I hesitated to buy this album since I didn't like Painkiller or Ram It Down very much. Having seen them and met them, I can say they are one of the best rock bands ever. Jugulator suffers from lacklustre songwriting. It's funny to read reviews by people who seem to be Preist neophytes saying things like "their best album" and "Ripper is better than Halford." People who really know Judas Priest can only hope for some better songwriting next time around. Heaviness alone does not make for great heavy metal...