On Jan. 7, Judas Priest announced the details of their upcoming new album, Firepower, set for release March 9 via Epic Records. The 14-track album (see track titles below) is the 18th studio collection from the British metal veterans, whose current lineup features singer Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis.
Related: The band revealed that Tipton has Parkinson’s
The album was produced by Tom Allom (the man behind the board for all of the band’s releases from 1979-1988, including Unleashed in the East, British Steel, Screaming for Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith), along with Grammy Award-winning producer Andy Sneap.
Watch the lyric video for “Never the Heroes,” released on March 2
“Tom Allom has got this classic metal thing,” explains Halford in a press release. “And Andy is a bit more of a ‘modern metal producer’ but his thinking is a little bit different to Tom’s. And I think to get this balance between that classic old school metal to what Andy’s world is was just a remarkable coalescence.”
On Feb. 1, the band released the title track to the upcoming LP.
Listen to “Firepower”
“Tom Allom has been with us since 1979, so his knowledge of ourselves and our music in general is immense,” adds Hill. And according to Travis, Priest returned back to a recording method that worked incredibly well on the band’s earlier classics. “We went back to the organic way of recording where it’s all of us in a room and we got to play together.”
Related: What does Halford have to say about Priest’s rejection from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Watch the video for the album’s first single, ‘Lightning Strike”
Firepower Track Listing
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
Pre-order the album here.
The group will support Firepower with an extensive North American tour (see dates below). The band will launch its trek beginning March 13 in Wilkes Barre, Pa., and will hit more than two dozen cities in all, wrapping up the first leg of what is planned as a world tour in San Antonio, Tex., on May 1.
Opening for Judas Priest throughout the North American segment of the tour will be Saxon and Black Star Riders. Tickets are available here and here.
Priest has previously announced that they will headline the Bloodstock Festival at Catton Park, Derbyshire, in the U.K. in August, so European fans can most likely assume the tour will land in that continent some time next summer.
Related: Did you know Judas Priest once covered a Joan Baez song?
Firepower will be the band’s first new studio release since 2014’s Redeemer of Souls.
Judas Priest (Photo: Justin Borucki; used with permission)
Judas Priest 2018 Tour Dates
Mar 13 – Wilkes Barre, PA – Mohegan Sun Arena
Mar 15 – Youngstown, OH – Covelli Centre
Mar 17 – Uniondale, NY – Nassau Coliseum
Mar 18 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
Mar 20 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
Mar 22 – Uncasville, CT – Mogehan Sun Arena
Mar 23 – Worcester, MA – The Palladium
Mar 25 – Ottawa, ON – The Arena At TD Place
Mar 27 – London, ON – Budweiser Gardens
Mar 28 – Oshawa, ON – Tribute Communities Centre
Mar 30 – Rama, ON – Casino Rama
Mar 31 – Detroit, MI – Masonic Temple
Apr 02 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory
Apr 03 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theater
Apr 05 – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center
Apr 06 – Hammond, IN – The Venue at Horseshoe Casino
Apr 08 – Bloomington, IL – Grossinger Motors Arena
Apr 10 – Casper, WY – Events Center
Apr 11 – Loveland, CO – Budweiser Events Center
Apr 13 – Salt Lake City, UT – Vivint Smart Home Arena
Apr 15 – Kent, WA – ShoWare Center
Apr 17 – Portland, OR – Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Apr 19 – San Francisco, CA – The Warfield
Apr 21 – Las Vegas, NV – Las Rageous Festival
Apr 22 – Los Angeles, CA – Microsoft Theatre
Apr 24 – Phoenix, AZ – Comercia Theatre
Apr 26 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
Apr 28 – Dallas, TX – Bomb Factory
Apr 29 – Sugarland, TX – Smart Financial Centre
May 01 – San Antonio, TX – Freeman Coliseum
May 05 – Mexico City, Mexico – Corona Hell and Heaven Festival
Jun 05 – Oslo, Norway – Spektrum
Jun 07 – Hyvinkaa, Finland – Rockfest
Jun 09 – Norje, Sweden – Sweden Rock Festival
Jun 10 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena
Jun 12 – Pilsen, Czech Republic – Pilsen HM Arena
Jun 13 – Katowice, Poland – Spodek
Jun 15 – Grafenhainichen, Germany – With Full Force
Jun 17 – Florence, Italy – Firenze Rocks
Jun 19 – Freiburg, Germany – Sick Arena/Messe
Jun 20 – Mannheim, Germany – Zelt Festival
Jun 22 – Clisson, France – Hellfest
June 24 – Dessel, Belgium – Graspop Metal Meeting
Jun 26 – Zurich, Switzerland – Samsung Hall
Jun 28 – Bilbao, Spain – Sala Cubec
Jun 30 – Madrid, Spain – Download Festival Caja Magica
Jul 02 – Lisbon, Portugal – Altice Arena
Jul 05 – Barcelona, Spain – Rock Fest Barcelona
Jul 19 – Athens, Greece – Rockwave Festival
Jul 21 – Plovdiv, Bulgaria – Hills of Rock Festival
Jul 22 – Bucharest, Romania – Romexpo
Jul 24 – Budapest, Hungary – Budapest Arena
Jul 26 – Tolmin, Slovenia – Metal Days Festival
Jul 28 – Vienna, Austria – Stadthalle
Jul 31 – Munich, Germany – Zenith, die Kulturhalle
Aug 02 – Wacken, Germany – Wacken Festival
Aug 06 – Tilburg, Netherlands – 013
Aug 08 – Dortmund, Germany – Westfalenhalle
Aug 10 – Catton Hall, U.K. – Bloodstock Festival
Watch Judas Priest perform “Breaking the Law”
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