Metal legends Judas Priest released their critically acclaimed 18th album, Firepower, just over a year ago, but the wheels are already turning on a new LP.
Longtime guitarist Glenn Tipton is still an official member of the band, but he stepped away from touring after revealing in early 2018 that he was battling Parkinson’s disease. While Andy Sneap has filled in on guitar, Tipton still appears occasionally onstage with Priest, but the time at home has allowed him to give the band a head start on their next album.
In a new interview on the Do You Know Jack? podcast (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), singer Rob Halford was asked if fans can look forward to a new album, and he replied, “Absolutely. In fact, Glenn’s back in the UK now making riffs and going through … We have massive archives of riffs. It never stops. That’s the joy of Priest in terms of creativity — we never seem to slow down.
He continued, “And when you get a successful record like Firepower, that motivates you even further. Any band will tell you that. You feed off the energy of what your fans are giving you. You wanna see your fans again and you wanna bring your fans something different next time. So that means making another metal song, which, amplify that by 10 ideas, and you’ve got another album. So that’s the plan. There will be another album from Priest in the very near future.”
In the meantime, Judas Priest are set to kick off a North American tour on May 3rd in Hollywood, Florida. The trek runs through a June 29th show in Las Vegas, with tickets for all shows available here.
Priest were slated to support Ozzy Osbourne earlier this year on his 2019 European tour, but those dates were postponed when Ozzy suffered a severe upper respiratory infection that eventually led to pneumonia. With Ozzy later injuring himself in a fall at home, the tour will now take place in 2020, and Priest have confirmed that they will still open for Osbourne on the rescheduled dates, once they are announced.
Take a listen to Rob Halford on the Do You Know Jack? podcast below.