5 years after Firepower, there was no question that Judas Priest would return with new music. But who would actually play on the music was a question: as hard as the band and management have tried to obscure the fact that neither of the guitarists who shaped their core sound are actually in the band anymore, to say nothing of their attempts to dodge and deflect K.K. Downing’s repeated airing of dirty laundry as well as their very transparent attempts to position Richie Faulkner as a bandleader, there was no getting around that Judas Priest as an entity was a compromised force. If anything, their attempts to dance around that only made things worse: as they played to less than capacity crowds on their 50th anniversary tour, forcing the spotlight on Faulkner at every turn (to the point of virtually ignoring that Andy Sneap was right there on stage with him trading licks and solos) felt more desperate than strategic, and while it was nice to see Glenn Tipton back with the band for a few songs at the end, his declining health was plain (and sad) for all to see.
So “Panic Attack” comes with baggage before a single note is heard: sure, the band insists that not only is Tipton still an active member and primary songwriter, they also admit that he can’t handle playing anything more complicated than “Breaking the Law” onstage, so how are we supposed to believe he is writing dense riffs and arrangements like this? Straight off the bat, it is abundantly clear that Faulkner is handling all of the leads, even the dueling tradeoff parts, and that immediately gives off an uncomfortable feeling.
But as a song though, “Panic Attack” is dynamic and a bit more interesting than we’ve heard from Priest since Rob Halford rejoined about 20 years ago, though on the whole it feels like a mix of the semi-progressive moments on Redeemer of Souls and the straightforward aggression of Firepower- in other words, it’s another Richie Faulkner-era Judas Priest track. The opening synths feel familiar, but then one notices that there is a lot more Scott Travis on this than usual- that may be obscured by the typically overstuffed production, but listening just a little bit closer reveals his drumming goes all over the place and takes the track through several detours. Meanwhile, Halford proves that although his live prowess is nowhere near what it was once was, in the studio he can still summon an unholy fire.
Of course, from the very beginning Judas Priest has been oriented around dual lead guitars, and Faulkner’s absorption of the band’s discography is a double-edged sword: on the one hand, he is able to write riffs and solos that sound completely natural to Judas Priest; but the flipside is that it also makes him and the entire band sound utterly self-conscious and almost defensive in a way that obscures the fact that these are in fact very good and Priest-worthy riffs and solos.
As a teaser for the upcoming Invicible Shield, “Panic Attack” shows that the Priest is back and ready to fight. But the unavoidable context behind it makes the track a bit of a push/pull experience, because while we would’ve been thrilled if this came from the Downing/Tipton axis, not even feeling sure that Tipton was actually a part of this makes it feel like a bit of a cheat.
Invicible Shield comes out March 24, 2024