Musical style and lyrics
The band's guitars were tuned down as low as C# and C. Musically, the album has more of a thrash metal-oriented sound. It retains the speed and heaviness of the band's previous album Painkiller. However, it was also influenced by the groove metal of Pantera and other bands popular at the time.
The lyrics on Jugulator are darker than the band's previous albums. "Cathedral Spires", for example, is about the end of the world. "Brain Dead" is written from the perspective of a man who, after a tragedy, has lost the ability to move and speak. Therefore he's trapped in his mind, and placed on life support.
Reception
Critical reaction to Jugulator has been mixed. Some liked the music but would prefer if Halford had sung it, while some disliked it on all counts. Glenn Tipton defended the musical changes: "You must remember that two albums went missing between 1990 and Jugulator. To us, it's not the huge leap some people see it as." Tim "Ripper" Owens opines that Jugulator is a better album than 2008's Nostradamus.
"Some people felt there wasn't enough melody on Jugulator," remarked Tipton, "but we just weren't feeling very melodic at the time."
In 2018, Owens pledged to re-record this album and its follow-up Demolition. He he feels that his era of the band has "been erased". Ever since Rob Halford rejoined the band, songs from both albums have been left off the band's concert setlists,. Halford stated he is not opposed to performing the songs live though.
