THE BEAST

British heavy metal legends   JUDAS PRIEST   will release their new studio album,   "Firepower" , in early 2018. The band will support the disc's release with a North American tour, which will kick off on March 13 in Pennsylvania, and wrap up on May 1 in Texas.

All dates will be running a " JUDAS PRIEST   fan presale" starting Wednesday, October 25 at 10:00 a.m local time with the password "FIREPOWER" that fans can use to purchase tickets in advance.

Check the local venue for additional information.

Confirmed tour dates:

Mar. 13 - Wilkes Barre, PA - Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza  
Mar. 15 - Youngstown, OH - Covelli Centre  
Mar. 17 - Uniondale, NY - Nassau Coliseum  
Mar. 18 - Washington, DC - The Anthem  
Mar. 20 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center  
Mar. 22 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena  
Mar. 25 - Ottawa, ON - The Arena at TD Place  
Mar. 27 - London, ON - Budweiser Gardens  
Mar. 28 - Oshawa, ON - Tribute Communities Centre  
Mar. 30 - Orillia, ON - Casino Rama
Mar. 31 - Detroit, MI - Detroit Masonic Temple  
Apr. 03 - Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theater  
Apr. 05 - Green Bay, WI - Resch Center  
Apr. 08 - Bloomington, IL - Grossinger Motors Arena  
Apr. 10 - Casper, WY - Casper Events Center  
Apr. 11 - Loveland, CO - Budweiser Events Center  
Apr. 15 - Kent, WA - ShoWare Center  
Apr. 17 - Portland, OR - Veterans Memorial Coliseum  
Apr. 19 - San Francisco - The Warfield  
Apr. 22 - Los Angeles, CA - Microsoft Theater  
Apr. 24 - Phoenix, AZ - Comerica Theatre
Apr. 26 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center  
Apr. 28 - Dallas, TX - The Bomb Factory  
Apr. 29 - Sugarland, TX - Smart Financial Centre
May 01 - San Antonio, TX - Freeman Coliseum

The British heavy metal legends have spent the last few months in the studio recording the follow-up to 2014's   "Redeemer Of Souls"   with the band's longtime collaborator   Tom Allom , acclaimed British knob-twiddler   Andy Sneap   ( MEGADETH ,   EXODUS ,   TESTAMENT ,   ACCEPT ) and engineer   Mike Exeter   ( BLACK SABBATH ).

During an October 5 appearance on the   "Trunk Nation"   show on   SiriusXM   channel   Volume , singer   Rob Halford   stated about the progress of the recording sessions for   PRIEST 's new disc: "We're almost done. We're in that final hurdle before we get to the finishing line. It is sounding monumental. It's gonna blow your socks off. We're thrilled. We've got this big metal monster looming in the background, about to drop early next year, with a world tour to coincide."

Asked what it has been like collaborating again with   Allom , who produced every   PRIEST   release from   "Unleashed In The East"   (1979) through   "Ram It Down"   (1988), along with several live records since then,   Halford   said: "Brilliant. Absolutely fantastic.   Tom   has a rich history with   PRIEST , particularly those great moments with   'Screaming For Vengeance',   'Defenders Of The Faith'   [and]   'British Steel' . My God — he's the man in that respect. So I thought it was really great for   Andy Sneap   and   Mike Exeter   to accept that this was gonna be like a three-man job, with   Andy   mostly holding the reins, but with   Tom   by his side and   Mike   there [as well].

"It's an unusual way to make this kind of record for   PRIEST , because it's generally the producer and the band,"   Halford   admitted. "We just had so much faith in   Andy   and in   Tom   and   Mike   that we said, 'Guys, you go for it. You tell us what to do.' And if   Andy Sneap   said, 'Do another take,   Rob . Do another take,   Rob . Do another take,   Rob.   '… I've never sung so much in the studio behind a mic in all my life. But he got the results that we needed, and I think I can say the same for   Glenn   [ Tipton , guitar] and for   Richie   [ Faulkner , guitar] and for   Scott   [ Travis , drums] and for   Ian   [ Hill , bass]. So he got something out of us — they all did — but they got something out of us truly remarkable, and you're gonna be hearing it very soon."

Sneap , who plays guitar in the reactivated British occult metal act   HELL , recently told Serbia's   Hardwired   magazine that   PRIEST   had "about twenty-six ideas" in the early stage of the production process for the new album. "We've whittled [that] down to fourteen or fifteen," he said, adding that "we haven't decided on which songs [will make the final cut] or a running order for the album yet."

Andy   went on to say that   PRIEST 's new album will contain "a really good energy and some real classic moments." He said " Rob   did great" during the album's final recording sessions. "I'll tell you what: for someone who's got that much experience, there's no ego there at all," he said. "We'd do, like, six or seven passes, and I'd ask him to try something a bit [different] on this part, and he was, like, 'No problem.' And he'd give me another four takes with a slightly different vibe. And then me and   Tom Allom   would sit there and we'd comp it, and we pretty much agreed on everything."

PRIEST   was nominated for induction into the 2018   Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame , part of a list of nineteen potential candidates.

Inductees into the 2018   Rock Hall   will be voted on by a group of more than nine hundred artists, historians and music-industry professionals.

The 2018 inductees will be announced in December and the induction ceremony will be held at Cleveland's Public Auditorium on April 14, 2018.

Via Blabbermouth