Rob Halford: It’ll be hard for Judas Priest to top Firepower

Judas Priest
Judas Priest (Image credit: Columbia Records)

Rob Halford says it will be difficult for Judas Priest to better their last studio album Firepower – but reports they’ll do everything in their power to deliver something special.

The vocalist was talking with Consequence Of Sound when he was asked if there was any pressure to deliver after the success of Firepowerwhich smashed into the UK and US charts at no.5 following its release in early 2018.

Halford replies: “Guitarist Glenn Tipton is always noodling away, even though he doesn’t tour that much now. He’s always noodling away in the studio in the UK. He’s always putting riffs down. 

“We have vaults of so many rifts. It’s just incredible. So it all starts with the riff, mostly, in what we do. We start with the riff and a melody, some hooks and we build it, as most bands do. 

Firepower is going to be quite difficult to top, but we’ll do everything we can to cut another great record and that’ll happen at some point.”

Halford has just released his new Christmas solo album Celestial through Legacy Recordings – and in an exclusive interview with Classic Rock last week, The Metal God spoke about why he loves the festive period so much.

And earlier this week, Priest were celebrating after receiving their second nomination for The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

They were named alongside MotorheadThin LizzySoundgardenT-RexMC5Nine Inch NailsPat BenatarTodd RundgrenDepeche Mode, Dave Matthews Band, The Doobie BrothersKraftwerk, Whitney Houston, The Notorious B.I.G. and Rufus featuring Chaka Khan – with the final selection set to be announced early next year.

Judas Priest: Firepower Deluxe Edition

Judas Priest: Firepower Deluxe Edition
The Deluxe Edition of Judas Priest’s latest album Firepower comes in a hardcover book format with embossed cover and also features a 24-page booklet.

Rob Halford: Celestial

Rob Halford: Celestial
Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford has just released a new collection of festive favourites with a metal makeover. Celestial also features four brand new tracks.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more for Louder. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, The Tragically Hip, Marillion and Rush.

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