The ESP Guitar Company

How cool is this?

Per an article in Billboard magazine, Judas Priest's new album Firepower has entered the Billboard 200 albums chart at No. 5, making it the best-charting album in the band's storied history. Yes, that's right... the new album has a higher debut chart position than 1980's British Steel (No. 34), 1982's Screaming for Vengeance (No. 17), and 1984's Defenders of the Faith (No. 18). It's a pretty amazing feat for a band that started in 1969 and has released 18 studio albums, including some of the most influential and beloved music in metal history.

It's unfortunate that as of the writing of this article, ESP-playing guitarist Glenn Tipton is reportedly not joining the band on their upcoming tour, due to health issues. If we're lucky, we might get to see Glenn make an appearance or two, and if so, you might see him in action with his LTD Signature Series GT-600 guitar. The GT-600 is a beast, based on the Viper body style with a set-thru neck and Glenn’s own red-covered EMG signature pickup set, along with performance tools like a Kahler Hybrid tremolo.

LTD Signature Series Glenn Tipton GT-600

Priest is bringing their famous "New Wave of British Heavy Metal" sound on tour right now, so see them at one of the dates below, and check their web site for the most updated tour and ticket info.

Mar 20: Prudential Center (Newark, NJ)
Mar 22: Mohegan Sun Arena (Uncasville, CT)
Mar 23: The Palladium (Worcester, MA)
Mar 25: The Arena at TD Place (Ottawa, Canada)
Mar 27: Budweiser Gardens (London, Canada)
Mar 28: Tribute Communities Centre (Oshawa, Canada)
Mar 30: Casino Rama (Rama, Canada)
Mar 31: Masonic Temple (Detroit, MI)
Apr 02: The Armory (Minneapolis, MN)
Apr 03: The Riverside Theater (Milwaukee, WI)
Apr 05: Resch Center (Green Bay, WI)
Apr 06: The Venue at Horseshoe Casino (Hammond, IN)
Apr 08: Grossinger Motors Arena (Bloomington, IL)
Apr 10: Casper Events Center (Casper, WY)
Apr 11: Budweiser Events Center (Loveland, CO)
Apr 13: Vivint Smart Home Arena (Salt Lake City, UT)
Apr 15: ShoWare Center (Kent, WA)
Apr 17: Veterans Memorial Coliseum (Portland, OR)
Apr 19: The Warfield (San Francisco, CA)
Apr 21: LAS RAGEOUS FESTIVAL (Las Vegas, NV)
Apr 22: Microsoft Theater (Los Angeles, CA)
Apr 24: Comerica Theatre (Phoenix, AZ)
Apr 26: Bok Center (Tulsa, OK)
Apr 28: The Bomb Factory (Dallas, TX)
Apr 29: Smart Financial Centre At Sugar Land (Sugar Land, TX)
May 01: Freeman Coliseum (San Antonio, TX)
May 05: Corona Heaven & Hell Festival (Mexico, Mexico)
Jun 05: Spektrum (Oslo, Norway)
Jun 07: Rockfest (Hyvinkaa, Finland)
Jun 09: Sweden Rock Festival (Norje, Sweden)
Jun 10: Royal Arena (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Jun 12: Pilsen Homemonitoring (HM) Arena (Pilsen, Czech Republic)
Jun 13: Spodek (Katowice, Poland)
Jun 15: With Full Force (Gräfenhainichen, Germany)
Jun 17: Firenze Rocks (Florence, Italy)
Jun 19: Sick Arena/Messe (Freiburg, Germany)
Jun 20: Zelt Festival (Mannheim, Germany)
Jun 22: Hellfest (Clisson, France)
Jun 24: Graspop Metal Meeting (Dessel, Belgium)
Jun 26: Samsung Hall (Zurich, Switzerland)
Jun 28: Sala Cubec (Bilbao, Spain)
Jun 30: Download Festival Caja Magica (Madrid, Spain)
Jul 02: Altice Arena (Lisbon, Portugal)
Jul 05: Rock Fest Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain)
Jul 19: Rockwave Festival (Athens, Greece)
Jul 21: Hills of Rock Festival (Plovdiv, Bulgaria)
Jul 22: Romexpo (Bucharest, Romania)
Jul 24: Budapest Arena (Budapest, Hungary)
Jul 26: Metal Days Festival (Tolmin, Slovenia)
Jul 28: Stadthalle (Vienna, Austria)
Jul 31: Zenith, die Kulturhalle (München, Germany)
Aug 02: Wacken Festival (Wacken, Germany)
Aug 06: 013 (Tilburg, Netherlands)
Aug 08: Westfalenhalle (Dortmund, Germany)
Aug 10: BLOODSTOCK FESTIVAL (Catton Hall, United Kingdom)