Skip to main content

Judas Priest - Firepower

Released - 9 March 2018
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
Firepower is the second album to feature Richie Faulkner on guitar and it seems like he has done a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to riffs and solos. This is not a bad thing as he has given the band new life and renewed sense of energy. I can say straight away after one listen that this is the best album Judas Priest have released since 1990's Painkiller album. The cover is reminiscent of Screaming for Vengeance and and good sign that they have stuck to what makes Judas Priest the band they are. The production and particularly the guitar sound is an improvement on Redeemer of Souls. I believe this to be down to co producer Andy Sneap. He gets a consistent clean and tight sound that almost defines the modern metal tone. Now on to the music...

The first 2 released tracks Firepower and Lightning Strike set the tone for the album. Fast paced and wouldn't sound out of place on classic albums like painkiller. They are probably thebest songs on the album but don't let that stop you because the rest are not far behind. At 66 years old Rob Halford is still going strong and though he's not screaming like The Sentinel anymore it's still that vintage Halford sound. Evil Never Dies and Never the Heroes slow the place down slightly but the riffs continue to be heavy and the drums are still relentlessly pounding away. Necromancer Picks the tempo back up but with a heavy chugging chorus that get the head banging. Children of the sun sound like it could have been carried over from Redeemer of Souls. Not as a leftover because it's still a solid track. Rising form ruins with it's Guardians intro is a mini epic crammed into 6 min 29 seconds with its slow build into a chest beating anthem that would fit into the power metal genre no problems. Flame Thrower gets back to the power of the first 2 tracks. At this point in the album there has been no let up in quality and it continues to go on. The next song Spectre is a little bit different but in a way that harks back to the song The Ripper. A bit darker and more experimental. Traitors Gate and Never Surrender continue with the theme of the album which doesn't let up even at this point and there are only 2 songs to go. Lone Wolf changes a bit with a main riff that is more in line with Black Sabbath/Black Label Society but Halford's vocals keep it undeniably Priest. If any song lets the album down then for me it's Sea of Red. It's like its going for the epic feel but doesn't quite capture it. It's not an awful song by any means but considering the rest of the album I think it could have been left off. A disappointing end to what may actually be the best album of the year.

Rating - 9.5 out of 10

Best song - Firepower
Worst song - Sea of Red
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tremonti - A Dying Machine

Released - June 8th © 2018 Napalm Records Handels GmbH Track listing 1. Bringer Of War 2. From The Sky 3. A Dying Machine 4. Trust 5. Throw Them To The Lions 6. Make It Hurt 7. Traipse 8. The First The Last 9. A Lot Like Sin 10. The Day When Legions Burned 11. As The Silence Becomes Me 12. Take You With Me 13. Desolation 14. Found Mark Tremonti is a guitarist I've followed since the end of Creed (wasn't a massive fan of that). His work with Alter Bridge and his previous solo albums though have all been worthy of well more than a passing listen. His skills on the guitar improve with every release and in the case of the Tremonti albums, so have his vocals. After a slightly disappointing release from his Alter Bridge colleague earlier in the year I was quietly confident that the next Tremonti release (this one) would not let me down. Largely I'd say it hasn't. The steady increase in quality from his previous 3 albums reaching what appear...
Post a Comment
Read more

Myles Kennedy - Year of the tiger

 Released - 9th March 2018 Track listing 1. Year Of The Tiger 2. The Great Beyond 3. Blind Faith 4. Devil On The Wall 5. Ghost Of Shangri La 6. Turning Stones 7. Haunted By Design 8. Mother 9. Nothing But A Name 10. Love Can Only Heal 11. Songbird 12. One Fine Day I've followed Myles Kennedy from the beginning with the first Alter Bridge album right through to his second complete Slash album. I have a lot of time and respect for him and think his voice is one of the best in modern rock/metal music. His first solo outing with 'Year of the tiger' takes a rather drastic turn of style from all the previous albums he has appeared on by stripping back the distorted guitars and going for a much more acoustic feel and a wide range of styles within that framework. The versatility of this man knows no bounds. What I will say is that this album is a grower. There aren't any obvious stand out 'hits' for me. Had it been anyone else after first listen I pro...
Post a Comment
Read more

Delayed Departure - Your Colours

Release date : Oct 19th Track Listing: 01 Neon Lights 02 Who Are You 03 Breathe It In 04 Better Way To Be 05 Your Colours 06 Too Close Delayed Departure are a 5 piece alternative rock band from Farnborough. I first came across this band with the single 'Ocean' from the last E.P release 'Consequences'. It was a track that I loved and was patiently waiting to hear what this next collection of tracks was going to be like. The recommendation is that they are for fans of You Me At Six, Mallory Knox & Deaf Havana. I couldn't tell you what any of those sound like but if it's true I'll have to check them out as well. The comparison I would loosely draw is with InMe at least from the instrumental section of the band. We're off to a good start with the first song and lead single for the E.P 'Neon Lights'. It opens up with quite a bouncy guitar riff with a layer of atmospheric lead that leads into more uptempo verse. The chorus sees v...
Post a Comment
Read more