Judas Priest - Firepower.
The high anticipation for the metal veterans' new release was compounded by the departure of K. K. Downing, 66, into musical retirement with his own explanation that he needed more time to play golf. Not that other prominent musicians don't have their excesses, but they can still usually juggle family, studio playing, gigs and, for example, fly fishing (Eric Clapton) or playing with model trains (Rod Stewart). One of the two guitars was picked up alongside Glenn Tipton (70) by former Lauren Harris's Band member Richie Faulkner (38), and it has to be said that it didn't hurt the band's sound. Lyrically, this year's album, titled Firepower, features an accumulation of themes relating to all manner of natural and non-natural disasters and calamities, covering a wide range from the total destruction of everything to bad weather (Ligthning Strike). Violence, chaos, destruction, brutality, earthquakes, tsunamis and more are not left out. The cover more than suggests that this will not be a farce. The 14-track set opens with the pedaling Firepower, released back in November 2017. Halford is audibly on form and proves it in all the other songs. Cutting vocals accented by Judas-like guitar riffs along with a smothering rhythm section (Ian Hill - bass, Scott Travis - drums) are the band's main acquisitions, and not just on this record. Nearly sixty-seven year old Robert John Arthur Halford is still a symbol of the evolution and enduring position of the heavy metal style. The shaved head, formerly long hair (if possible), the crooked hair, the metal accessories, the Harley Davidson ready behind the scenes, the proven props of the classic metal scene "Judas" are not a relic and not only nostalgists enjoy them with the band. The album belongs to Tipton, Halford and Faulkner. Excellent is Evil Never Dies, which could easily have been on British Steel (1980), though not sonically; interesting is the double track Guardiens and Rising from Ruins, where the piano echoes at the beginning and after an instrumental minute, a balladic harmony follows with a multi-part chorus and then a return to the overture, accompanied by brisk solos by both guitarists (Faulkner, Tipton). Apart from the fast-paced songs Necromancer, Flame Thrower and Traitors Gate, there are also quieter compositions on the album, of which the proclamatory Never the Heroes and the balance-smelling Sea of Red stand out. Spectre and the apocalyptic Children of the Sun are also solid tracks. The production of Tom Allom and Andy Sneap has undoubtedly helped the band to create a quality album within metal standards and probably pull the band to the maximum possible. The band's eighteenth full-length, which took many months to prepare and realize and was accompanied by various statements from current and former band members (e.g., K.K. Downing on Glen Tipton's Parkinson's disease), is a significant achievement referencing classic metal and deserves more than one listen.