New Judas Priest album - "Firepower" (2018)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Sentient Six, Oct 2, 2017.

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  1. Sentient Six

    Sentient Six Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Annandale, NJ USA
    There's an interesting interview from Andy Sneap, who is co-producing the next JP album with Tom Allom, regarding the album. From what I can gather, it seems that the new album is done.

    JUDAS PRIEST's New Album Contains 'Some Real Classic Moments,' Says Producer ANDY SNEAP

    JUDAS PRIEST's long-awaited new album contains "good energy" and "some real classic moments," according to a producer who worked on the disc.

    The follow-up to 2014's "Redeemer Of Souls" was helmed by the band's longtime collaborator Tom Allom, acclaimed British knob-twiddler Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, EXODUS, TESTAMENT, ACCEPT) and engineer Mike Exeter (BLACK SABBATH).

    Sneap, who plays guitar in the reactivated British occult metal act HELL, spoke about his involvement with the new PRIEST album during an interview with Serbia's Hardwired magazine.

    Andy said (hear audio below): "When I first got involved with them, I think we had about twenty-six ideas that we were working on, which we've whittled down to fourteen or fifteen; we haven't decided on a which songs or a running order for the album yet.

    "I think it's got a really good energy and some real classic moments on there. Rob's [Halford] singing great, Richie's [Faulkner] on fire on it.

    "We really, really pushed the band to play together in the studio, and we actually took tempos from them playing together rather than the demos.

    "Glenn [Tipton, guitar] originally wanted to work on it like they have done on the last few albums and use the demos as templates and work off that, and I made them actually play as a band.

    "I think we've got quite a fresh feel on it and quite an old-school approach at times. We pushed Rob on varying the patterns up a little bit on the verses."

    Sneap recalled his first meeting with JUDAS PRIEST where he expected to sit down with Tipton and Faulkner to discuss their ideas for the new album's sound and overall direction. "I didn't even know Rob was gonna be there," he said. "And I went down to Glenn's house, and there was Glenn and Richie there. And the doorbell rang and it was Rob, and I was, like, 'Oh, ****ing hell.' [Laughs] And I found myself, within thirty minutes, telling Rob how I wanted him to sing. And I [thought to myself] 'Shut up! I'm telling Rob Halford how I want him to sing' [Laughs]. But he was totally cool. I was saying how I wanted some of that 'British Steel' mid-range in there. And he was, like, 'Yeah, yeah. No problem. I don't wanna sing like a pub singer. You've gotta push me a bit. I can be lazy.'"

    According to Sneap, "Rob did great" during the album's final recording sessions. "I'll tell you what: for someone who's got that much experience, there's no ego there at all," he said. "We'd do, like, six or seven passes, and I'd ask him to try something a bit [different] on this part, and he was, like, 'No problem.' And he'd give me another four takes with a slightly different vibe. And then me and Tom Allom would sit there and we'd comp it, and we pretty much agreed on everything.

    "And the other thing… What Rob's really good at is harmonizing with himself," he continued. "And Tom's really good at… I didn't realize how much the classic PRIEST albums, a lot of the harmony ideas were Tom Allom's influence. So Tom was there, and because he's a keyboard player, he'd be singing harmonies to Rob, and Rob was nailing the harmonies like that.

    "In fact, I got the multi-tracks from 'Screaming For Vengeance' from Tom Allom, and I think Rob is singing as well as he was back then, listening to it," Sneap added. "You're looking at something that was recorded in — what? — 1982, when 'Screaming' was done. So thirty-five years ago. And for a guy thirty-five years on in his career… I mean, they're playing in E flat now, so they are semitone down, but most bands are [these days]. He's nailing it. I took a vocal off 'Screaming For Vengeance' — I think it was a high F sharp — and I put it into one of the songs as a bit of a laugh. And Rob was, 'Oh, that's a good idea,' and he just went and nailed it again. So if he can hit the high notes from 'Screaming For Vengeance', that's quite impressive."

    Sneap went on to credit Tipton for being the creative driving force behind JUDAS PRIEST.

    "Working with Glenn, he'd come up with things and you'd be, like, 'Oh, no, no.' You'd think, 'Oh, no. Don't do that. Don't do that.' And then you do it, and it's, like, 'That's JUDAS PRIEST,'" Andy said. "It's weird. He's got a way of doing things that's quite unorthodox and quite not how… Me, as a guitar player, you've gotta try and steer the ship how you think it would go, but then Glenn would come in and sort of go, 'No, that needs simplifying,' and, 'I'm hearing something different here.' And he'll sing a guitar melody or a vocal melody. I didn't realize how much of the melodic aspects of PRIEST actually Glenn was a part of. But when you look at the credits on all the old albums, I think he's credited on nearly every song. But there's definitely a method to Glenn Tipton's madness in JUDAS PRIEST. Rob will come in, take an idea and just take it even further. It's good. It's a great dynamic. It's been really good fun working with them. They're super-nice guys."

    JUDAS PRIEST's new album is tentatively due in early 2018.

    Allom produced every PRIEST release from "Unleashed In The East" (1979) through "Ram It Down" (1988), along with several live records since then. As a young engineer, he also worked on the first three BLACK SABBATH records under producer Rodger Bain.

    "Redeemer Of Souls" was released in July 2014. The follow-up to 2008's double-disc concept album "Nostradamus" was billed as a return to JUDAS PRIEST's heavy-metal roots.

    "Redeemer Of Souls" sold around 32,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 6 on The Billboard 200 chart.


    Read more at JUDAS PRIEST's New Album Contains 'Some Real Classic Moments,' Says Producer ANDY SNEAP
     
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  2. ifihadafish

    ifihadafish Forum Resident

    I took a long time to pick up those latter day albums and regret those lost years - and missing the Redeemer Of Souls gig too - as the album is excellent, a surefire return to form of classic Priest. I think there is only one duff song from the 2 disc version. Richie must have really fired up the band again.

    I've only just got Nostradamus a few months back and even it isn't as bad as I feared - could have done with being a single CD edition with the fat cut off, but some quality songs flow through the overall album.

    Now looking forward to this new Priest album for sure.
     
  3. weekendtoy

    weekendtoy Rejecting your reality and substituting my own.

    Location:
    Northern MN
    Looking forward to this.

    I too had written off post reunion albums, without ever hearing them. Recently picking up Angel of Retribution and Redeemer of Souls in the used bins, only to find I really like them. Lesson learned!
     
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  4. antonkk

    antonkk Senior Member

    Location:
    moscow
    To hear Rob in great voice again is something I was afraid was never gonna happen.
     
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  5. ifihadafish

    ifihadafish Forum Resident

    You not happy with his voice on the post-reunion albums Anton??
     
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  6. Matthew Tate

    Matthew Tate Forum Resident

    Location:
    Richmond, Virginia

    to me thats the worst of the reunion albums
     
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  7. Purplerocks

    Purplerocks Forum Resident

    Location:
    IN
    I haven't heard any Priest since mid 80's but I may check this one out. As a youngster I was way on board with the Priest from Rock a Rolla thru Screaming

    Burned a ton of braincells listening to all those albums so many yrs ago
     
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  8. SpaceshipEarth

    SpaceshipEarth Forum Resident

    Location:
    Newburgh
    Purplerock...you didn't like Defenders of the Faith?
     
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  9. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Excited that Sneap is part of this as his work with latter day Accept has been pretty amazing.

    I'm hoping for one or two really epic, Victim of Changes type songs.
     
  10. Todd W.

    Todd W. It's a Puggle

    Location:
    Maryland
    Redeemer of Souls is a fine album. A pretty good return to form. I also really liked Nostradamus. I wish they would have fleshed out some of the shorter passages. I thought some of those were very good.
     
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  11. Purplerocks

    Purplerocks Forum Resident

    Location:
    IN
    I recall a couple of tunes on that lp that I liked but my life was changing at that time with starting a family etc and kinda lost track of them at that point
     
  12. SpaceshipEarth

    SpaceshipEarth Forum Resident

    Location:
    Newburgh

    Oh...okay..cool...totally understandable. I think it may even be better than Screaming For Vengeance song-wise but the mushy treated drum sound damages the album. Not only dated but it didn't sound good back then!
     
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  13. Purplerocks

    Purplerocks Forum Resident

    Location:
    IN
    Yeah, I do now remember those unfortunate processed drum tracks beginning at that time
    I believe the songs I liked were "Love Bites" and "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll"
     
  14. Sneap will certainly get a better sound than what was achieved on Redeemer Of Souls, especially with Col Allom on board again.
    Redeemer would be a great bar the crappy production.
     
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  15. SquishySounds

    SquishySounds Yo mama so fat Thanos had to snap twice.

    Location:
    New York
    I was totally unaware of any albums after Nostradamus. Which I didn’t like.
     
  16. SizzleVonSizzleton

    SizzleVonSizzleton The Last Yeti

    Random thoughts.....

    I could not be more excited for a new Judas Priest album but I'll selfishly admit that it's a bit frustrating to have pictures from a year ago saying they're in the studio and now to hear that the album is "tentatively" scheduled for early 2018. It's not enough that they're getting old, so am I. And I need some new Priest!

    I don't feel like it's beneficial to labor over an album for so long. I wish they'd have recorded and released a strong set of 8 songs last year and then put out another album of similar length when they're ready to tour. Redeemer of Souls had 18 songs.

    There was at least one show on the last tour where Glenn didn't look so well and he was playing the Painkiller solo without his usual dexterity on multiple occasions so I have to admit I've been a bit worried about him.

    I think Redeemer of Souls is a very good album and by far the best of the three reunion albums. The run of Redeemer of Souls, Halls of Valhalla and Sword of Damocles is as good a three song run as you're likely to find in their entire catalogue.

    Angel of Retribution is a pretty good album but Nostradamus is a disaster. I feel like all the elements are there for me to enjoy it but it's just a boring and faceless set of tunes that goes on forever. The worst album they've made with Rob.
     
  17. Dynamic Ranger

    Dynamic Ranger Forum Resident

    Location:
    Old Town, Maine
    I'm always psyched for new Priest. After all, they are my favorite band, of any genre.
    Bring it on! :evil::cool::thumbsup:
     
  18. Todd W.

    Todd W. It's a Puggle

    Location:
    Maryland
    I couldn't disagree more. But, that's OK. I respect your opinion. It is not the worst album made with Rob. I think Turbo was a turn for the worst. They got caught up in some of the mainstream rock of the period. Rocka Rolla is not a great debut. I am not a real fan of Point of Entry either. Heading to the Highway, Desert Plains and Solar Angels are the only worthy ones there. Ram It Down is not a favorite either. Would I say Nostradamus is head and shoulders above these.........no. But it is not worst. I give them full credit on Nostradamus to do something different. Not just something that was shiek at the time. Like some of the above albums are.
     
    Last edited: Oct 4, 2017
  19. Psychedelic Good Trip

    Psychedelic Good Trip Beautiful Psychedelic Colors Everywhere

    Location:
    New York
    I'll take another Nostrodomos sounding album. Just sayin' truth is I'm happy with any new priest.


    Judas Priest
    Nostradamus


    1. [​IMG]
    2. [​IMG]
     
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  20. Psychedelic Good Trip

    Psychedelic Good Trip Beautiful Psychedelic Colors Everywhere

    Location:
    New York
    Wish me Les Binks would rejoin for this new album. Just a cameo of some sort.



    Les Binks
    [​IMG]
    Les Binks with his full drum kit in 2016.
     
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  21. SpaceshipEarth

    SpaceshipEarth Forum Resident

    Location:
    Newburgh
    @Todd W.

    I guess I'm one of the few that loves Point of Entry, but that may be due to the fact it was the first Priest album I owned.

    For all the flak Turbo gets, I think about half of it is really good and I would take it any day over Ram It Down.
     
  22. warewolf95

    warewolf95 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Greenville, SC
    The thing with Nostradamus is that its just too bloated. The material itself is good its just way too big for its own good.
     
  23. warewolf95

    warewolf95 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Greenville, SC
    Turbo has a lot of AWESOME soloing throughout!!! Also, with Out In The Cold is epic.
     
  24. Psychedelic Good Trip

    Psychedelic Good Trip Beautiful Psychedelic Colors Everywhere

    Location:
    New York
    Like Turbo myself. Always thought of it like Priest had to make a really sounding mid 80's album.
     
  25. SpaceshipEarth

    SpaceshipEarth Forum Resident

    Location:
    Newburgh
    Yeah...Out In The Cold is one of the best love songs/ballads they ever did.

    Just curious, does anyone know what the band's opinion of Point of Entry is?
     
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