New Judas Priest album - "Firepower" (2018)

No signed LPs - actually that's what I was most looking forward to - they are selling signed drum heads. I bought the Live InFinite LP from amazon ($27 instead). And, for my taste, I really wasn't impressed with any of the shirt designs (either DP or JP).

 

Good article on the whole KK situation from KK's perspective.

Judas Priest's KK Downing on his departure: 'I felt I was in crisis'

 

Gonna give Firepower some fresh spins after not being enamored with it at first. Hoping that it will be more to my liking this time. What would you all say are the best songs from it?

 

Best songs? A bunch:
Rising from Ruins
Spectre
Traitor's Gate
No Surrender
Never the Heroes

 

Traitor's Gate is one of the best songs Priest has ever done and easily the best song on this album. It's got 134 plays on my iPod.

Rising From Ruins is the next best song, there's some subtle stuff going on in the verses that is enhanced by listening on headphones.

Spectre is a really interesting and unique sounding song for the band.

Firepower and Lightning Strike both work really well to begin the album, partially because they're smartly very short songs.

The whole album flows really well and I'd be interested to know how they approached sequencing it.

 

Yeah it's a solid album. I like the whole thing. I'm not too fond of Children of the Sun, but it has a killer bridge.

 

It sounded a little better this time around, but still not sure I am totally buying the hype (for lack of a better term). I agree that many of the songs have the classic Priest vibe, especially in regards to the riffing and Halford's vocals (sans the really high stuff), but the solos and melodic moments, while not bad, are just lacking. To me, the cool thing about Priest was that they could do a balls to the walls metal song and still have a kickass solo or guitar lead that would have an awesome melody (think Exciter with that killer guitar lead in the middle), and that kind of stuff seems to be missing from this album, or maybe they just haven't grabbed me yet. I do need to listen more, but that is what I have noticed.

 

You hear it on vinyl - MUCH better detail in the sound.

 

Spectre may have actually cracked my top 5 favorite Priest songs...I have to give it some thought. But holy crap does it blow my mind every time I listen to it.

 

Saw them on the 27th of September. What a great show. Delivering the Goods & Desert Plains. 2 of my favorites. My kids loved it. They are ready to see them again. hahaha Me too really.

 

Everybody still diggin' this album? I know I am. I think it is the best album of 2018 and a Priest classic. Time will tell on the latter.

 

I am. Still the album of the year for me too and I was not a Priest fan before. This album and Halford's Winter Songs turned me into a Priest fan! Since Firepower came out, I have bought 7 Priest albums.

 

I think we can say safely say it's a Priest classic. It stands very well next to their classic works in my opinion.

 

Love this album. It's still my favorite Priest album since Painkiller.

 

Yep still sounds fresh to me... and i am rapped that Priest will be playing in Australia next yr for Download... i will be there for both shows with bells on!!!!

 

This isn't saying much, now if you said best album since Screaming, they'd have my $.

 

Best album since Defenders. Better than Painkiller, Ram It Down and Turbo.

 

Firepower could easily have my vote for my favorite album of 2018. Was listening to "Spectre" the other day and like it as much now as I did earlier in the year.

 

This is just my opinion, but I don't think there has been a great Priest album since SFV until this one. There have been some great moments, but not great albums.

I always hated the sound of the drums on Defenders or I would have allowed that to be my cut off point.

I never understood all the love Painkiller gets. It's definitely a nice bounce coming off of Ram It Down and to a lesser extent Turbo, but everything is a far cry from the classic era from Turbo foreword until Firepower.

Firepower could be the followup to SFV easily.

 

No. I never could get into it. Just seemed like metal, nothing special. I've tried by listening many times, but it doesn't sink in. It sucks cause I spent like $30 on the album.

 

I’m not playing five times a day as I was upon first hearing it but absolutely an all time Priest classic! Brutally strong material!

 

Play all their albums several X a year.

Great band!

Some of the fav bands
Priest
Saxon
Venom
Tank
Motörhead

To just name a small handful

 

I agree with you on everything, except for Defenders. It's "sound" never bugged me and I love almost all the songs.

Agree about "Painkiller" being overrated as a complete album. It has a handful of really strong songs surrounded by a lot of mediocre material. Not a complete album at all. "Firepower" completely smokes it!!

 

I think Painkiller is ruined for some because of the cheesiest lyrics however I do consider that one a classic. I do sort of have to be in the mood to listen to it. For anyone that saw the tour in around 2005 I thought the Painkiller songs translated very well live.

 

Just listened to this album again the other day on a walk and I still love it. Halford still gives me chills with the way he delivers a lot of these vocals, especially on Traitors Gate. Such a great album.