Metal Wani’s Chuck Marshall recently spoke with Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill about the band's new Firepower album, what he felt are the key differences between the new album and the band’s prior works, if the band felt a need to write music that appeals to the fans, and much more.

The music community was saddened by the news that guitarist Glenn Tipton will not be able to join the band on their upcoming tour due to his illness. The band's former guitarist K.K. Downing recently made a statement in which he expressed his interest in filling in on the tour for Glenn. Asked if there was any consideration by the band to invite K.K. to return, Ian said, “Well, I’m not sure where Ken is coming from to be honest. He retired. He retired 7 years ago and he made it clear at the time that he didn’t want to come back. So I’m surprised at him being surprised that he wasn’t asked.”

Listen to the full interview below:

On March 19th at 6 PM, Judas Priest will be signing copies of their brand new album, Firepower, at the Sony Square NYC (25 Madison Avenue in New York City). The album will be released on March 9th via Epic Records, and is available for pre-order here.

An official lyric video for the new song "Never The Heroes" can be found below. Says the band, “’Never The Heroes’ is about the courageous men and women that enter war - never trained to be heroes but becoming heroic due to their actions and sacrifices doing their duty for their people and country. It resonates as there is a hero in all of us and in times of struggle we can be strong and united - conquering our own challenges and helping others - it's a traditional Priest mid-tempo powerhouse, with a powerful message!”

Firepower is comprised of 14 tracks of pure and highly inspired metal. And to mark the occasion Priest has reunited with producer Tom Allom (the man behind the board for all of the band’s releases from 1979 - 1988, including such stellar classics as Unleashed In The East, British Steel, Screaming For Vengeance and Defenders Of The Faith) and with Grammy Award-winning producer Andy Sneap also helping to raise the sonic bar even higher.

Firepower tracklisting:

"Firepower"
"Lightning Strike"
"Evil Never Dies"
"Never The Heroes"
"Necromancer"
"Children Of The Sun"
"Guardians"
"Rising From Ruins"
"Flame Thrower"
"Spectre"
"Traitors Gate"
"No Surrender"
"Lone Wolf"
"Sea Of Red"

"Lightning Strike" video:

The Judas Priest: Firepower 2018 Tour will kick off on March 13th in Pennsylvania, and wrap up on May 1st in Texas. Support comes from Saxon and Black Star Riders.

Confirmed tour dates:

March
13 - Wilkes Barre, PA - Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
15 - Youngstown, OH - Covelli Centre
17 - Uniondale, NY - Nassau Coliseum
18 - Washington, DC - The Anthem
20 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
22 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
25 - Ottawa, ON - The Arena at TD Place
27 - London, ON - Budweiser Gardens
28 - Oshawa, ON - Tribute Communities Centre
30 - Orillia, ON - Casino Rama
31 - Detroit, MI - Detroit Masonic Temple

April
3 - Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theater
5 - Green Bay, WI - Resch Center
8 - Bloomington, IL - Grossinger Motors Arena
10 - Casper, WY - Casper Events Center
11 - Loveland, CO - Budweiser Events Center
15 - Kent, WA - ShoWare Center
17 - Portland, OR - Veterans Memorial Coliseum
19 - San Francisco - The Warfield
22 - Los Angeles, CA - Microsoft Theater
24 - Phoenix, AZ - Comerica Theatre
26 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center
28 - Dallas, TX - The Bomb Factory
29 - Sugarland, TX - Smart Financial Centre

May
1 - San Antonio, TX - Freeman Coliseum

(Band photo - Justin Borucki)