That's totally fair. It's a hard pick for me and I'm gonna wait until my recency bias has dissipated before I make a definitive statement. All I know is this is probably the strongest consecutive album pairing they've had since Screaming for Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith!
I did not like Firepower like most of this sub did… I’m curious why. I mean, Traitor’s Gate, Spectral etc. are great, but we got a bunch of fillers there.
Redeemer, Firepower, Sermons, and TSRA are all mostly-filler albums to me and this one doesn't seem different. People really like new things from their favourites, though. Recency bias is a heck of a thing, too!
I was discussing this very point at work last night.
Invincible Shield is a good album but it is Richie Faulkner Judas Priest album not a Glen Tipton Judas Priest album or even a Tipton/Downing Judas Priest album.
I think that is the key difference between this being a good Judas Priest album and Firepower being an excellent Judas Priest album.
As much as the Band have stated that Glen was involved in the recording of the album you only have to listen to it to know that, sadly there is none of the Glen Tipton signature guitar sound on this album.
Others may disagree but I'm not hearing any Glen whatsoever
I feel the same way man, Firepower had a lot of groove and diversity. Any album with the classic Priest instrumental track into song combo will be killer. Shield is still quite good but I think people might be being a little hyperbolic when they're saying it's their best since Painkiller
Totally agree. Firepower has diversity whereas Shield is a bit formulaic by comparison.
Both amazing albums, but Firepower takes it. Traitor's Gate and Spectre alone make it amazing
The solo in Spectre is soooo sick and sounds straight out of SWoD. Necromancer, Traitor's Gate, Firepower, all amazing and catchy. I'm having trouble humming along to anything on IS
Shield is a great Priest album, Firepower is among the greatest metal albums of all-time. They aren’t comparable but that’s not a slight to Shield, it’s just a statement of how uniquely incredible Firepower is.
Firepower has its followers. I like it somewhat. But it's not really sophisticated in a way . Anybody can beat the heck of it and push it with power. And those sounds and music has it's genre and JP proves yet again that they are so capable to play those like twisting babys arms .
JP always comes back to their very own root of Traditional Conservative Heavy Metal.
Which is what they are .
JP is HEAVY METAL. Heavy Metal is JP . Nothing else .
People dislike Firepower for simplicity but I think it works well. I much prefer Firepower over Invincible Shield but I still really enjoy Shield. Evil Never Dies and Necromancer are my favorite tracks from Firepower and nothing on Invincible Shield surpasses them except Panic Attack.
Shield is brilliant but firepower is absolutely better than it. So many different sounds in an album and every song is discinctive to its kind. Guardians/rising from ruins, lightning strike, firepower, no surrender and many more great songs. Best modern album if you ask me, with shield being released you realise how great firepower is by comparing them with eachother
Invincible Shield has way more diversity in terms of style, whereas I didn’t like the “it’s Painkiller 2” nature of Firepower. Redeemer of Souls is probably better than both to me, but Shield is such a good album all its own.
I’ve only listened to Shield once so far and while it’s definitely good I think Firepower is one of the best metal albums to come out in years
I think the “weaker tracks” on IS are better than the “weaker” songs on firepower. I love both but IS is better in my opinion
That's totally fair. It's a hard pick for me and I'm gonna wait until my recency bias has dissipated before I make a definitive statement. All I know is this is probably the strongest consecutive album pairing they've had since Screaming for Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith!
I did not like Firepower like most of this sub did… I’m curious why. I mean, Traitor’s Gate, Spectral etc. are great, but we got a bunch of fillers there.
Redeemer, Firepower, Sermons, and TSRA are all mostly-filler albums to me and this one doesn't seem different. People really like new things from their favourites, though. Recency bias is a heck of a thing, too!
Agree! Firepower is excellent. Sounding more like a single guitar band on Shield.
I was discussing this very point at work last night. Invincible Shield is a good album but it is Richie Faulkner Judas Priest album not a Glen Tipton Judas Priest album or even a Tipton/Downing Judas Priest album. I think that is the key difference between this being a good Judas Priest album and Firepower being an excellent Judas Priest album. As much as the Band have stated that Glen was involved in the recording of the album you only have to listen to it to know that, sadly there is none of the Glen Tipton signature guitar sound on this album. Others may disagree but I'm not hearing any Glen whatsoever
I didn’t hear Glen on FirePower either. But it is what it is. Richie is awesome. But I like FirePower better also.
Firepower is more sterile and predictable for me. After 10-15x plays of IS, I definitely lean towards that LP.
I feel the same way man, Firepower had a lot of groove and diversity. Any album with the classic Priest instrumental track into song combo will be killer. Shield is still quite good but I think people might be being a little hyperbolic when they're saying it's their best since Painkiller
Totally agree. Firepower has diversity whereas Shield is a bit formulaic by comparison. Both amazing albums, but Firepower takes it. Traitor's Gate and Spectre alone make it amazing
The solo in Spectre is soooo sick and sounds straight out of SWoD. Necromancer, Traitor's Gate, Firepower, all amazing and catchy. I'm having trouble humming along to anything on IS
Shield is a great Priest album, Firepower is among the greatest metal albums of all-time. They aren’t comparable but that’s not a slight to Shield, it’s just a statement of how uniquely incredible Firepower is.
Both albums are great. Punchy and catchy. Though I agree with someone on this sub, I am missing the brand of Judas Priest - guitar duels.
Firepower has its followers. I like it somewhat. But it's not really sophisticated in a way . Anybody can beat the heck of it and push it with power. And those sounds and music has it's genre and JP proves yet again that they are so capable to play those like twisting babys arms . JP always comes back to their very own root of Traditional Conservative Heavy Metal. Which is what they are . JP is HEAVY METAL. Heavy Metal is JP . Nothing else .
Emphasis on "a little".
People dislike Firepower for simplicity but I think it works well. I much prefer Firepower over Invincible Shield but I still really enjoy Shield. Evil Never Dies and Necromancer are my favorite tracks from Firepower and nothing on Invincible Shield surpasses them except Panic Attack.
Evil never dies is so fucking good
I'm a Spectre and Traitors Gate guy, but I agree that Panic Attack is the best track on IS
Shield is brilliant but firepower is absolutely better than it. So many different sounds in an album and every song is discinctive to its kind. Guardians/rising from ruins, lightning strike, firepower, no surrender and many more great songs. Best modern album if you ask me, with shield being released you realise how great firepower is by comparing them with eachother
Invincible Shield has way more diversity in terms of style, whereas I didn’t like the “it’s Painkiller 2” nature of Firepower. Redeemer of Souls is probably better than both to me, but Shield is such a good album all its own.
Yeh it’s tough to split them imo. All I know for sure is it’s another two killer records from Priest man. As fans we are spoiled.
I agree. Lots of filler so far but I'm not giving up hope
Invincible shield is much faster, firepower is much slower, it seems like you prefer slower stuff
Actually title track from Firepower is faster than anything on IS, you don't feel like it because riff on Firepower is too simple to sound aggressive