metal<ref name | Review/ |
| length | 58:06 |
| label | SPV |
| producer | Glenn Tipton |
| prev_title | Painkiller |
| prev_year | 1990 |
| next_title | The Best of Judas Priest: Living After Midnight |
| next_year | 1997 |
| misc | {{Singles |
| name | Jugulator |
| type | Studio |
| single1 | Burn in Hell |
| single1date | 16 October 1997 |
| single2 | Bullet Train |
| single2date | 28 March 1998 |
| :: |
| name = Jugulator | type = studio | artist = Judas Priest | cover = Judas_Priest-Jugulator.jpg | caption = Cover art by Mark Wilkinson | released = | recorded = 1996–1997 | studio = Silvermere, Surrey, England | genre =
- Heavy metal
- groove metal
- thrash metal | length = 58:06 | label = SPV | producer = Glenn Tipton | prev_title = Painkiller | prev_year = 1990 | next_title = The Best of Judas Priest: Living After Midnight | next_year = 1997 | misc = {{Singles | name = Jugulator | type = Studio | single1 = Burn in Hell | single1date = 16 October 1997 | single2 = Bullet Train | single2date = 28 March 1998
| rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = | rev2 = Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | rev2score = 5/10 | rev3 = Kerrang! | rev3score =
Jugulator is the thirteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was released in Japan on 16 October 1997 and the rest of the world on 28 October 1997. It was their first studio album since Painkiller in 1990 and the first of two studio albums to include lead vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens, replacing Rob Halford who left the band in 1992. Jugulator is the only Judas Priest album that has never been released on any major digital media website, due to German independent record label SPV falling under and going bankrupt around 2009.
The album was reissued as part of the band's limited edition 50 Heavy Metal Years of Music box-set, released on October 2021, through Sony Music Entertainment and Legacy Recordings.
Lyrical content
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Ripper_Owens.jpg" caption="This was the band's first album with vocalist [[Tim "Ripper" Owens]]."] ::
The lyrics dealt with darker themes than previous releases, including the eponymous mechanized demon which disembowels its prey, and the end of the world in the song "Cathedral Spires". The guitars were also tuned down as low as C# and C, making a shift from the speed metal and traditional heavy metal elements of Painkiller to a more thrash metal-oriented sound.
"Brain Dead" is written from the perspective of a man who, after a tragedy, has lost the ability to move and speak and is therefore trapped in his mind, having been placed on life support. The footnote in the CD booklet for this song reads "We all have sympathy for those left to care and despair for victims of tragedy but what of the victim himself—trapped inside his body a coffin—unable to move a muscle or blink an eye but aware of the living hell he's enduring and unable to bring it to an end—a man not even a shadow of his former self—a man who wants to be remembered for what he was—not forgotten because of what he has become."
Reception
Reaction to the album was divided among those who enjoyed it on its own terms, those who liked the music but would prefer if Halford had sung it, and those who disliked it on all counts. Glenn Tipton defended the musical changes: "You must remember that two albums went missing between 1990 and Jugulator. To us, it's not the huge leap some people see it as." Tim "Ripper" Owens opines that Jugulator is a better album than 2008's Nostradamus.
"Some people felt there wasn't enough melody on Jugulator," remarked Tipton, "but we just weren't feeling very melodic at the time."
In 2018, Owens pledged to re-record this album and its follow-up Demolition as he feels that his era of the band has "been erased". Ever since Rob Halford rejoined the band, songs from both albums have been left off the band's concert setlists, although Halford stated that he is not opposed to performing the songs live.
Promotion
A music video was shot for the song "Burn in Hell", though over two minutes of the song was removed in the final video. "Jugulator" and "Blood Stained" were also included on Judas Priest's box set Metalogy.
Awards and nominations
"Bullet Train" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1999.
Track listing
| all_lyrics = Glenn Tipton | all_music = Tipton and K. K. Downing | title1 = Jugulator | length1 = 5:50 | title2 = Blood Stained | length2 = 5:26 | title3 = Dead Meat | length3 = 4:44 | title4 = Death Row | length4 = 5:04 | title5 = Decapitate | length5 = 4:39 | title6 = Burn in Hell | length6 = 6:42 | title7 = Brain Dead | length7 = 5:24 | title8 = Abductors | length8 = 5:49 | title9 = Bullet Train | length9 = 5:11 | title10 = Cathedral Spires | length10 = 9:17 | total_length = 58:06
Personnel
Judas Priest
- Tim "Ripper" Owens – vocals
- Glenn Tipton – guitars
- K. K. Downing – guitars
- Ian Hill – bass guitar
- Scott Travis – drums
Production
- Glenn Tipton – producer
- K. K. Downing – producer
- Sean Lynch – producer
- Recorded and mixed at Silvermere Studios
- Mastered at Whitfield Street Studios
- Mark Wilkinson – cover illustration
- Andie Airfix at Satori – design
- Ross Halfin – photography
Charts
::data[format=table] | Chart (1997) | Peak position | Japanese Albums (Oricon) | Spanish Albums (AFYVE) | |---|---|---|---| | 9 | | | | | 20 | | | | ::
References
References
- (8 June 2020). "Judas Priest-A-Thon: Jugulator Review".
- "Jugulator review".
- (2007). "The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties". [[Collector's Guide Publishing]].
- Shiels, Liam. (October 25, 1997). "Albums". [[Ascential.
- (15 July 2021). "Judas Priest 50 Heavy Metal Years Of Music Limited Edition Box Set". [[Sony Music Entertainment]].
- "Judas Priest – Jugulator (Guitar Pro)".
- "Judas Priest – Cathedral Spires (Guitar Pro)".
- "K. K. Downing Steel Mill :: Keep Feeding the Flames!". Kkdowning.net.
- "Ex-JUDAS PRIEST Singer Tim 'Ripper' Owens Says ''Jugulator'' Is Better Than ''Nostradamus''". [[Blabbermouth.net]].
- (June 2001). "The big picture: Demolition derby".
- (11 October 2018). "Tim 'Ripper' Owens Says His Time With Judas Priest Has Been 'Erased' From Band's Past, Vows to Re-Record Both Albums".
- (30 December 2019). "Rob Halford Open to Singing 'Ripper' Owens Era Judas Priest Songs".
- (2006). "Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005". [[Oricon.
- Salaverri, Fernando. (2005). "Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002". Fundación Autor-SGAE.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::