Judas Priest's bassist discusses Seoul leg of 'Firepower' tour

British heavy metal band Judas Priest will perform at Blue Square in Seoul on Dec. 1 to promote their latest album “Firepower.” Courtesy of Live Nation Korea

Bassist Ian Hill discusses Seoul leg of 'Firepower' world tour

By Kwak Yeon-soo

British heavy metal band Judas Priest will visit Korea for the fourth time to promote the group's 18th album “Firepower” released in March. Currently on the “Firepower World Tour,” the five-member band, which has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, will perform at Blue Square in Seoul, Dec. 1.

Judas Priest's first show in Korea was in 2008. Since then, the band has returned for shows in 2012 and 2015.

With 18 albums and over 40 years of experience, the band is ranked one of the greatest metal bands of all time. The latest album “Firepower” was placed at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart in March, making it the band's highest-charting album in the United States.

Ian Hill, the bassist of Judas Priest, discussed what to expect from the concert in Korea in an email interview with The Korea Times. According to him, their approach to making a new album is to make it better than the last one. “As soon as I heard the rough demos sent to us, I knew Firepower was going to be a brilliant album. Everyone gave great playing and production performances, and the album turned out awesome,” he said.

The 67-year-old bassist hinted that producer-guitarist Andy Sneap will be filling in for original guitarist Glenn Tipton, who is unable to perform a whole show due to Parkinson's disease.

When asked what songs they will be playing at the show in Korea and how the concert will be, Hill commented “the set list will be a mixture of new songs from Firepower, older songs from the back catalogue, and fans' favorites.”

Poised to perform in Korea for the fourth time in a decade, Hill said “It's amazing how much your country has grown over the last few decades. It reflects the energy and drive of your people.”

He added, “I love the Korean people. I've always been made very welcome when we've visited. Unfortunately, we never seem to have enough time to see much of the places we visit because we arrive, do the show and move on to the next place.”

Hill recalled that with their “British Steel” (1980) album, the band has had an influence in defining heavy metal. “Everything seemed to gel for Judas Priest with the British Steel album. The musical direction and the image of the band all came together at that time,” he said.

Hill also revealed his thoughts regarding the arguable phrase “rock is dead” as other genres, like hip-hop and EDM, take over the mainstream. “I don't agree with the idea that rock is dead or anywhere near. In my experience, the festivals that we play at are better attended than ever and there are more young faces in the audience than old ones, so there is a great future for rock and heavy metal,” he responded.

He also advised young musicians to “keep improving where you can and be patient. If you've got something good going, someone will notice sooner or later.”

Tickets cost 121,000 won. For more information, visit ticket.interpark.com.