Judas Priest’s Ian Hill – ‘There’s at Least an Album or Two of New Material’

Judas Priest are working toward a new album and according to bassist Ian Hill, the band may have more than enough material to complete their next release. While speaking with The Morning Call, Hill revealed, "There's at least an album or two of new material."

The bassist offered some insight to their approach to new music, being a band with members in multiple countries trying to record during the pandemic. "The big problem has been COVID over the last year. We haven't been able to get together, you know? Some of the guys live in the [United] States and a couple of others live in Britain, so we can't really get together to rehearse. It's just opening up now, just easing a bit now, which is a bonus."

Hill stated that guitarists Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton have been pooling their ideas, adding, "They sort of formulate songs out of those ideas and when they have sort of a rough working track, myself and Scott [Travis] get a copy of that and we'll put our bass lines and drum patterns down and we'll go from there."

The bassist admits it's been "a messy process" trying to send tracks back and forth online during the pandemic, adding that he's looking forward to spending more time in a room together. "It's much easier and it's more real doing it that way, as well. You pick up off everybody's vibe anyway. So it's preferable to do it face-to-face, when we're all together."

While a new album is definitely at the forefront of the band's minds, it's not the only music fans should be looking out for. The group recently announced a huge, limited-edition Reflections box set that's expected to arrive this fall, pulling together material dating back to 1974's Rocka Rolla through 2018's Firepower. The 42-CD box set includes every studio and live album.

Judas Priest are also in the midst of touring in support of their 50th anniversary at the moment. See all their scheduled dates and get ticketing info here.