Rob Halford: Glenn Tipton Already ‘Making Riffs’ For Judas Priest’s Next Album

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Judas Priest frontman and self-proclaimed “Metal God” Rob Halford recently appeared on the “Do You Know?” podcast, where he revealed that says Judas Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton has kicked off the songwriting process for the NWOBHM pioneers’ next album, the follow-up to last year’s critically acclaimed Firepower.

Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease five years ago and, in February 2018, announced his retirement from touring — Andy Sneap, the producer of Firepower, stepped in in his place. But the 71-year-old guitarist is still very much an active member of Judas Priest — he’s even joined the band numerous times since giving up touring, playing “Metal Gods,” “Breaking the Law” and “Livin’ After Midnight.”

Asked if fans can look forward to another Priest album in the foreseeable future, Halford responded, “Absolutely. In fact, Glenn’s back in the U.K. now making riffs and going through.” He continued, “We have massive archives of riffs. It never stops. That’s the joy of Priest in terms of creativity — we never seem to slow down. And when you get a successful record like Firepower, that motivates you even further. Any band will tell you that. You feed off the energy of what your fans are giving you. You wanna see your fans again and you wanna bring your fans something different next time. So that means making another metal song, which, amplify that by 10 ideas, and you’ve got another album. So that’s the plan. There will be another album from Priest in the very near future.”

Check out the full audio of the interview below. Priest are set to return to North America in May and promise a “New Show – New Set – New Songs.”