Firepower is the 18th studio album by British heavy metal band Judas Priest. It is the first studio album since 1988's Ram It Down to be produced by Tom Allom, and the first one with Andy Sneap as co-producer. Music videos were made for "Lightning Strike" and "Spectre".
On 12 February 2018, Glenn Tipton revealed that he had Parkinson's disease, with which he was first diagnosed with in 2008, thus ceasing his duties to perform on tour. He stated that he was still a member of the band despite his diagnosis and did not rule out future on-stage appearances. Sneap was then announced as his replacement for the tour. Faulkner later assured fans that Tipton would perform with the band "at some point in the tour." When speaking to Long Island Pulse in March 2018, Faulkner said that there had been "no discussions yet" on whether Judas Priest would continue without Tipton or not, "I think the focus is dealing with the challenges that we've got at the moment, and getting out on the road with the Firepower record. And doing what we do best: playing live for our fans around the world. Anything beyond that is a discussion that still needs to take place. The focus is very much on now, the tour and the record."Firepower is the 18th studio album by British heavy metal band Judas Priest. It is the first studio album since 1988's Ram It Down to be produced by Tom Allom, and the first one with Andy Sneap as co-producer. Music videos were made for "Lightning Strike" and "Spectre".
On 12 February 2018, Glenn Tipton revealed that he had Parkinson's disease, with which he was first diagnosed with in 2008, thus ceasing his duties to perform on tour. He stated that he was still a member of the band despite his diagnosis and did not rule out future on-stage appearances. Sneap was then announced as his replacement for the tour. Faulkner later assured fans that Tipton would perform with the band "at some point in the tour." When speaking to Long Island Pulse in March 2018, Faulkner said that there had been "no discussions yet" on whether Judas Priest would continue without Tipton or not, "I think the focus is dealing with the challenges that we've got at the moment, and getting out on the road with the Firepower record. And doing what we do best: playing live for our fans around the world. Anything beyond that is a discussion that still needs to take place. The focus is very much on now, the tour and the record."false2022-12-12 00:03:09Firepower8.920182018-03-092018-03-0958Heavy MetalMetalRock1119812290913c70ca27f-b197-4696-9ef0-f4a69600b4566b335658-22c8-485d-93de-0bc29a1d03499a88237d-083c-41a3-ba99-7451bdd78115/media/data/media5/Music/Judas Priest/Firepower (2018)/folder.jpgJudas PriestAlbumArtistJudas PriestArtistJudas PriestJudas PriestJudas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal movement, and are cited as a formative influence on various heavy metal subgenres, notably speed metal, thrash metal, and power metal. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in the latter half of the 1970s, the band had struggled with poor record production and a lack of major commercial success until 1980, when their sixth studio album British Steel brought them notable mainstream attention.
The band's membership has seen much turnover. During the 1970s, the core of bassist Ian Hill, lead singer Rob Halford and guitarists Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing saw a revolving cast of drummers, before Dave Holland joined them for ten years from 1979 to 1989. Since Holland's departure, Scott Travis has been the band's drummer. Halford left Judas Priest in 1992, and after a four year hiatus, they regrouped in 1996 with Tim "Ripper" Owens, formerly of Winter's Bane, replacing Halford. After two albums with Owens, Halford returned to the band in 2003. Downing left the band in 2011, replaced by Richie Faulkner. The current line-up consists of Hill, Tipton, Travis, Halford and Faulkner; although Tipton remains as an official member of Judas Priest, he has limited his touring activities since 2018 due to Parkinson's disease, with Andy Sneap filling in for him. Hill and Tipton are the only two of the band to appear on every album.
Halford's operatic vocal style and the twin guitar sound of Downing and Tipton have been a major influence on heavy metal bands. Judas Priest's image of leather, spikes, and other taboo articles of clothing was widely influential during the glam metal era of the 1980s. The Guardian referred to British Steel as the record that defines heavy metal. Despite a decline in exposure during the mid-1990s, the band has once again seen a resurgence, including worldwide tours, being inaugural inductees into the VH1 Rock Honors in 2006, receiving a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2010, and having their songs featured in video games such as Guitar Hero and the Rock Band series. In 2022, Judas Priest were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame via the Award for Musical Excellence.