Firepower

I probably first heard Judas Priest sometime around 1983. I was 13 years old, and my steady diet of AC/DC, Quiet Riot, Motley Crue and Def Leppard got a serious shake up with the introduction of Screaming For Vengeance (thank you MTV). Side by side with Iron Maiden's Piece of Mind, suddenly shit got serious.

Even now, 35 years later, and a new Priest album is a big event for me. Thankfully, I'm not alone in my excitement, and Banger TV did a series of Priest appreciation videos leading up to release day, and capped it off with a video to discuss those essential albums from Judas Priest. By the time, I was driving to the record store to pick up the vinyl, I was primed and ready.

It's been a tough few years for Priest. First K.K. Downing steps away from the band, and now Glenn Tipton is forced to retire due to Parkinson's disease. Tipton contributed one final time to the Firepower record, and it is still a scorcher. There has been a lot of talk about Priest hanging it up, but fuck that, if Richie Faulkner can keep contributing like he has the last couple of records, I say let Halford keep the band going, because this shit is still great.