Voyeurs
Ironically, Judas Priest's replacement lead singer, Tim Owens, sounds more like the original vocal Priest, Rob Halford, than Halford himself does onVoyeurs, the first record by his band Two, which features Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Discarding his piercing scream, Halford sings complete melodies that vary in tone from plaintive to mildly annoyed. What really defines Two, however, is Reznor's mechanical manipulations, which convert mainstream metal and alternative numbers into haunting, cybernetic vistas. When he's working with the band's best material,Voyeursis electrifying, but when the band lapses into autopilot, even Reznor can't save Two from sounding like Stabbing Westward.--Jon Wiederhorn