Judas Priest released their eighteenth studio album Firepower earlier this year and have been touring ever since. The band is joined by producer Andy Sneap on guitar for the tour after Glenn Tipton revealed his Parkinson's diagnosis and could not longer play full shows.
Given Tipton's situation and the fact that Judas Priest has been at their craft since 1969, not with the same lineup, bassist Ian Hill was asked by Musik Universe if Firepower would be the final chapter in the band's book. Hill says they're not planning on closing up shop and will reassess what they're doing after their touring schedule ends.
"We're not planning on that. There's no reason why there shouldn't be anything. Glenn can play for short periods of time — even on a bad day, he can do that. It's just that he can't handle a full set at the moment. That may change — there may be procedures coming along that will help him along — but there's no reason why he shouldn't be able to write new songs. And he's capable of playing for short periods of time on the album as well. So we're not planning on Firepower being the last album."
"I think the Firepower tour is now booked through until next summer. So we'll take some time off and stand back and then see where we're gonna go from there — whether we're gonna carry on with Firepower or whether we're gonna do something else."
Plus it's not like Judas Priest sounds awful these days. Dudes are pushing 70 years old and still absolutely killing it nightly.
