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I have heard the whole thing, a dozen times by now, so I can definitely say: album of the year and, imo, the most important album of the new millennium so far. I can't refrain from describing what I heard, so people who want a complete surprise maybe shoudn't read what follows. Also, I really don't want to raise unrealistic expectations (which I might have done already), so bear in my mind this is only my reaction to this album and the way I perceive it. It might not be the same for everyone else.
It has an interesting structure, in order to match the concept. As far as I can say, disc one deals with the ascension of Nostradamus, his glory period and his main prophecies. So we're offered an hymnic and atmospheric type of heavy metal, mostly midtempo to accomplish solemnity, with glorious choruses (I especially love the Pestilence and Plague one, sung in Italian), firey solos and leads (the guitar work in this respect is very reminiscent of Painkiller) and excelent vocal melodies. There are two unexpected experiments here as well: War, a symphonic song, and Death, slow crushing doom. Both kick ass. The final song, Persecution, changes pace completely, a ferocious metal melter which would have been quite at home on Painkiller.
Disc two, I think, speaks of his disgrace period, exile and loneliness. So it's less heavy, gone are the atmospheric elements. Instead, it's more melodic, more emotional, it feels more intimate and personal. It has a somewhat crescendo structure: sad notes of piano in Solitude, beautiful acoustics in Exiled, emotional chorus and lots of melancholy in Alone. Then things get a bit heavier with Visions and everything explodes with Nostradamus. The end is marked by my favorite song, an 8+ minute epic with spectacular bridge and chorus. Somewhere in between there is a surprise: Hope/New Beginnings, a duo ballad with the parfume of the 70's, it has a special feeling which reminds me a lot an old song of theirs, Last Rose Of Summer. Brilliant.
I have to make a special note for the interludes. Most of them are simply Halford singing over acoustic guitars and some tasteful keyboard. And they are so beautiful that, for at least half of them, I regret they didn't develop them into full songs. So no worries for filler interludes here, this isn't Gods Of War part II. As for the man himself, he's simply spectacular. The years gone by refined his voice and made it even more beatiful. And he still delivers power, heart and passion. He may not be able to soar quite as high as he did back in the day on Dreamer Deceiver, but I think his vocal performance exceeds in diversity the one in SWOD. A tremendous listening pleasure for these ears.
So yeah. I could go on for days, but I guess I'd better not.
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. As of now I've heard the first four tracks, and while each have been good, there have been moments that make me smack my head due to the pompousness. But hey, gotta listen to the whole thing before I judge.