2024 is shaping up to be yet another banner year for the Metal Gods, Judas Priest. On the strength on yet another metal monolith, Invincible Shield, these legends have been conquering the globe one festival and arena at a time. A half century since they first hit the scene with the cult classic Rocka Rolla, they manage to defy age and time, performing at a level that leaves not only their surviving peers, but many of today’s newcomers in the dust. Being from the Midwest, a region that gave the band love early on, I’m often spoiled with frequent visits from the Priest. It was just this past May that I caught them playing the Rosemont Theater, a mere 15 minute drive from my house. An additional hour plus commute up north to Milwaukee last Thursday was no trouble at all for the show we were treated to.
At roughly 9 PM, draped by a curtain boasting an Invincible Shield proclamation of sorts, Judas Priest took to the stage, kicking off their high energy performance with, “Panic Attack”. Initially released as the debut single off Invincible Shield, this power-speed anthem hits even harder live, with Rob Halford’s ear-shattering shrieks, Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap’s magical twin leads, and the gut-busting rhythm section of Ian Hill and Scott Travis, all coalescing to leave us in pure metallic ecstasy. Other highlights off the new album included the melodic balladry of “Crown of Horns” and the rip roaring title cut, the latter of which served as an opportunity for Priest to showcase their gigantic lighting rig.
From there, it was an all killer, no filler evening of classic hits, riveting deep cuts, and everything in between. There are, of course, the songs Priest has to play every night, which largely serve as opportunities for group singalongs (or scream-alongs, depending on how you look at it). I’m talking about songs like “Breaking the Law”, “Turbo Lover”, and “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'”, which no matter how many times they’re played live, always manage to hit the spot. As revered of a vocalist as Halford is (arguably the best in metal history), he’s as equally compelling as a frontman, getting the crowd on their feet from the front row to the nosebleeds, and managing to keep everyone fully engaged from start to finish.
For this diehard, however, the highlights were the deep cuts, which there were no shortage of. “Rapid Fire”, my absolute favorite song off British Steel, tested the limits of my neck muscles, pounding the faithful masses like a battering ram. “Riding on the Wind” and “Devil’s Child” transported us back in time to the burnt out teenage wasteland that was the US Festival ’83. “Love Bites” manages to be as seductively sinister today as ever, despite dropping 40 years ago. But the absolute crown jewel was “Saints in Hell”, in which the new 73 year old Halford manages to make singing one of the toughest songs in the Priest canon look easy. This, coupled with the presence of “Victim of Changes” and “Painkiller” in the set, was an absolute metal vocal clinic for the ages.
As the evening came to a close with biker anthem “Hell Bent for Leather” and the obligatory crowd-pleaser “Living After Midnight”, I found myself as fulfilled as I had been every other time I’ve seen Priest, and I’ve lost count at this point. It has to be at least a dozen times by now, and it’ll be another dozen times more if I have anything to do with it. So long as each evening closes with that reassuring message on the screen, “The Priest will be back!”, so will I and the hundreds of thousands of others around the globe who are proud to brand ourselves Defenders of the Faith.
Setlist
- “Panic Attack”
- “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'”
- “Rapid Fire”
- “Breaking the Law”
- “Riding on the Wind”
- “Love Bites”
- “Devil’s Child”
- “Saints in Hell”
- “Crown of Horns”
- “Sinner”
- “Turbo Lover”
- “Invincible Shield”
- “Victim of Changes”
- “The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)” (Fleetwood Mac cover)
- “Painkiller”
Encore
- “The Hellion / Electric Eye”
- “Hell Bent for Leather”
- “Living After Midnight”
