Judas Priest

The stage is set. The time is now. Judas Priest are in back town and they are going to rock our asses off. I'm pretty sure of it anyway. And with the original line-up to boot, what more could you ask for? I am as excited as hell to be seeing them and I am hoping it will go down in history as one of the best gigs I have ever been too... Destined to ride the Priest Beast roller coaster and be obsequious in it's presence, I was on my way. Well rest assured, they did not disappoint and I'm sure many an ass was rocked off by the Melbourne show... including MINE!

After a seriously frustrating attempt at finding a car park, Rod Laver really do need to look at their parking facilities around their venue, I bolted on down to the arena in divine anticipation of the show before me. Unfortunately after the hour long search for a park, I regrettably missed the two support acts, but I knew who I was there to see anyway and I got there with a tenner to spare. Just enough time to peruse the crowd and take a seat and and drag my metal mate Enzo along for the ride.

On that note, It often surprises me, and it probably shouldn't any more, that metal music seems to unite generations. No matter where I go, it seems to surpass the generation gap and unite like-minded people from all walks of life. This gig was no exception. Those who say that metal is dead, needs to take a long hard look at themselves and fans all over the world!!! As the long hair, the metal tees, the studs and serious head banging, were prevailant throughout the packed arena. Fathers, sons, mothers, daughters, teenagers, adults, kids, genuine head bangers all of them, a plethora of metal heads were to be found in the sea of faces and they had all come to worship at the Priest's alter. And worship they did.

When the lights went down, the crowd went ballistic. And they did not stop. Cheers of “Priest” were to be heard throughout the entire set and a sea of hands were ubiquitous amongst them. Although unable to see Judas Priest at their last Melbourne show, over a decade ago, I was glad I did not miss it this time round.

They let rip with their first song Dawn Of Creation and unless you had been given a free ticket and were just along for the ride, you jumped from your seat and got right on into it. It was a theatrical experience right from the get go. In fact I heard Mr Halford, before I even knew where the body was from which the voice emanated. This was due to the fact that he did not emerge until the second song, coming out from underneath the drum kit, and there he stood, in a sparkly cloak on a platform looking like a wizard with his staff, screaming into his microphone, yet to take the stage front and centre. Combined with a backdrop of Nostradamus, the CD released in June for which this tour was in support of, (amongst many different backdrops throughout the night), the beginning was sure to be just a taste of what was to come.

And tastier it became... Halford slowly made his way down amongst the other players at the end of the second song and from then on they basically rocked the roof off the joint. I am not going to bore you with the set list for this show, you can find that out somewhere else I am sure, but this experience was something that has to be written about. Sure the songs Angel was haunting, Death was very dark and macabre in comparison and Hell Bent For Leather which is a classic, were worth every bit of the wait to hear live and should be mentioned, but it was the presence of the band that needs to be bowed down to.

Of course, I have been to copious amounts of metal shows as well as other gigs before in several different genres, but these guys have been rockin' since I was a toddler! Their stage presence is undeniable and inarguably not just a gig but a show in itself. The first cloak outfit was one of five costume changes Halford made throughout the show and the numerous props that went along with it were what made it a truly theatrical experience.

Notablly, along with the show that delivered from beginning to end, props consisted of a throne which Halford arrived delivered out to us seated, through double doors by what looked like the Grim Reaper, tribal-like emblazoned flags, double thorned staff, chains, studs, leather and shit loads of sequins. And of course, a Harley Davidson, which he rode out on at the start of Hell Bent For Leather, all things that other bands have emulated throughout the years, and most notably my favourite band, Motley Crue, these eccentricities, along with the last song You Got Another Thing Coming were what made it unmistakably one of my all time favourite shows.

In fact I only really have one complaint, which is that although I am sure I have just perhaps gone slightly deaf from all of the the metal I have listened to over the years and loudly, of course, it just did not seem loud enough for me. Could have been the seats we were in, could have been the aforementioned, but my ears just were not ringing the next day... Now that was the only disappointing part for me. As that is, the only real tell tale sign that you have rocked your ass off the night before and also allows you to remember, that no matter what anyone thinks, their ain't no place like METAL!!! However regardless of this fact, it surely was a Priest Feast, for this humble fan.

This band Judas Priest, have undoubtedly been one of the most influential metal acts Judas Priest, were leaders of the now legendary New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) movement along with Iron Maiden, pioneers of not only the sound but also of the leather and studs image and one of the most influential bands in rock and metal history.

The band last toured Australia in 2001, however that was in support of the Demolition album and featured Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens on vocals and although he did a fine job leading the Priest attack, he just wasn’t Rob Halford, the self-proclaimed metal god. With Halford rejoining the band in 2003, Australian metal audiences were afforded an opportunity to see the beast from the east in all its glory. KK Downing, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill, Travis Scott and Rob Halford, arguably the definitive Judas Priest lineup which laid down the classic Painkiller album.

Judas Priest are a seminal and vital part of rock history. Since 1974, they have been one of heavy metal’s most successful bands, issuing such all-time classic albums as 1980’s British Steel, 1982’s Screaming for Vengeance, and 1990’s Painkiller, and such arena-rocking anthems as Breaking the Law, Living After Midnight, and You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’. However, Priest’s influence goes far beyond their music - they were the first metal band to embrace the ‘leather biker look,’ a fashion that has since become synonymous with the musical genre. Additionally, Halford’s powerful four-and-a-half octave vocal range and the twin guitar harmonies of Downing and Tipton have been ‘studied’ by countless metal bands in Priest’s wake.

In 2006 they were the inaugural inductees into the “VH1 Rock Honors” and MTV.com named Judas Priest the second most important band in heavy metal.

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