I could not agree more. He has no style but plenty of chops.

RF doesn't even play the first break in Painkiller correctly! Even I can play that. That's just one you have to nail if you're going to be playing GT's licks in JP.

Yep, I'm no guitar expert, but I watched one of the first videos of Painkiller on this tour, and, guitar-wise, it doesn't remotely sound like the same song.

In what world is the pre-Ram it Down (still a shite album, by the way) stuff easy? Fucking Defenders... and Screaming... have technical solos and playing that is so incredibly nuanced that it would be difficult for any player to replicate properly.

Agreed. Not to mention trying to write solos in that same style that have the same taste level and memorability. Ritchie falls flat at that type of guitar playing.

Whether the thought-out phrase of Glenn or the improvisational sharpness of KK, there's feeling and attitude here. The solos enter the song with a purpose.
Richie seems unstoppable in his arrogance - first KK is superflous to the band, and then Glenn and KK are easy.

Tried Firepower yet again - it feels worse every time... I hardly hear Glenn, it's Richie written all over it, and the odour of Maiden is heavy (although some also say Accept - I've never listened to them recently).

Could you name particular parts where you hear Glenn distinctly? I must admit I didn't listen carefully.

By the way, Defenders is my favourite album, and I'm constantly puzzled how unpopular my opinion. Which song there isn't a classic?

And to serve us that rehashed thing now... I feel it's been written according to a pop-formula: pull tunes from here and there that sound familiar, but the listener can't quite put their finger on them. The sound is archaic rather than "classic", and it leaves me wondering whether I'd have liked that record in 86.
What is so stellar and "modern" in the production?

I still have to wonder if he didn't look similar to young KK if he would've even gotten the gig.



Maiden, yes. Accept, probably only by way of Sneap's doing production for both bands and not Richie being influenced by them. Unless he wrote on this album too?



Yes, in some of the fills and solos. In the songwriting? Not at all.



It's easily one of their best.



Night comes Down, Defenders of the Faith, and certainly Heavy Duty. But they are wisely stuck at the end once your mind has been blown.

Heavy Duty and Defenders kind of blend together to ease out the record into an anthemic ending; but I disagree Night Comes Down isn't a classic. It's dramatic in the vein of Touch of Evil, Blood Red Skies or perhaps Some Heads, while also having a lyrical quality (close to Out in the Cold, only better).
Priest used to be emotional.
"In the last rays of the setting sun
And the past days, that's where our memories run..."
Indeed.

You're not touched by the lyrics? Halford's phrasing; his exhalation at "the summer" and "forever"... and so on.

It is Glenn's favourite Priest song, admittedly.


Quite!


Richie even dresses like KK and uses the same neck chains to this day. There's some deep denial within that boy.



Accept hadn't even occurred to me, until some fan brought them up:

"I think Richie did most of the lead parts but I hear Glenn's guitar tone on some leads. His arpeggios áre missing though.
The guitar harmonies have a very maidenesque feel but I hear a lot of Accept on the riffs as well.
Andy might have contributed with ideas but Richie did all the most of the guitar playing. Maybe 90 percent.
The anti-war lyrics, something very common in Accept.
The guitars have that crunch and nice overdrive sound that's very Wolf Hoffman. Andy Sneap probably showed Richie Wolf's guitar setting.
I think Wolf Hoffman is just a beast when it comes to riffs and rhythm sound and they've been putting out some decent material with Mark Tornillo and Andy Sneap as producer."

I also hear a distinct 70s hard/heavy rock feel on the album, a-la Sabbath and Purple, do you? The fan above denies.


It's sad to witness the deterioration in Glenn - he's obviously been away for quite some time. Looking at some picturs, he began mellowing out already on the Epitaph (not that I didn't like it). I also noticed his relationship with Halford, seems genuine.



PS Just occurred to me I had come across a link discussing JP's song meanings in detail - does anyone have it?

New site of Richie Faulkner coming up. Of 40 y.o. Faulkner.

Haha

It might have been brought up, but I've often wondered why Priest didn't get someone like 'Metal Mike' Chlasciak to replace KK in the first place. He's worked with Halford, so I'm sure he could have picked up the rest of the material pretty easily. Though I guess he's likely not as appealing as Faulkner.

Easy now, Rob... (joking)

He doesn't look enough like KK, he's too old, and it would be harder to pretend that Judas Priest isn't just Halford's solo band at this point.

Alright, here's my article; feel free to share it if you subscribe to being a non-conformist metal fan. Not that it's anything special, but at least it's different from the 99% PR accolades on Preist recently, coupled with Halford's dramatics.

https://forlornmagazine.wordpress.com/2 ... etal-gods/

I'm back to Halford fandom... This guy is inhuman. Couldn't do Freewheel ten years ago, doing it now. Total menace, pants on fire!

Is he still smoking?

That's a great performance for someone pushing 70.

Did he use to smoke? I had no idea.

I've been a big fan of Priest since my teens (mid 40's now) and I cannot get into Richie Faulkner as the guitarist I'm sorry to say, it's not JP (as it wasn't with Ripper) and I cannot bare to listen to them without the KK/Glenn twin axe attack, something does not feel right (your bullshit sense gets more finely tuned the older you get).

Now we have Andy Sneap covering for Glenns unfortunate illness, and as good as Andy is (and I love his stuff with Sabbat and the rebooted Hell) again it's now a total parody, it's a cover band, this is not Judas Priest. I skipped over the last two albums the same as I did Halford's solo stuff, I'm just not interested without KK around.

I'm just consoling myself with the epic output before "The Falcon" was hoisted onboard (epic picture above btw I do hope thats not real lmao)

Can any of you imagine a world where Andy Sneap, Richie Faulkner, Scott Travis, and an unknown bass player carry on with Tim Owens on vocals? Or a Halford hologram on vocals? We're not far from that reality already.

These bands are basically just brands/franchises at this point. Open your own local Judas Priest franchise!

If there is money sitting on the table it's hard to believe they wouldn't be seriously tempted to take it.

Faulkner is mediocre but the idea of Andy Sneap replacing Tipton is far worse than Blaze Bayley replacing Bruce Dickinson.

I love Sneap in Judas Priest, I see nothing wrong with it at all. Bands change members, this is nothing new. Obviously the band wouldn't carry on without any of the remaining members, you're being hyperbolic for the sake of appearing edgy.

No, I'm explaining my POV because Priest is one of my top bands of all-time. I could not care less about appearing "edgy".

They're carrying on now with only the singer, so we're not far from the kind of shenanigans a band without any integrity (like KISS) would try to pull. Judas Priest/Halford have tried other embarrassing maneuvers before that are quite KISS-like: bringing in other songwriters, emulating their opening bands, "metal is dead", Parental Guidance, etc.

We now have albums from two bands comprised of people who backed Ronnie James Dio. They have both been playing shows for years. This is a band that didn't make as much $$$ and it spawned two offshoot bands, so I can see JP splitting into something like this once Halford can't do shows anymore.

Tipton is a brilliant lead player, Andy is not really a lead player at all. So take a look at this glaringly obvious problem carefully and tell me if you think there's a distinction there. Try to imagine Sneap coming up with any lead guitar playing even in the same galaxy as what Tipton is known for.

The guitar duo approach was a big part of JP's appeal. It was always more than just Halford's vocal skill.

P.S. the more I listen to this the more I agree with the previous person who cited Accept. This musically sounds more like modern Accept than Judas Priest.

On what stone tablet is this written? Temple of Blood brought up the extremely salient point, which I've brought up before, that bands like this are not just bands, they are businesses. Times they are a-changing, we have virtual bands with no real members at all these days whose activities are written and it's not that outlandish a scenario to think a band brand could just be picked up by a corporation and carried on.

It depends entirely on who owns the rights to the band name, which is almost never, ever owned by a record label and instead is owned by the member(s) of the band. I can't say that it's a 0% possibility obviously, but given what I know about music business law and common practices, there's almost no likelihood that it will ever happen.

I see a possibility where the original members could retire from touring and/or writing or recording. The original members could just remain on as brand owners/producers/managers while the younger players play shows under the established brand name playing all of the old hits.

As I type this, I am also reminded of Black Star Riders.

EDIT: Also Riot / Riot V. Both these bands, as well as Last in Line, have been embraced by the metal community. The jury is still out on holograms.

http://vvinenglish.com/1998-interview-w ... as-priest/





(I bet this 2nd part will be mentioned in KK's upcoming book)

That is literally the most awkward band interview I've ever read.

You know I wouldn't doubt Ripper's pipes, but having him sing along with the more groove and industrial direction they took with his two priest albums definitely squandered a lot of his potential. I don't feel like they would've been much better with Halford singing, but who knows!

Not to derail the now long-running derailment here, but I bought 'Firepower' locally mostly because of all the gushing you folks (and the reviewers) have been doing, and I have to say i'm pretty let-down.

It took me a looooooooooong time to come around to Priest, but come around I did. And I was really looking forward to this one after reading all about it around here, but i'm not sure what all the praise and hype is about. I suppose after the last few mediocre efforts, this really does look like a goldmine, and by comparison I suppose it is, but I don't see the fire. Heh.
Don't get me wrong, it's good, and far far better than they've been in a long time, but by itself i'm still finding it pretty forgettable. Any one or two tracks, say, on a shuffle, doesn't fail to sound fantastic. But I find the record as a whole suffers for sounding quite safe, and extremely "samey" from track to track to track. There's slightly faster cuts, some slower cuts, as always on a Priest record, but by and large every song sounds pretty much the same as the one before and after.

Great album to throw in a shuffle, barely passable as a whole-album listen.

"Firepower" is even worse than "Halford" (the band), which is worse than virtually all pre-Faulkner Judas Priest.

And just to tie it all together, yes Jugulator and even Demolition have better songs than the ones cobbled together by Sneap and Faulkner (and maybe Tipton?) on Firepower.

You really think Resurrection and Crucible are worse than Point of Entry or Turbo? Like, really really?

Not to mention Firepower is just straight-up better than anything else they've done since Painkiller. And it also steps all over Point of Entry, Turbo, and Ram It Down. And Rocka Rolla, too. Let's be real, now.

Not at all. Firepower is more "metal" (I guess). It's more immediate. But it doesn't have better music, solos or vocal melodies than Nostradamus or AoR.

I don't think the songs on Firepower will stand the test of time. At all.

If you think of JP as just vanilla heavy metal, then I can see why you are satisfied with Firepower. I think of them as a very creative force.



Those albums are indeed spotty but have songs better than any on this album. Maybe not more METAL in all cases but better-written certainly.

Hmm, well not exactly but generally I rank those bands as above. Again, I said "virtually all". Granted, Priest has like 14 albums or something so there may be a few outliers.

But just to rank the few albums that have been mentioned:

Turbo > Resurrection > Point of Entry > Crucible (which does contain a few good songs)

Not to mention that those "Made of Metal" and Christmas albums really stink IMHO.

In my eyes Turbo gets some points, although some of it is extremely lame, for being more original and creative than Roy Z locking himself away for a few weeks trying to copy the style of old Priest riffs and only half-succeeding. JP in general gets points from me for stylish guitar solos as well, something Halford (the band) never really had.

I would definitely put Turbo, Point of Entry, the Ripper albums, and Nostradamus far above Firepower. Firepower is beige metal: aiming and achieving perfect median metal mediocrity. That's Sneap's calling card. Those other albums, while inconsistent, all have identities and some kind of original idea for what can be done with Judas Priest music that went into their creation. They have their oddities and idiosyncrasies, their awkward bits and weird choices, but that's part of their personality and charm. All are worth listening to not merely as metal in the abstract, but as Judas Priest albums. Firepower took all the bad trends going in Angel of Retribution and Redeemer of Souls and pushed them to the absolute limit. It has all the edge and personality smoothed away leaving a clean slate of utterly generic metal. It can't be tied to any particular style or era of metal and it doesn't seek to evoke any particular emotional response. It's metal without context; art without artistic intent. It's what a robot would make if you fed it information about heavy metal music from wikipedia.

I vote we make this a proper genre.

Well said.

I can see "Firepower" winning over people who are only casually familiar with JP though, or people who judge albums solely on the vocalist's ability because Halford is singing very well for his age on there.

Faulkner should be a guitar teacher or a live guitarist who plays KK's solos note-for-note (something he hasn't really ever bothered to do unfortunately). He has zero business in being asked to write anything on such a legendary band's release. Ripper Owens wasn't allowed to write anything (except a Japanese B-side) and even Jannick Gers writes better material than Richie Faulkner.

And you're 100% right about Sneap's ability to generate and dial-in perfect "median metal", which is now my new favorite genre nomenclature. Overkill in the less than capable hands of Dave "Zakk Wylde" Linsk and DD Verni specialize in this as well.

If Judas Priest has a weakness it is when they try to be consistent because it gets old too quickly. Maybe I just know too much about the band but from the very beginning all of the writers had a vast array of influences. Is not the story that Halford got the job because he was singing along with Doris Day? He and Glenn are the reason why songs like Run of the Mill, Dying to Meet You, Epitaph, Last Rose of Summer, Let Us Prey/Call For the Priest, You Say Yes, etc... exist in the same catalogue as Painkiller.
- The band has in interviews since 1972 said they never wanted to stop evolving, exploring new possibilities and creating a monolith type of career. The fact that Firepower was made and even relevant for band that is technically 50 years old the same year it is released is proof they succeeded. Other bands are still raking in money and popularity from the late 60's but how many are doing so with brand new songs? As bland as Firepower is, at least it is new songs (ideas be debated) delivered by a band of an ancient time. It is true that Firepower could have tanked without the clout of the Priest name but with Priest it is more than that. There are fans of every distinct incarnation and people can draw enjoyment out of an eclectic monolith of ideas. Firepower is not high on my list but I still respect the effort and it has a couple of damn good songs, despite my introduction occurring when the band was happy playing Disco.It is so nice to see someone else who gets it about Priest. Judas Priest is by and large a band who defines what it means to be eclectic and no other has ever gone as far outside the genre for influence as Priest has.

How close in relation is Folk music to Heavy/Thrash Metal? Judas Priest said, "nonsense, throw some heavy guitars on it, allow our amazing singer show his swag, and make it Metallic." They have done that with so many different genres, utilizing some of the strengths of different genres and making classics out of them. Rob might be 66 years old right now but he has recently developed the ability to do the guttural vocals synonymous with Death Metal and I doubt anyone would deny his influence on the entire vocal styling Black Metal utilizes.
- But to my overall point, he is still the same singer, in the same band, with the same writers and same musicians(sans the drummer) who sang on the all out Gospel song Epitaph 14 years before the mighty Painkiller.Not to mention how is Turbo so different than other albums by Priest? How can any person who plays Metal on the guitar not hear how much Glenn apes his own earlier solo during his famous one in Painkiller? Listen to the 22 second middle solo Glenn does during Rock You All Around the World and every single passages was used during the Painkiller solo. The section from 1:51 - 1:56 is directly plagiarized in the Painkiller solo 4 years later.
- Besides, Turbo also pointed to the future of Priest as it was the first album to ever feature material that was downtuned, with the masterstroke of genius that is Reckless. There is a reason Rob has never tried the magnificent highs exhibited during this song.
- Yes Point of Entry does have some real stinkers, mainly All the Way and the atrocious Don't Go, but it also contains classics like Troubleshooter, Solar Angels, On the Run and You Say Yes. Do they sound like Priest? Yes. I remember when both albums hit the stores and my first listens shortly after and at no point did I EVER think, "This does not sound like the band who did Hell Bent For Leather, British Steel or Sin After Sin!" Why would I?

Also, to Temples point, as absurd as it may be to claim, even if Firepower was better than Turbo, Point of Entry or Ram It Down. It is definitely NOT superior to the blistering Metal of Killing Machine. Lightning Strikes is better than Delivering The Goods? Firepower is better than Hell Bent For Leather? In the first four songs of Firepower the band does 4 traditional Metal songs with suitable speed metal percussion thrown in to break monotony. In the first four songs of Killing Machine you get:

1. Disco/Funk just played with a distorted guitar tone with Delivering The Goods
2. Southern Rock and all its trappings of Blues and Country with Rock Forever. How can one hear that song and not think it is one Metal God vocalist away from being a Lynard Skynard or Blackfoot song? Especially that solo, that is so Molly Hatchet it is insane.
3. A Power Pop half ballad with a traditional composition in Evening Star, strange how that description could describe Never the Heroes, right?
4. Then one of the proudest early statements of Speed Metal with Hell Bent For Leather.

During Firepower I smiled a few times during each song, none of them were bad but none were at the level exhibited on earlier works.

Firepower is an irrelevant album by a band made redundant long ago. Everyone would be far better off if Halford stopped masquerading this version of his solo band as Judas Priest. At the very least the mediocrity would be far easier to stomach.

Never mind that shit, KK is so strapped for cash he's selling his royalty rights:

https://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/record-labels/8456570/rights-to-130-judas-priest-tracks-up-for-sale-after

This is the most depressing news since Lemmy died.

I'm not feeling bad for him. He jumped ship when things were not looking good and gets all butthurt when they dont ask him back? Firepower rocks and it seems they are doing just fine without him. Too bad, so sad. Once again...not feeling bad for him at all.