┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │■ ■│ │ .-/ .-. │ │ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │ │ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │ │ / || (:/:| \ │ │ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │ │ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │ │ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │ │ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │ │ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │ │ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │ │ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │ │ \:-~ ~-:/ │ │ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ P R E S E N T S │ │ │ │ │ │ + Judas Priest - Firepower-(SICP-31117) + │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Information ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Release Date.Mar-17-2018 Encoder......L3.98.4 -V0 --lowpas ║ │ │║ Genre........Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │ │║ Year.........2018 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........14 ║ │ │║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.judaspriest.com ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Notes ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Artist : Judas Priest Rating : You Decide! ║ │ │║ Album : Firepower-(SICP-31117) Label : Sony Japan ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Description : ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ The historical tap of the last 38-years of my ║ │ │║ life have re-emerged by way of the latest Judas ║ │ │║ Priest offering, Firepower. Admittedly, after ║ │ │║ the abomination that was Nostradamus and the ║ │ │║ better, albeit lackluster followups, I wasn't ║ │ │║ expecting much from the aging vehicle that is ║ │ │║ the Birmingham quintet. Dare I say I was almost ║ │ │║ dreading hearing it. However, as I always say in ║ │ │║ the most self-deprecating manner possible, I'm ║ │ │║ always happy to be proven wrong. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Firepower,in its basest form, is a much-heralded ║ │ │║ call back to the glory days of NWOBHM and ║ │ │║ British metal in general; the road paved by ║ │ │║ Black Sabbath, Priest, Saxon, and a slew of ║ │ │║ other like-styled bands forged a solid ║ │ │║ foundation with which to stand all of those ║ │ │║ years ago. Sadly, timing and lack of long-term ║ │ │║ vision sent many of the lesser-known bands ║ │ │║ packing into the nether of anonymity, with only ║ │ │║ the truly magical among the fray able to emerge ║ │ │║ and withstand the coming years of changing ║ │ │║ genres, MTV intrusion and the era of downloading ║ │ │║ and streaming services. Judas Priest has carved ║ │ │║ for itself one hell of a long and mostly ║ │ │║ brilliant highway in the grand pantheon of metal ║ │ │║ music. I'm happy to say that the band still has ║ │ │║ some incredibly creative sparks going for itself ║ │ │║ in this recent offering. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Rather than breakdown tracks individually, I ║ │ │║ like to take a different approach in finding the ║ │ │║ overall mood and feel of a given album, ║ │ │║ especially if it's from a band that has been so ║ │ │║ dear to my heart (good, bad and befuddling) ║ │ │║ since 1980. For my elder ears, Firepower offers ║ │ │║ a familiar and comfortable catalyst back to a ║ │ │║ time when heavy metal was all about crafting and ║ │ │║ style and less about conformity and ║ │ │║ marketability. Make no mistake, I'm not saying ║ │ │║ they nestle into a chasm of forced familiarity; ║ │ │║ the band just knows what formula has always set ║ │ │║ them apart from the casual observers. Rob ║ │ │║ Halford has managed to use that resonating mid- ║ │ │║ range tone to its best plateau, despite being ║ │ │║ somewhat limited by Father Time. The high notes ║ │ │║ aren't as prevalent as, say, ôThe Sentinelö or ║ │ │║ ôThe Ripper,ö but, again, style over conformity. ║ │ │║ Too many bands attempt to recapitulate on former ║ │ │║ glories to a usually embarrassing level, but ║ │ │║ Judas Priest manages to utilize its storied ║ │ │║ status of ôlegendsö to its fullest potential. ║ │ │║ Knowing when to work within your personal limits ║ │ │║ is always the first step to keeping up the ║ │ │║ proverbial Jonses. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Firepower manages to offer up some of the finer ║ │ │║ work that Priest has put out since the now- ║ │ │║ distant Painkiller days or yore. Musically, the ║ │ │║ band is on-point, coveting and shaping that ║ │ │║ familiar guitar tone to a perfect, leathery ║ │ │║ shine. The effects of K.K. Downing being gone ║ │ │║ aren't nearly as fluid as they were when first ║ │ │║ he left the fold; Richie Faukner has all but ║ │ │║ solidified his place in Judas Priest history by ║ │ │║ adapting to an otherwise hostile fan base ║ │ │║ questioning and scrutinizing his every note. His ║ │ │║ presence on this latest record is, without ║ │ │║ question, one of the positive elements that make ║ │ │║ it so damn good. Glenn Tipton, of course, is ║ │ │║ blazing as always, which is bittersweet now ║ │ │║ considering his recent news of his Parkinson's ║ │ │║ disease becoming too hard to muster through. I ║ │ │║ suppose that makes this album all that much ║ │ │║ sweeter, knowing how much suffering was actually ║ │ │║ put into it. That said, no amount of nostalgia ║ │ │║ could get me to lay praise to something subpar ║ │ │║ or less than acceptable in such a strong ║ │ │║ lineage. Thankfully, Judas Priest has managed to ║ │ │║ just go with the proverbial flow and create ║ │ │║ another powerful album. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ The songs here are your ôtypicalö Judas Priest ║ │ │║ style heavy metal, with incredibly memorable ║ │ │║ riffs that nicely round out the overall sound. ║ │ │║ The one track that keeps coming back to me is ║ │ │║ ôSpectre,ö a heavy, pounding entry into what can ║ │ │║ only be described as a journey into the inner ║ │ │║ workings of a tempestuous visage created by ║ │ │║ veterans who know exactly what will work and ║ │ │║ what would be contrived lethargy. Thankfully, ║ │ │║ other than one full-on misstep, Priest has never ║ │ │║ really failed to accurately put across its ║ │ │║ collective vision, and Firepower is no ║ │ │║ exception; rather, it's a nice glance backward ║ │ │║ to a time when metal music was both reclusive ║ │ │║ and deeply personal for those of us on the outer ║ │ │║ fringes of society. It's always been ours to ║ │ │║ covet, and Judas Priest has always been one of ║ │ │║ the larger-than-life wielders of the well-worn ║ │ │║ battle flag for heavy metal. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Other standout tracks that immediately pop into ║ │ │║ my head are ôLightning Strike,ö ôChildren of the ║ │ │║ Sun,ö ôNecromancerö and ôSea of Red.ö That said, ║ │ │║ there isn't a weak track to be found anywhere on ║ │ │║ here, and I am more than pleasantly surprised to ║ │ │║ like it this quickly. This is a feeling I ║ │ │║ haven't had with Judas Priest since 1984 with ║ │ │║ Defenders of the Faith, an album that was sheer ║ │ │║ perfection for me, and it feels really good to ║ │ │║ put this on repeat. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Judas Priest is a legend, we all know this to be ║ │ │║ an indisputable fact among those of us who are ║ │ │║ true metal fans, old and young. Sadly, not many ║ │ │║ legends hold up the lineage to any sort of ║ │ │║ acceptable or worthy standard, preferring to ║ │ │║ just keep churning out mediocrity and phoning-in ║ │ │║ the latest effort to live off of the status ║ │ │║ given to them (I'll mercilessly leave the names ║ │ │║ to your own imagination and assessment). If my ║ │ │║ two cents is worth anything here, get out and ║ │ │║ grab a physical copy of the latest JP and allow ║ │ │║ yourself to be taken back to a time when ║ │ │║ everything heavy was easily discernible and ║ │ │║ welcomed. This is going to be a nice addition to ║ │ │║ the already-fantastic Priest discography, ║ │ │║ straight from the cold, overcast umbrella of ║ │ │║ England's machine-belching Birmingham area. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ (Originally written for www.metalbite.com) ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Tracklist ║ │ │╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ 01 - Firepower [03:27] │ │ 02 - Lightning Strike [03:30] │ │ 03 - Evil Never Dies [04:23] │ │ 04 - Never The Heroes [04:24] │ │ 05 - Necromancer [03:33] │ │ 06 - Children Of The Sun [04:00] │ │ 07 - Guardians [01:06] │ │ 08 - Rising From Ruins [05:23] │ │ 09 - Flame Thrower [04:34] │ │ 10 - Spectre [04:26] │ │ 11 - Traitors Gate [05:43] │ │ 12 - No Surrender [02:54] │ │ 13 - Lone Wolf [05:09] │ │ 14 - Sea Of Red [05:52] │ │ │ │ Total Length : [58:24 minn │ │ │ │ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╔═════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ Greetings To: ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ Too all people who contributes to make this │ │ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │■ ■│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘