Style: speed metal, heavy metal, NWOBHM
Label: Epic
Year: 2018
Home: Britain
Members: Rob Halford ~ vocals
Glenn Tipton, Richie Faulkner ~ guitars
Ian Hill ~ bass
Scott Travis ~ drums
Fans & critics have called this album a return to a classic sound & even one of their best. I will say that as the first track, the title track, churned along I had to double check I was listening to the right album. This does indeed sound like something they might have done decades ago. The populous is right! It wastes no time in getting to a clobbering guitar riff, Rob's rhythmic singing with growls & cosmic highs, fist pumping lyrics, & a dual guitar solo that quite literally soars multiple times. Its everything you want from Judas Priest. What follows is more of the same for a superb modern album. Its a wonderful menacing assault over 14 tracks. Yet, laying alongside songs with a classic feel (i.e. "Evil Never Dies", "Flame Thrower", "Necromancer", "No Surrender") are also songs that have the epic flavor of some of their more recent albums (i.e. "Lone Wolf", "Lightning Strike", "Children Of The Sun"), while there is also some slowed down songs, or as slow as Priest gets (i.e. "Never The Heroes", "Spectre", "Traitors Gate"). There is even an emotive minute long piano & guitar interlude called "Guardians" leading into the power ballad "Rising From Ruins". Too many transitional parts like this slowed down some of their recent epic albums, but in this context "Guardians" provides a nice moment before going into the very un-Priest sounding ballad. While the album closes with the largely acoustic power ballad "Sea Of Red", which is a nice song though after such a strong album almost an unnecessary lull. It should also be mentioned that the album has throwaway rock songs, yet also songs laced with social awareness of the current world. The whole album rocks so hard that the two sides of the lyrical coin sit comfortably beside each other. If the whole album was empty rock cliches it might be boring, but if it was all message songs it might be too heavy. Together they balance each other out, something a lot of bands might want to take notice of. Your listeners hear the message, but also they want some fun in the mix. Thus, Firepower straddles both the past & the present in a way many bands say they do, but most really don't. There is a bit of the past here, yet nods to their contemporary musical explorations. Its amazing how they sound so fresh & vibrant going on 18 studio studios. This will find a place as a new favorite Priest album in your collection.
No comments:
Post a Comment