Firepower

It's as sharp as can be, as powerful as an atom bomb, and exactly the sort of thrilling metal adventure you want from them. [17 Mar 2018, p.53]

Firepower’s success depends on the songwriting, though, and that’s pretty strong.

Closing in on their 50th anniversary, Judas Priest still possess the musical rigor, showmanship, and force that make other bands bow down. FIREPOWER smokes.

Despite moments of variance, Firepower still finds Priest as focused as ever. Although they don’t break the mould on every track, it’s important to remember that it’s a mould that they set, and Firepower fulfills as some of this year’s most prospering and ferocious heavy metal.

Each and every one of the songs on Priest’s latest full-length Firepower--and yes, we know Legs Diamond were there first--are three-way collaborations between fellow six-stringer Glenn Tipton, frontman Rob Halford and Faulkner himself. And hell, the latter doesn’t so much step up to the plate on this, the second album of Priest’s BOK (Beyond Our Ken) era, as trample it into tiny little pieces.

This 18th LP is their finest since '90's Painkiller. [Apr 2018, p.96]

The level of consistency remains high throughout a 14-track running order encompassing the belligerence of Evil Never Dies, and the title track, mid-tempo maulers (Lone Wolf) and epic closer Sea Of Red.

It's not the nuclear assault of Painkiller, a touchstone for many Priest fans, or the late-day resurrection of Redeemer of Souls, but Firepower proves Judas Priest still pack some heavy artillery and can still hit the target even if not every shot is a bullseye.