Album Review:
Judas Priest
Firepower
March 2018

After looking like Judas Priest was going to call it a day in 2012, they released Redeemer of Souls in 2014, which was their first with Richie Faulkner replacing founding guitarist K.K. Downing. After a successful tour and some time off, the Metal Gods are back with their latest release, Firepower!

By working with one of the modern heavy metal’s biggest producers, Andy Sneap, Judas Priest put out an extremely strong album for a band nearly half a century into their career. You can hear elements of different eras of Priest throughout the album, from the ferocity of Painkiller to the arena anthems of Turbo, the building blocks that got them to where they are today are all well represented.

The album opens with the title track, which is a fast song that showcases the power of Halford and company. It’s a relatively short song, just shy of three and a half minutes long, and less than 90 seconds in we get a ripping lead showcasing the dual guitar sound we come to expect of Priest. Next up is the first single they released off the album, “Lightning Strike,” another powerful song, that fits in with this modern-era of Priest as we last heard on Redeemer of Souls.

While I said the album is full of Judas Priest building blocks, the third track, “Evil Never Dies” sounds like something off of any of Halford’s early 2000’s solo outings, which is not a bad thing!

For a band consisting of members mostly in their late 60’s, Judas Priest sounds tighter than ever. The heavy metal community was shocked and saddened last month to learn that guitarist Glenn Tipton has been battling Parkinson’s disease for a decade, and will be sitting out the upcoming tour. Despite battling this disease, he and Richie Faulkner both put on phenomenal performances on the album. And can we talk about Rob Halford? At 66 years old, his voice is more powerful than ever!

Considering we thought we’d seen the last of Priest less than six years ago, I consider each new album and tour from them a blessing.

Firepower is out now on Epic records!

Firepower Tracklist
1. Firepower
2. Lightning Strike
3. Evil Never Dies
4. Never the Heroes
5. Necromancer
6. Children of the Sun
7. Guardians
8. Rising from Ruins
9. Flame Thrower
10. Spectre
11. Traitors Gate
12. No Surrender
13. Lone Wolf
14. Sea of Red

 

 

Find Judas Priest out on the road this spring! We’ll be covering the March 22 show in Connecticut.