The Firepower World Tour was a worldwide

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific ...

by English heavy metal band

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

, in support of the album ''

Firepower Firepower is the military capability to direct force at an enemy. It involves the whole range of potential weapons. The concept is generally taught as one of the three key principles of modern warfare wherein the enemy forces are destroyed or ...

''. It ran from 13 March 2018 to 29 June 2019.

Background

This tour marked the first time that guitarist

Glenn Tipton Glenn Raymond Tipton (born 25 October 1947) is an English guitarist. Often noted for his complex playing style and classically influenced solos, he is best known as one of the lead guitarists for the Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Judas P ...

would not perform on a full-length tour after revealing the news that he had been diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

on 12 February 2018 and would step down from touring as the disease's progression left him unable to perform the more challenging material. He stated that he was still a member of Judas Priest despite his diagnosis and would not rule out future on-stage appearances. Producer and guitarist

Andy Sneap Andy Sneap (born 18 July 1969) is an English guitarist, record producer, and composer with over 100 albums to his name, most of which have been produced at his Backstage Recording studios in rural Derbyshire. Some of the most critically acclaim ...

stepped in to perform in his place for the tour. Guitarist

Richie Faulkner Richard Ian Faulkner (born 1 January 1980) is an English guitarist best known as one of the lead guitarists for the heavy metal band Judas Priest since 2011, replacing original member K. K. Downing. He has also performed with Lauren Harris, ...

assured fans that Tipton would perform with the band again. At the 20 March 2018 show in Newark, Tipton joined the band on stage to perform "Metal Gods", "

Breaking the Law "Breaking the Law" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, originally released on their 1980 album '' British Steel''. The song is one of the band's better known singles, and is readily recognized by its opening guitar riff. Comp ...

" and "

Living After Midnight "Living After Midnight" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was originally featured on their 1980 album '' British Steel'', which was their first gold album in the United States selling more than 500,000 copies (and eventua ...

", then "

Victim of Changes "Victim of Changes" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, featured on their 1976 studio album '' Sad Wings of Destiny''. Adrien Begrand, writing for ''PopMatters'', claimed the song changed the course of metal history. Vocalist R ...

" and "No Surrender" on later dates. He would continue to appear on tour, performing only the encore songs, but would not perform on certain dates, depending on his health. Tipton did not make anymore appearances on the remaining dates due to his illness, as explained by bassist

Ian Hill Ian Hill (born 20 January 1952) is an English musician, best known as the bassist of the heavy metal band Judas Priest. Along with lead guitarist Glenn Tipton, he is one of only two members who've appeared on all of the band's studio albums. ...

. After the completion of the world tour, Faulkner thanked fans worldwide for attending their shows, "It's been emotional and amazing to see you all and share in the celebration of heavy metal all around the world. It's been a pleasure and an honour to serve. See ya on the next one RHRF DOTF."

Rob Halford incident

Shortly into the song " Judas Rising" at the 25 May 2019 show in

Rosemont Rosemont may refer to: People Rosemont is a surname. Notable people with this surname include: * David A. Rosemont, American television producer * Franklin Rosemont (1943–2009), American poet, artist, historian * Norman Rosemont (1924–2018), ...

Rob Halford Robert John Arthur Halford (born 25 August 1951) is an English heavy metal singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Perform ...

kicked a cell phone out of a fan's hands in frustration as the fan had the phone light on while filming the show, causing difficulty on his performance. Halford explained in a statement soon after that fans are free to capture footage of their shows, "However if you physically interfere with The Metal God's performance you now know what will happen." Uriah Heep vocalist

Bernie Shaw Bernard Shaw (born 15 June 1956) is a Canadian-English singer, and since 1986, the lead vocalist of British rock band Uriah Heep (band), Uriah Heep. Career At the beginning of 1970 Shaw dreamed of becoming a rock guitarist. He bought himsel ...

stepped in to defend Halford and said that he understood his frustration, but felt that he took it "a little bit too far", and opined that his "space was invaded." He thought that Halford "overreacted — but I can sure understand where it came from."

Lineup

– vocals *

– guitars, backing vocals *

– bass guitar *

Scott Travis Mark Scott Travis (born September 6, 1961) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the English heavy metal band Judas Priest, the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, and the supergroup Elegant Weapons. He was also a longtime member of ...

– drums, backing vocals *

– guitars, backing vocals (touring) *

– guitars (occasional appearances)

Support acts

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

Black Star Riders Black Star Riders is a hard rock band formed in December 2012. The band began when members of the 2011–2012 line-up of Thin Lizzy decided to record new material, but chose not to release it under the Thin Lizzy name. While Thin Lizzy continues ...

(13 March 2018 – 1 May 2018; except on 30 March, 21 April & 5 May shows) *

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...

(5 June 2018, 10 June 2018 – 13 June 2018, 19 June 2018 – 20 June 2018 & 26 June 2018) *

Lords of Black Lords of Black is a Spanish heavy metal band formed in Madrid in 2014 by guitarist Tony Hernando and singer Ronnie Romero. History First album: 2014 In 2014, guitarist Tony Hernando founded Lords of Black together with vocalist Ronnie Romero. T ...

(28 June 2018) *

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

(Judas Priest was the opening band for Osbourne at the 2 July 2018 show) * Rehmorha (22 July 2018) * Ørdøg (24 July 2018) * Accept (28 July 2018) * Black Star Riders (31 July 2018) * Uriah Heep (8 August 2018) *

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

& The Temperance Movement (21 August 2018 – 30 September 2018) *

Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. The band has at times been called one of the most influential European heavy metal bands of the 1980s. Its first ...

Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current line-up consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mille Petrozza, Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen Reil, Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli- ...

Arch Enemy Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a Supergroup (music), supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass (band), Carcass, Armageddon (Swedish band), Armageddon, Carnage (band), Carna ...

, etc. (26 October 2018) *

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...

& Black Star Riders (2 November 2018 – 11 November 2018) *

Babymetal (stylized in all caps as BABYMETAL) is a Japanese kawaii metal band consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as "Su-metal", Moa Kikuchi as "Moametal" and Momoko Okazaki as "Momometal". The band is produced by Kobametal from the Amuse Inc., Amuse talent a ...

(4 December 2018) * Disconnected (27 January 2019) *

Halestorm Halestorm is an American Rock music, rock band from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Lzzy Hale, drummer Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger, and bassist Josh Smith. Siblings Lzzy and Arejay founded the band in ...

(16 March 2019) * Uriah Heep (3 May 2019 – 29 June 2019; except on 4 May 2019)

Setlists

The 2018 to early 2019 setlist featured material from ''Firepower'', fan favourites and material that was not performed in decades such as "Bloodstone", "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll", "Tyrant", "Night Comes Down", "Delivering the Goods" and "Killing Machine". The song "Saints in Hell" was introduced to the audience which was never performed live. The third North American portion of the tour in 2019 featured an updated stage appearance and a brand new setlist featuring other tracks from ''Firepower'', other various fan favourites, and a few more songs that were not played in decades such as "Out in the Cold", "All Guns Blazing" and "Hot Rockin'". The band introduced another song, "(Take These) Chains", which was also never performed live.

Background

Rob Halford incident

Lineup

Support acts

Setlists

Tour dates

Box office score data

References