Judas Priest - Firepower review
| Band: | Judas Priest |
| Album: | Firepower |
| Style: | Heavy metal |
| Release date: | March 09, 2018 |
| A review by: | nikarg |
01. Firepower
02. Lightning Strike
03. Evil Never Dies
04. Never The Heroes
05. Necromancer
06. Children Of The Sun
07. Guardians
08. Rising From Ruins
09. Flame Thrower
10. Spectre
11. Traitors Gate
12. No Surrender
13. Lone Wolf
14. Sea Of Red
The long-awaited and highly anticipated release of the 18th Judas Priest full-length album comes in the shadow of the sad discovery regarding Glenn Tipton's health condition. This is the bad news. The good news is that Firepower is a very successful attempt by the Metal Gods to revisit their past decades of glory with a modern sound.
The band unleashes a searing and blazing attack from the first notes of Firepower and the title track along with "Lightning Strike" constitute a jaw-dropping 1-2 to start the album, showcasing Judas Priest defying their age and firing on all cylinders. "Evil Never Dies" is not an Overkill cover, but its thrashy character would fit nicely somewhere inside the New Jersey thrashers' discography. "Necromancer", "Spectre" and "Traitors Gate" are riff-heavy metal anthems with face-smashing guitars and possessed vocals. "Never The Heroes" and "No Surrender" have this 1980s vibe that used to fill up massive stadiums. On the same note, the piano introduction, titled "Guardians", leads to the epic "Rising From Ruins" and I can already picture thousands of long-haired metalheads dressed in leather singing its chorus as one at big festivals.
The recipe of "intro - verse - chorus - verse - chorus - bridge - solo - double chorus" is a pretty effective one in the heavy metal genre when all these elements are well written and executed. This is exactly the case in Firepower, a record that finds Judas Priest in exquisite form so late in their career. Most tracks are short, between three to five minutes, with thick and hooky riffs and flashy solos and with a very solid rhythm section that provides a strong backbone for the axemen to build upon.
What makes this album stand out from the rest of the pack though, is what has actually made this band so individual and special throughout all these years; and this is no other than Rob's throat. Here he is using his mid-range vocals more often, even though we still hear him wail and scream and roar with anger and passion, putting almost every other metal vocalist to shame and sounding better, just a few months before his 67th birthday, than those who could have been his children or grandchildren.
Redeemer Of Souls was a good release, which could have done without some filler songs. More importantly, it was severely demeaned by an appalling, brickwalled production. Firepower is one big step up in songwriting quality, since its so-called "filler" songs are not necessarily skippable. The production by Tom Allom and Andy Sneap is miles ahead compared to the one our ears suffered four years ago and Judas Priest finally have the sound their legacy deserves. In all fairness, this is the best the band has sounded since Painkiller. Moreover, this is the best they have written and performed since their 1990's masterpiece. The only flaw is that the album may feel a little bloated towards the end, mainly because "Lone Wolf" and "Sea Of Red" are not engaging enough after having listened to the previous twelve tracks. Had it been trimmed to ten or eleven songs it would have been an absolute banger through and through.
Firepower is simple, yet it is emphatically ambitious in its simplicity. If you listen to it at the comfort of your home, said home will look like an ant heap some giant has kicked to pieces. You all know who this giant is and he has saved some of the best for last.
There is absolutely no reason to reinvent the wheel if you are in fact the one who invented it.
"We're standing as one,
We're carrying on,
Rising From Ruins"
 | Written on 10.03.2018 by Only way to feel the noise is when it's good and loud! |
Comments
| trzyszostki Account deleted |
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| nikarg Staff Posts: 7345  |
Well, all the bands you mention (apart from Aerosmith) exist because of Judas Priest  I think "No Surrender" is my favourite. It could have been in Turbo, if Turbo had been a good album.
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| el_grego Posts: 4 |
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| Malignar Posts: 285 |
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| StRicardo6 Posts: 58  |
This is what Iron Maiden should to do ... shorter more powerful Metal songs !!! long life 💀 JUDAS ╚╬╝ PRIEST 💀
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| Theoncomingstorm Posts: 66  |
Written by nikarg on 10.03.2018 at 02:39 I really unironically love Turbo, you're right that it could fit on that record however! I'm going to stick Turbo on and slot No Surrender in the middle, I wonder how it fits!
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| Theoncomingstorm Posts: 66 |
Written by nikarg on 10.03.2018 at 02:39 I really unironically love Turbo, you're right that it could fit on that record however! I'm going to stick Turbo on and slot No Surrender in the middle, I wonder how it fits!
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| Bad English Tage Westerlund Posts: 62001  |
Written by nikarg on 10.03.2018 at 02:39 Og corse Tyler was huge Painkiller fan, thats why he ebcame a singer
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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| nikarg Staff Posts: 7345 |
Written by Theoncomingstorm on 10.03.2018 at 13:34 Many people love Turbo. That's the magic of the Priest. So many albums to choose from and apart from about 5-6 that are unanimously adored, the rest are a matter of personal taste. Let me know how the experiment works out!
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| nikarg Staff Posts: 7345 |
Written by el_grego on 10.03.2018 at 04:38 You've said it all. 
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| Marchosias Posts: 44  |
"There is absolutely no reason to reinvent the wheel if you are in fact the one who invented it. " Couldn't agree more. Perfect review for an awesome album!
---- A mediocre metalhead.
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| Danyael Posts: 91 |
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Written by nikarg on 10.03.2018 at 15:21 Probably dpends on where you live. Where I live most people hae Turbo and rightfully so.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| nikarg Staff Posts: 7345 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 11.03.2018 at 01:28 I don't know if it depends on the geographical location. I also don't know what other people think about it in the place I live. I do know that I don't like it at all.
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| nikarg Staff Posts: 7345 |
Written by Irritable Ted on 11.03.2018 at 20:23 I love JP to bits so I hope Firepower will be their last album and this is not an oxymoron. It is a fucking awesome way to exit and they should preserve their legacy. Priest without K.K. was a hard pill to swallow, I don't think I can handle Priest without K.K. and Glenn. Quitting while they're ahead is the wise path to choose.
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| UPDIRNS Posts: 366 |
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| nikarg Staff Posts: 7345 |
Written by UPDIRNS on 28.03.2018 at 02:48 The reviewer agrees. 
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835  |
Still haven't checked out the full album. Big fail for a Judas Priest fan but everyone seems to be so positive about it, which is very surprising.
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| nikarg Staff Posts: 7345 |
Written by BloodTears on 30.04.2018 at 12:38 You should definitely try it. I wouldn't change a word in the review, but I'd bump up the score I gave it to 8.7-8.8 because it's that good.
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| Polaria Posts: 248  |
Written by BloodTears on 30.04.2018 at 12:38 You should listen to it. For me this album deserves a 9 purely on its own merits. Before listening to this album, I only knew 2 songs and 2 half songs from Judas Priest*. *Since then I have bought five albums and played 64 songs on the bass on Rocksmith...
---- Life is all the pain we endeavour.
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835 |
Written by Polaria on 01.05.2018 at 15:28 What albums do you have now? Sad Wings Of Destiny and Screaming For Vengeance are still my favourites, closely followed by Painkiller and Defenders Of The Faith. So, I recommend those. But seriously there's so much good stuff to choose from with this band that it's impossible. So, I finally listened to the new album and I'm happy. Thanks Judas Priest for keeping it classy. When I think about this band, the first word that comes to mind is always "classy". No-one does it better.
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| Polaria Posts: 248 |
Written by BloodTears on 03.05.2018 at 12:41 I have Firepower, Painkiller, Defenders of the Faith, Screaming for Vengeance and British Steel. Now bear in mind I have a lot to catch up and that I have spent far more time playing on than listening to the other albums. What I find great is that each album has its own personality. I have to say that I am surprised to see you associate the term "classy" to Judas Priest. Musically, certainly; lyrically, well... sometimes not at all?; visually: hell no!
---- Life is all the pain we endeavour.
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Elite Posts: 11835 |
Quote:Written by Polaria on 03.05.2018 at 18:26 I mean classy musically of course. Their sound is impecable. I don't care about what bands wear at all. It could be tutus for all I care =P So, those are great albums to start. I also like British Steel even though it gets a bad rep sometimes. Still a pretty good album. I play some Priest on guitar, it's pretty fun to play so I can relate
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| nikarg Staff Posts: 7345 |
You ladies are criminally overlooking Stained Class (the class Ana refers to, lol) and Sin After Sin. Both are up there with the masterpieces you've already mentioned.
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| Polaria Posts: 248 |
Written by nikarg on 04.05.2018 at 02:13 Huh  ? I am not overlooking anything, I just bought the four older albums that were available in my local Media Markt while they had a 2 + 1 promotion. I haven't had quite the time to listen to the EIGHTEEN albums in the two last months. I've listened to Stained Glass and Sin after Sin on Spotify, and played some songs on bass as well.
---- Life is all the pain we endeavour.
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| nikarg Staff Posts: 7345 |
Written by Polaria on 04.05.2018 at 09:19 Indeed, Judas Priest's discography is extensive, but discovering it will surely be a fantastic experience for you. Enjoy the journey!
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| Olethros Posts: 3  |
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| hypnos84 Posts: 1 |
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