When Judas Priest released Nostradamus in 2008, the reaction was far from uniform. For some, the ambitious double concept album showcased a band willing to push boundaries. For others, it marked one of the more divisive entries in their legendary discography. Nearly two decades later, the record still sparks reflection from the musicians themselves.
In a new conversation with Chris Akin of The Classic Metal Show, drummer Scott Travis was asked whether the band looks back fondly on the project. He admitted (via Blabbermouth), "I think it would depend on who you talk to in the band. [Laughs] For me personally, yeah, I don't think it was our strongest release, and it was meant to mimic — not mimic, but it was meant to go after the sort of, not the crowd, 'cause it was definitely for the Priest fans, but the… What am I trying to say? It was trying to go after something that could be made more than just a rock band doing a rock album and releasing it and doing a tour."
"In other words, it was meant to be something that maybe could have been turned into some kind of theater show or could have gone on to be a bigger production. I'm not really sure. I just remember hearing the talk about the idea initially to do an album based around Nostradamus's life and things like that," he added.
For Travis, the album’s release also coincided with a fragile moment within the group’s ranks. He recalled: "Thinking back on it, it was also near the end of the K.K.–Glenn relationship. Do you know what I mean? 'Cause they were still in the band, but there was a lot of friction there. And again, I was witness to it. And I could tell things probably weren't gonna last. I didn't know what would happen or that K.K. would actually leave the band — I certainly didn't predict that — but I could just tell that they weren't getting along and everybody as a group was kind of just spreading out and living in different parts of the world."
The project may not have endured in their live shows either. Last October, bassist Ian Hill gave his own perspective in an interview with Chris Akin Presents: "It was probably something we needed to get out of our system. But it's one of those albums — it's very long, very complicated as well, and it is designed to be listened to in one sitting, which is one of the reasons that we don't play any songs from that record. It's great — I mean, it is, at heart, a great heavy metal record; it really is — but it's picking out the songs that would fit into the set at the moment."
"And there's anything there that would enhance the set. But for the sake of it, we could do that — [play a song] from Nostradamus — but it wouldn't have helped the set in any other way. And it is difficult to do, when you're getting a setlist together, because you have to find that blend of new material, obviously old favorites that you'd get lynched if you didn't play, and then you've got a whole melting pot there of stuff that we can pick out of. And it gets more difficult with each album, because every time you put a new song in, you've got to drop someone's potential favorite. But we do our best, and I think we've got it pretty much right up until now anyway."
While Nostradamus had its defenders, many fans felt it strayed too far from the classic Priest sound. Critics often described it as slow, operatic, and heavily reliant on keyboards, with only a handful of tracks resembling the band’s signature heavy metal drive.
