I really wasn't expecting much out of this one...

But now I find myself anxious to hear more. Something to look forward to in 2018.
 

 
 have an intense dislike of most recent albums and it is often due to the dreadful production and mastering, so I was not expecting much from this one. But within 5 seconds of the teaser, I knew that Andy Sneap was involved in the making of this new Judas Priest album (along with Tom Allom who produced so many of the bands classics).
 
Sneap helped rejuvenate bands like Accept, Exodus and many others and set a standard for metal production. A tad generic, and it doesn't breathe much but it works for the genre and it is much better than the majority of what's coming out these days.
 
If only Metallica would drop Rick Rubin and work with this guy...

 
 
Snippet:
 

craigb
I must admit that I've never been much of an album cover examiner.  This is probably how I became a purely imported music guy.  That said, the snippet sounded pretty good so I'll most likely be adding the album to my collection once it comes out!
 
Craig's Law regarding Good Music:
 
If I like it, it's good. 

For me it was an integral part of the experience - lay on your back with the headphones and immerse yourself into the music and the album art. Of course some albums were better suited for that than others - Iron Maiden comes to mind, with all the tiny details. Liner notes were also scrutinized and that's often where we found new bands to look out for. 
 
That being said, I became a purely imported music guy myself when CDs became the new standard. No matter how creative they try to be with it, it's just not the same. Sad, imho.