Firepower

Firepower is the eighteenth album, on which JUDAS PRIEST re-ignited the language of heavy metal they established over nearly half a century, in a robust sound. With the lineup of Rob Halford (vocals), Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner (guitar), Ian Hill (bass) and Scott Travis (drums), Andy Sneap and Tom Allom co-produced. The dignity of classic metal and contemporary low-end weight become one without strain. The title track, "Lightning Strike," "Evil Never Dies" and "No Surrender" sound the traditional pleasure of riff, chorus and solo as momentum-filled songwriting. Fast songs use edge, mid-tempo ones a treading heaviness, with no monotony overall. In place of Tipton, who disclosed Parkinson's disease, Sneap took over guitar live. Reaching US number 5, a new peak, it is a masterpiece that proudly proved the strength of heavy metal that the name signifies.