JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford says that Glenn Tipton has commenced the songwriting process for the follow-up to last year's "Firepower" album.

The guitarist announced his retirement from touring in February 2018 after revealing his unfortunate diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. He passed on the torch to the producer of the "Firepower" album, Andy Sneap.

Asked in a new interview with "Do You Know Jack?" if fans can look forward to another PRIEST studio album in the not-too-distant future, Halford replied (hear audio below): "Absolutely. In fact, Glenn's back in the U.K. now making riffs and going through… We have massive archives of riffs. It never stops. That's the joy of PRIEST in terms of creativity — we never seem to slow down. And when you get a successful record like 'Firepower', that motivates you even further. Any band will tell you that. You feed off the energy of what your fans are giving you. You wanna see your fans again and you wanna bring your fans something different next time. So that means making another metal song, which, amplify that by 10 ideas, and you've got another album. So that's the plan. There will be another album from PRIEST in the very near future."

Tipton was diagnosed with the degenerative neurological disorder five years ago, after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier. The guitarist, who is now 71 and has performed on every PRIEST record since the band's 1974 debut set, "Rocka Rolla", is not quitting the band, but simply cannot handle the rigorous challenges of performing live.

Glenn has appeared onstage with PRIEST many times following his retirement, always performing the same fan-favorite tracks "Metal Gods", "Breaking The Law" and "Livin' After Midnight".

PRIEST's current touring lineup consists of Halford, guitarists Sneap and Richie Faulkner, drummer Scott Travis and founding member and bassist Ian Hill.

JUDAS PRIEST will return to the U.S. for a spring run with fellow classic heavy rockers URIAH HEEP. The 32-date trek will kick off on May 3 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida and wrap on June 29 at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.