Guardians of the British metal spirit for four decades, Judas Priest have behaved a little erratically in recent times. After 2008's great but goofy concept album, Nostradamus, a farewell tour that was anything but, their appearance on American Idol and, most shockingly, losing original guitarist KK Downing, the band that once most truly defined heavy metal seemed to be losing the plot. Mercifully, Redeemer of Souls is a return to thunderous and unrelenting anthems delivered with all the subtlety of an axe to the skull. Songs such as Dragonaut, Halls of Valhalla and Down in Flames adhere proudly to the old blueprint, and feature just enough of Rob Halford's iconic banshee wail to placate the fans. The bluesy thud of Crossfire is the most distinctive and absorbing thing here; elsewhere there are few risks, but there is something reassuring about the fact that, 40 years on, the Metal Gods still sound so in love with the genre.