On the 12^th of May, they came back with the debut single ‘Hellfire Thunderbolt’, anticipating their album ‘Sermons of the Sinner’, coming out on August 20^th via EX1 Records. When speaking about the new record, Downing said: ‘The whole concept is the fact that I continue proudly to be who I am and what I am and do what I do. It’s been nearly 10 years. I’m back making music. All of my life, people always wanted an album that we’ve made in the past. ‘What’s the new album like? Will it be anything like ‘British Steel’? Will it be anything like ‘Sad Wings?’’ People hoping you’re going to make a record that you’ve already made. So in a way this record just sounds like something that has already been made or should have been be made.’

He continued: ‘The ultimate message is we’ve moved away from this music that we loved for so long and we’re so dedicated to, and now we’re in a situation where lots of people are actually passing away,” he continues. “We’ve lost a lot of great people – Dio, Lemmy, I could go on – and that’s gonna be accelerated over the coming years. Basically, enjoy everything that’s left of this brand of metal including from me. It’s not going to last forever.’

‘Sermons of the Sinner’ can be pre-ordered here.