MUSIC: JUDAS PRIEST – Firepower

MUSIC: JUDAS PRIEST – Firepower
Sony
March 2018
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
9/10

Judas Priest return to their strengths after the disappointingly turgid mess that was Nostradamus, and the so-so Redeemer Of Souls on this eighteenth studio album, produced by veteran Tom Allom and Andy Sneap.

It’s ironic that as long-term members leave the band the new boys revisit what made the band great to begin with: Richie Faulkner’s proto-thrash riffing is a dead ringer for founding guitarist K K Downing’s, and the songs could all sit comfortably around the Screaming For Vengeance era.

And what songs they are: where Halford sounded tired and plodding on recent albums, he is in fine, supersonic voice here. The title track brings everything its title promises: a veritable onslaught from the heart of Priest’s arsenal, Traitor’s Gate and Flamethrower sound like a band half their age, Evil Never Dies is a tour de Force of metal by one of the originators of the entire genre.

Judas Priest are in rude form on Firepower, providing a fitting swansong for Glenn Tipton to bow out on (due to Parkinson’s Disease). With producer Andy Sneap already on board as touring guitarist, the stage is set for future recordings to be more homage than ground breaking, and if they never reach such heights again, Firepower may have to stand as a fitting monument to all which makes the band great. 

Category: CD Reviews