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Yes,the song focuses a lot more on the man Nostradamus was than the “mystery” he is /was.We’ll go there and infact that’s what we’ll be discussing through out this blog post,but before that,let me give you a little bit of a summary of my “Metal-mysteries-reasearch” background and why I believe Metal is just more than a form of music but really literature.

Phenomena and the paranormal have always facinated the science geek in me.The poetry and the good literature I see in heavy metal have often provided food for thought and quenched my thirst as a literature enthusiast.And NO!I don’t give a rat’s arse about most of the(well let’s 75%) modern day “Teenage-GOTHcized-I know a lot of big words and you can’t suck a cock” bull shit poetry.It’s absouletly pathetic that out of all-poetry has become the new trend in the never ending Popularity Contest the majority of the youth is sucked into.It is even more pathetic that it (poetry) is slowly becoming the new “element” in this whole EMO bull crap.I mean honestly,there was a time when you could listen to Napalm Death and just not give a shit about “who’s taking her out” rubbish.But now you have Jared Leto,his teenage “blonde” fans,30 Seconds to Mars and his so-called poetry!Believe me,people think up all sorts of “cryptic messages” in these songs.

Lets’ not go into Napalm Death and Grind Core and ”specifics”-just look at Metaliterature(I also know that Napalm Death do not exactly fall under Metaliterature-whatever that is) at the abstract level.Look at all these amazing storytellers Metal has produced.(And once again let’s not go into power metal and Dragons and Dungeons and the 7 Swards….fantacizing really is one of my favourite topics but it can lead to very lengthy posts.Let’s save it for another day.I don’t want to “Harry Potterize” this blog post!But instead….)Look at Steve Harris and the brilliant story teller he is

“When I was wandering in the desert and was searching for the truth .I heard a choir of angels calling out my name…..” (Rainmaker/Dance of Death)and when you hear Bruce Dickinson on top of that,it really becomes theatre not the NEW WAVE OF BRITISH HEAVY METAL!!!And Gerard Way and his Chemical Romance’s “When I was a young boy,my father took me in to the city to see a marching band” really sounds like the cheesiest nursary rhyme compared to that.It is a bad comparison actually,it is no different than trying to compare “Great Expectations” with Pamela Anderson’s autobiography!

So what do intend to convey with this sort of long “intro” of mine?I am only too provoked when Literature dwells into intelligent metal musicianship.Add a hint of mystery to it-I am a happy man!So in this post I will be analysing how the title track off Judas Priest’s new album “Nostradamus” portrays the life of a legacy in a very psycho-social and emotional framework.And yes,I intend to present something covering the whole concept album-”Nostradamus”.I am waiting till I get my hands on the album itslef because I don’t want to rush through what seems like an amazingly awesome,awesomely amazing attempt by Priest-by only streaming the album as it’s currrently only available for streaming and doing the post will be disgraceful.I also intend to present some of my extensive research on topics like “Benjamin Breeg” and “Aleister Crowely” in a similar fashion,but for now it’s only the song Nostradamus by Judas Priest.

Before anything the genuine attempt by Judas Priest has to be appreciated because the song is presented in a context that absoloutely prooves the fact that a lot of hard work has gone into it,not just musically but “analytically”.Since it does not look solely at just the “Prophet”(Nostradamus himself declined being called a prophet,we’ll go there later but for the time being-let’s stick to that word) that’s Nostradamus but the more human side of the prophet,the album really stands out among a countless number of Nostradamus related musical projects.The song “Nostradamus” really celebrates the character in the true sense it should be done where as many of the previous attempts by some artistes have often “mocked” the personality by “Hip-sizing” it in a sellable form.

• Modest Mouse,have a go at Nostradamus in a seemingly childish way,in a song called “Education” from their fifth album say “We were dead before the ship even sank”

“Good old Nostradamus,he knew the whole damn time,there would always be an east from west,and someone in there fighting”

These bitches did not do their research.They are trying to stab the character of Nostradamus for the controvercially large time scale Nostradamus’ prophecies can be applied for and the obviousness of some of them. But part of what the legend Nostradamus is,is due to that.They also don’t seem to be aware of the fact that Nostradamus himself declined the term “Prophet”.

Nostradamus based most of his prophecies on previous “Bible-based” prophecies with reference to early hisotical events.Modest Mouse seem to be gullibaly following many of those who criticize Nostradamus for what he never claimed to be-a prophet!

Ex:

Although, my son, I have used the word prophet, I would not attribute to myself a title of such lofty sublimity — Preface to César, 1555

Not that I would attribute to myself either the name or the role of a prophet — Preface to César, 1555

• Rapper Nasir Jones(Nas) calls himslef Nostradamus,let alone releasing an album by the very name!It doesn’t get more childish than that!

Some of the more genuine and sensible attempts include that of Helloween and Stratovarius(both power metal bands AHEM!) respectively in The time of the Oath(1996) and Visions (1997) albums and rock operas by guitarsit Nikolo Kotzev(2001) and Dutch band Kayak(2005).Thin Lizzy and Marilyn Manson have also mentioned Nostradamus in their music namely,but not as ignorantly or disgacefuly as Modest Mouse or Nas!

So,to sum the long story and conclude it-Judas Priest’s Nostradamus focuses on a totally different area that has arguably never been touched by any musician ever in relation to Nostradamus-celebrating the character and depicting the psycho-social aspects of the character.

The basic structure of the song features a monologue and a third person perspective by  and on Nostradamus repeatedly.The monologue intro really breaks it down very slowly about how Nostradamus had been and is being misunderstood by some and worshipped by others.The highly Operatic element brought in by Rob Haldford’s vocals( DUH!) and the slow,symphonic edge in the music, help maintains a very rigid aspect.

“They never broke my will
Cause my heart was strong
They won’t justify
Condemnation, my vindication
But i will survive”

It’s not mentioned anywhere that Nostradamus reacted violently whenever he was to endure any hardship.Nostradamus was forced to leave the first University he attended-The University of Avignon-due to the outbreak of the Black Death (plague)-one of the deadliest pandemics in the history which killed 30% to 60% of Europe’s population.He was expelled from his second University-The University of Montpellier- where he was studying for a doctorate in medicine,for practising as an apothecary prior to joining the University.But history reveals that Nostradamus fought the plague bravely and created a “rose-pill” that gave protection from the plague.There are also several other occassions mentioned where he successfuly tackled “the plague” outbreaks in various cities.So really,as the song says “they never broke his will,’cause his heart was strong” and he “Engaged the enemy [the Black Death supposedly?] protect my friends”.

The next verse too is a continuation of the monologue where he speaks about how he “tamed the beast they sent to kill”, which again is presumably the Black Death.

The next three verses basically give the third person perception and “celebrate” the legacy.

“He has overcome
He can take the throne

Nostradamus; vindication
Nostradamus; is avenged

Nostradamus; our salvation
Nostradamus; he’s avenged”

I am really clueless about what Judas Preist mean by “Nostradamus;he’s avenged”.Some one with the knowledge base please leave a comment,it will be appreciated!

The next verse,once again is Nostradamus’ monologue where he describes his real life experience of fearing the Inquisition-early organization in the Roman Catholic Church established to  question and punish those who did not hold orthodox religious beliefs.

“I walked through fire to justify
Their inquisitions all condemned to die”

Towards the end of the song Judas Priest point out the “immortalization” of the “prophet” and how he himslef and his prophies are still being “studied” to this day.

[Nostradamus always maintained the term "Prophecies by Nostradamus" instead of "Prophecies of Nostradamus"]

So once again my point in writing this very long blog post is to show the extensive amount of research and hard work that go into the works of the true genius by the name of Judas Priest and the genuine “literature” they always produce.They are really making a statement out there as to “How to produce a concept album”

Await a continuation of this post once the album is released  which will focuse on the album as a whole,and no it won’t be a “review”.Pat yourself on the back for reading,it was a long post!

 

You can view the same post here at nonelouder.