One of the most difficult things to do successfully is changing vocalist. You can try to get a clone and pretend like nothing happened, you can get someone totally different and change your style, or you can try to get somewhere in between. I think they tried to keep some of the Halford style, but also changed to fit Ripper. Either way, it's impossible to please all the fans. These 3 songs make a very strong finish
I highly recommend you check out the live version of Abductors off of Live Meltdown 98. It greatly outdoes the original. In fact, all the Jugulator songs sound much better on that live album.
Thanks again for your excellent reactions. I was a hater of this album when it came out, but actually enjoyed it listening with you, and your observations. Certainly not the worst Priest album (they are yet to come!).
My biggest issue with this album was the cover art. On my copy, which I bought in 1997, the cover art was just a close up of the face of the Jugulator and it seemed to be out of focus and somewhat pixelated. The full artwork was inside the booklet. I don't know why they made that choice, but it wasn't a good one. Also, this is the only Judas Priest album that is not available on Spotify. That annoys me, because they do have the much inferior Demolition album on there. These last 3 tracks are great, in my opinion. Cathedral Spires is probably the best track on the whole album.
