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ROB HALFORD Is ‘Really Pleased’ With How New JUDAS PRIEST Album Is Shaping Up: ‘We’re In Tracking’

todayMay 26, 2022 28

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JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford spoke to ABC Audio about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the band’s follow-up to 2018’s “Firepower” album.

“We’ve stopped kicking the tires and now we’re in tracking,” he said.

Regarding the musical direction of the new JUDAS PRIEST material, Rob said: “The music that we’re making now is representative of where PRIEST is at this probably sixth decade of our existence when it comes out… It sounds great. I’m really pleased. I’m really, really happy that… we’re not dropping the ball. Not that we ever have. But it’s good, because there are some elements in there that we’ve never… kind of discovered before.”

More than a year ago, Halford confirmed that PRIEST‘s next album will see the band reuniting with the “Firepower” production team consisting of Andy Sneap, longtime collaborator Tom Allom and engineer Mike Exeter (BLACK SABBATH).

Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease eight years ago after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier. Tipton announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of “Firepower”. He was replaced by Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT.

This past March, Faulkner told the “Metal From The Inside” podcast about the recording process for the new PRIEST album: “It’s been slowed down a lot because of, obviously, the pandemic. We wanted to get together, like we did on ‘Firepower’, and record it together, but, obviously, the lockdowns and everything like that slowed that process [down]. Some of us live in the U.S., some of us live in the U.K., so getting together proved to be a bit difficult over the last couple of years. Now everything is kind of opening up, it’s a bit easier, but now we’re on the road, so we’ve got a touring cycle [to get through]. So, if we can, we might be able to do it in between the touring cycles.”

Regarding the musical direction of the new PRIEST material, Richie said: “It’s different to ‘Firepower’, but it’s definitely… You can hear where it’s coming from. It’s not even ‘Firepower 2’… It’s hard to say anything these days without people getting… If I say it’s like a continuation of ‘Firepower’, people think it’s ‘Firepower 2’. It’s got its own character, it’s got its own legs, and we’re looking forward to releasing it on to the world when it’s done.”

In February, Halford was asked by Remy Maxwell of Audacy Check In if he agreed with Faulkner‘s recent comment that the band’s upcoming album will be more musically “progressive” than “Firepower”. He responded: “Yeah, the metal is there. But here’s the thing: we’ve tried our best not to replicate anything that we’ve done. From ‘Rocka Rolla’ all the way through to ‘Firepower’, each record has had a distinctive character. And it’s tough because fans go, ‘We want another ‘Painkiller’,’ ‘We want another ‘British Steel’.’ And [it’s, like], ‘Dude, we’ve already done that.’

That same month, Faulkner told Canada’s The Metal Voice about the overall sound of the new PRIEST music: “Whenever you start a record, you never know how it’s gonna turn out. So you might start with an idea of what it’s gonna be, and as it kind of rolls on, it comes out something different. So you don’t quite know. And also it’s really hard to sum up your own music, I find, without sounding really pretentious. But I think this one — it’s not ‘Firepower 2’, I don’t think. It’s its own thing, it’s its own animal. If anything, I would say it’s a bit more progressive in places, and in places it’s got a bit more of that ‘Killing Machine’ swagger.”

Faulkner added: “I know everyone says, ‘Oh, is it the next ‘Painkiller’?’ or ‘Is it the next…?’ whatever… I don’t know if they’d ever done it, but I know we’ve never done it when I’ve been in the band; we’ve never tried to recreate an album. It’s always we try to create an album that stands on its own legs. So I think it’s definitely a little bit more progressive than ‘Firepower’ and, as I said, in places it’s got a little bit of that ‘Killing Machine’ angry swagger attitude going on. But again, as I said, we’re waiting to see what it turns out like, ’cause it could turn out completely different.”

The induction ceremony will be held on November 5, 2022 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. It will air at a later date on HBO and stream on HBO Max. There will also be a radio simulcast on SiriusXM‘s Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Radio channel 310.

According to the Hall Of Fame, the JUDAS PRIEST members that will get inducted include current members HalfordHillTipton and Scott Travis (drums),along with former members DowningLes Binks (drums) and late drummer Dave Holland.

Source:  www.blabbermouth.net

 

Written by: Andy

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