Judas Priest

Nary a devil horn had been raised before Priest Feast, the original line up of metal gods Judas Priest’s first outing to Australia, had almost become a debacle.

The bill would have been enough for any self respecting metal – head to shriek with delight. Not only did you have ‘Preeeeeeest’, but also the Cavalera Conspiracy, the new project for Sepultura brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, and Sydney noise merchants Daysend. The premium tickets were bought, the anticipation rose.

Then, from out of nowhere, the powers- that-be decided that the brothers Cavalera were too ‘controversial’ to be allowed Visas into Australia and New Zealand, even though they had played here with both Sepultura and Soulfly without incident. Then Daysend did a bunk and the ticket prices plummeted. Surely those who payed top dollar were not going to be happy.

So, it was with that in mind that I entered Acer Arena with a due sense of trepidation and dread. Expecting a poorly populated throng of disgruntled metallers, baying for the blood of the support acts, I was pleasantly surprised to see legendary Aussie band Mortal Sin winning the crowd over. It seemed a little odd to me though that this band, who have been doing their thing for over twenty years, should be given the opening slot for a gig celebrating ‘Metal Gods’. Surely Mortal Sin had payed their dues?

With their extensive back catalogue and a new album just out, Mortal Sin had plenty of material to work with in the short set and chose a nice mixture of old school and new school material – the standout being I Am Immortal from 1989’s Face of Despair album. The combination of breakneck-speed metal (think Kill ‘Em All era Metallica with more of a punk rock edge), combined with the band’s seemingly limitless energy, not least from original members, singer Matt Mauer and bass player Andy Eftichiou, seemed to appease the rather small gathering.

I didn’t hold out much hope for Melbourne band Electric Mary. Having seen front-man Rusty and drummer Venom a while back in the guise of indie (ish) rockers Mr. Brown, I wasn’t expecting them to inspire thoughts of heavy metal thunder. The band didn’t seem to think so either with Rusty declaring that “...we’re worshipping at the temple of the metal gods….and we’re about as metal as plastic.”

For their part, Electric Mary played a solid set of high-octane rock that exuded a certain sleazy ‘badassedness’ which seemed to keep the crowd at bay, but metal fans can be an unforgiving lot, and it just wasn’t Electric Mary’s night.

It certainly was Judas Priest’s night however. The opening strains of the instrumental Dawn of Creation from the band’s latest album about the life and times of Nostrodamus were met with rapturous applause and devil horns aplenty. It looked as if the Priest was going to save the night after all.

It was obvious from the get go that Judas Priest meant business, with drummer Scott Travis perched atop a riser no less than eight foot high that was flanked by two platforms.

The metal God Rob Halford appeared atop one of these platforms for the next number from the same album, Prophecy which in retrospect held its own quite well against the rest of the set. Dressed in a reflective silver hooded cloak he looked like some kind of futuristic druid.

From there, Halford hit the floor to join band mates Glen Tipton, KK Downing and Ian “Skull” Hill for Metal Gods from their landmark 1980 British Steel album.

There is no doubt that Halford is the consummate metal showman and a Judas Priest show is more than just a concert. It’s pure theatre. From Halford wielding massive flags about the place, changing costume no less than five times, to appearing from behind a door underneath the drum riser singing from a throne pushed by a cloaked figure. Definite Spinal Tap undertones maybe, but these theatrics only served to augment the air tight performance and work the crowd into even more of a lather.

The rest of the set read like a Judas Priest best of album, with such seminal classics as Breaking the Law, Sinner, Painkiller, Dissident Aggressor, and The Green Manalishi all getting a look in. The highlight however came in the form of Hell Bent for Leather, which Halford sang atop a Harley Davidson that he rode in for the occasion.

For a band that has been around for more than 30 years, Judas Priest were a remarkably sprightly bunch, not least Rob Halford who still has one of the best screams in the business. The legendary guitar duo of Tipton and Downing worked the now sizeable crowd (of around 5000 apparently) into something of a metal frenzy with their masterful dual guitar attack, while bassist Hill stoically head banged his way through the set .

The only let down in the set was the atrocious and ill fitting power-ballad Angel, possibly only included to give the guys a much needed breather.

Not having had all that much experience with Judas Priest in the past, I always saw them in parody terms. I always envisioned them as one of the bands Christopher guest had in mind when writing Spinal Tap. After seeing them live however, it becomes obvious that there is a substance to their songwriting that belies the pomp and circumstance of their performance – a substance that was sorely lacking in so many of their emulators.

I guess you could say I went into the ‘temple of the metal gods’ an agnostic. The Priest made me believe.

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