JUDAS PRIEST

Firepower Epic Records

Firepower, the fast-paced title track is the best song Judas Priest has recorded in nearly three decades, kicking off a strong album that stands with any they’ve done before.

Firepower features songs from the viewpoint of soldiers or warriors, whether it’s the unnamed foes in the title track, the devil in Evil Never Dies, or mortal opponents in No Surrender.

It also features a string of Blacklist-type villains, each given a sinister name that could have formed an episode of the James Spader TV show: Necromancer, Flame Thrower and Spectre.

Though not the vocal siren he used to be, Rob Halford is still scary, intense and convincing in the lower registers.

Firepower may also be the last album that founding guitarist Glenn Tipton plays on, having retired last month from touring due to Parkinson’s disease.

His solos here with guitar colleague Richie Faulkner are definitely Priest-worthy.