Friday, January 28, 2011

Judas Priest working on new material

Last month, metal fans were shocked by the announcement of a farewell tour by Judas Priest.

The latest news from the British metal gods may cause more confusion for Priest fans: the band is working on new material.

A posting on guitarist Glenn Tipton’s website late last week talked about pre-tour meetings to discuss the stage production and setlist, then added,

“To put everyone’s mind at rest, this is by no means the end of the band; in fact, we are presently writing new material, but we do intend this to be the last major world tour.”

The news was confirmed on Priest’s site this week:

“The guys are working together on writing new material - all is going really well - more details later!”

So, while this may be sending fans a mixed message, there is room for interpretation; I read the news as suggesting a few possibilities, including:

(a) Priest will record a new album before the tour
(b) Priest will not record pre-tour but will introduce new songs into the set
(c) This may be the final tour, but the band may continue making music into the future
(d) Insert your option here

I’m strictly guessing here, but any of these options seems possible given the messages being delivered by the band at this point.

You’d have to think that a farewell tour would result in a live recording of some kind, so if the band followed option (b) above, the addition of new material may help market the new product.

Looks like we’ll have to wait for the band to clarify further, as promised.

Stay tuned…

Judas Priest Judas Priest

Judas Priest – Metal Gods (2004)


See also:

Judas Priest: Rob Halford talks about farewell tour
Judas Priest’s Rob Halford talks about ‘coming out’ 12 yrs ago
Judas Priest’s Rob Halford rocks Chicago TV
Judas Priest announce farewell tour