IAN HILL Says JUDAS PRIEST Is 'In Good Shape' For Next Studio Album

JUDAS PRIEST bassist Ian Hill spoke to U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to 2018's "Firepower" album. He said: "A lot of the material is already done, but with just six people allowed to be together at one time, I don't know when we can record it. We will probably get the anniversary celebrations out of the way, and then, when there are no distractions, make a start on it. Some great songs were left over from 'Firepower' and we might use a few of those. They weren’t omitted as inferior, they just didn't fit 'Firepower'."

Hill also confirmed that PRIEST will once again work with the "Firepower" team of British producer Andy Sneap, the band's longtime collaborator Tom Allom and engineer Mike Exeter (BLACK SABBATH). "All being well, that's the plan," he said. "Tom and Andy did a tremendous job with 'Firepower'. We're in good shape with the next album."

"Firepower" was the second LP to feature guitarist Richie Faulkner, who was selected to fill the void left by founding guitarist K.K. Downing following his exit in 2011.

Last month, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford told Talking Metal that he, Richie and guitarist Glenn Tipton came up with some strong material nearly a year ago.

"We had some great writing sessions at the start of this year back in the U.K. at Glenn's setup, his studio," Rob said. "And, man, it was boundless opportunities that were coming out of those writing sessions. We did a lot of demos. I've got pretty much an [album's worth] of [new] JUDAS PRIEST [material] on this phone right now. And it's just amazing.

"I've gotta give a shoutout to the fans, as we always do," he continued. "We can't be who we are without you guys looking after us and giving us the inspiration and the motivation. Because we came off that 'Firepower' tour so energized, and we still were feeling that when we started the writing sessions early this year, and we got a lot of work done.

"On average, we usually have three or four big writing sessions of a month or so at a time. And so we got the first one down, and we've got a lot of material. It's incredibly fierce. I think that energy was just being channeled, especially from Richie. Some of his riffs and some of the core of the songs, they're absolutely lethal. I feel textures of the 'Painkiller' experience in some of the songs, and the classic elements again. It'll have its own legs, like they all do — they've all got their own character. And I think whatever this album is called and whenever it's released, it'll be another great metal milestone for JUDAS PRIEST."

Rob also said that he would be thrilled to collaborate with Sneap, Allom and Exeter again.

"It was a great experience working with Andy and Tom Allom, because they have two different approaches as producers," Halford said. "And we didn't even know if that was gonna work when we started to think about putting them together. But what a great idea that was, and they made some special things happen in terms of production. Me personally, I'm happy to replicate that thing over again, because I think we just touched the surface of it with the 'Firepower' production team, with Mike Exeter as well, who had just come off the SABBATH '13' album. So, anything can happen. But I just feel it's gonna be another very, very extra-strong record when we finally get it made."

In September, Faulkner told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that the creative process for PRIEST's next LP was halted by the coronavirus outbreak, which disrupted global travel.

Halford resides in Phoenix, Faulkner in Nashville and Tipton still calls his native United Kingdom his home.

"Firepower" entered the Billboard 200 chart at position No. 5, making it PRIEST's highest-charting album ever. "Redeemer Of Souls" debuted and peaked at No. 6, while 2008's "Nostradamus" landed at No. 11 and 2005's "Angel Of Retribution" came in at No. 13.

"Firepower" moved 49,000 equivalent album units in first week of release. Of that sum, 48,000 were in traditional album sales, just shy of the 54,000 copies sold by "Angel Of Retribution" in that album's first week. The "Firepower" chart position was bolstered by sales generated from a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer in association with the band's spring 2018 North American tour.

Across the pond, "Firepower" landed at position No. 5 on the U.K. album chart. It marked the band's highest ranking, and first time in the Top 10, since "British Steel" reached No. 4 in 1980. Elsewhere, "Firepower" also became PRIEST's first-ever No. 1 in Sweden.