JUDICATOR Announce New Album Details and Reissue News

US power metal band Judicator has issued a long-awaited update:

Judicator would like to formally (and finally!) announce the official release date of our fourth studio album The Last Emperor for March 30th, 2018, as well as CD rereleases of our 2012 debut album King of Rome and 2013 sophomore album Sleepy Plessow! Pre-orders for all merchandise are available NOW! Visit our bandcamp to pre-order and hear “Spiritual Treason” now!

And speaking of which, we would also proudly like to announce the mighty Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian as the guest vocalist on our song “Spiritual Treason!” Blind Guardian have continually been a major influence of the band, as Judicator began not long after when John and Tony met at a Blind Guardian concert in 2010. Hansi’s gracious appearance on the album is a full circle moment for us and we are incredibly thankful to Hansi and the Blind Guardian family not just for this collaboration, but also to their hospitality and kindness towards us over the last couple of years.

Please visit our newly launched website (http://www.judicatormetal.com) or Bandcamp (http://bandcamp.com/judicatormetal) for all physical and digital pre-orders and an immediate download of the song SPIRITUAL TREASON upon order.

We have also completely re-recorded the title track of our first album “King of Rome” as a bonus track (available on the CD version only) for this album. A music video was shot in March of 2017 with the assistance of Judy Alumni Austin Bentley (Machines of Man, Disforia, formally Judicator and longtime friend and collaborator) and will be released one week from today on March 9th, 2018 through youtube and our website. ‘King of Rome’ has become our signature song over the years, closing out the concerts we’ve played with some of our favorite moments singing along to the chorus with you all. With this recording and video, we hoped to capture the spirit of the band–which started as a no-budget bedroom recording project–and bring it to life in a professional and fully updated format. Ultimately, Judicator is a band that started from two friends that shared a love of power metal and recorded a handful of quick songs for fun, and everything we’ve done from there has been built on that as well as our family, friends, and fans shared love of heavy metal. “King of Rome” is the song we feel from our catalog most embodies these ideas and we hope you enjoy the final product!

“King of Rome” Music Video Credits:
Directed by Austin Bentley
Produced by John Yelland
Director of Photography Carter Fawcett
Camera Operator Reggie Hansen
Production Audio Jonathan Ramanujam

Additionally, we have put up pre-orders for brand new CD re-releases of our first two albums King of Rome (2012) and Sleepy Plessow (2013)! These albums have been out of print since 2015 and the repressings are completely redesigned with our updated logo and branding. Furthermore, they feature all of our previously digital-only single and EP releases as bonus tracks. King of Rome features the 2014 Coping Mechanism EP as bonus tracks and Sleepy Plessow features the 2012 single “Heroes and Villains” and the 2013 single ‘Wenn Kronen Zerschmettert Sind” as bonus tracks. These repressings are extremely limited, and for the first time our entire back catalog is available in physical format. These CDs will be released and shipped at the same time as The Last Emperor. All packages will be combined appropriately for convenience.

The Last Emperor is a historical power metal concept album covering several events and figures from the first Crusades and the People’s crusades, including Pope Urban II, Godfrey of Bouillon, Alexios I Komnenos, Raynald Porchet, and Bohemond I of Antioch. The album was recorded in 2017 and reamped, edited, and mixed by Carlos Alvarez of Dirty Viking Audio. The album was once again mastered by Brett Caldas-Lima of Tower Studio. Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian appears for additional lead and backing vocals on the song ‘Spiritual Treason’. David Brown of Chaos Frame returns once again for support with choir and backing vocals, as well as featuring on guest lead vocals on “Antioch”, playing the part of the martyred knight Raynald Porchet.

Lineup and Staff Credits for The Last Emperor:

John Yelland – Vocals
Tony Cordisco – Rhythm, Lead, and Acoustic Guitars
Michael Sanchez – Bass and Lead Guitars
Jordan Elcess – Drums

Featuring…

Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian – Additional Lead Vocals on “Spiritual Treason”
Dave Brown of Chaos Frame – Additional Lead Vocals on “Antioch”

JUDI-CHOIR…
Carlos Alvarez, Dave Brown, and John Yelland

Produced, Mixed, and Edited by Carlos Alvarez of Dirty Viking Audio Production

Mastered and Sequenced by Brett Caldas-Lima of Tower Studio

Hansi’s vocals engineered by Charlie Bauerfeind

Artwork by Marc Whisnant of Brilliant Engine

Judicator Logo and CD Layout by Christopher Horst of Horst Type Foundry

Executive Producers Asher Eliyahu Zaber and David Melanson

Lyrics by John Yelland