Wembley Arena, London – Live Review

Judas Priest
Wembley Enviornment, London
21st March 2024

Judas Priest have fun their very important new album and 5 many years of steel classics with a present massive on theatre, energy, and hits.

An engine rumbles over the PA. Smoke billows throughout the stage. Rob Halford rides out on a motorcycle, sporting a leather-based cap and brandishing a driving crop. Like Alice Cooper’s guillotine routine, Eddie’s inevitable look throughout each Iron Maiden gig, or Gene Simmons’ tongue at a Kiss present, Hell Bent For Leather-based’s opening is classic rock theatre.

However then old-school theatrics are a vital a part of the Judas Priest reside expertise. The present opens with a banner drop to disclose the band in formation round a drum package on the centre-stage steps. The 2 guitarists are not any strangers to traditional bed room mirror posing, from synchronised headbanging to Richie Faulkner’s enviable kneel-splits. Halford, in his spectacular array of coats and jackets (sparkly gold, glistening silver, studded, tassled), created half the rock god gestures and has a black belt in the remainder. Even the articulated lighting rig, which comes down to face in for the frontman throughout an prolonged instrumental part, is within the form of the band’s emblem.

And it’s all backed up by a list 50 years deep. Tonight they go all the best way from 1977’s Sinner, which has solely grown in ferocity over the many years, to a selection choice from this yr’s very important Invincible Defend: the pressing Panic Assault, majestic Crown Of Horns, and seismic title monitor. Love Bites nonetheless stomps, Turbo Lover (minus the ’80s manufacturing) is extra hard-driving than ever, You’ve Bought One other Factor Coming stays the epitome of blacktop cruising anthems (eat your coronary heart out ZZ Prime and Steppenwolf), and, arriving very early within the set, Breaking The Legislation is the primary likelihood for the Wembley Enviornment crowd, already warmed up by Uriah Heep and Saxon, to sing together with Halford.

The singer, who bodily leans into his vocals, later leads the lots by way of a name and response of “yeah yeah yeah”s that fold right into a fluid The Inexperienced Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown), considered one of two songs that add a touch of prog to proceedings. The opposite is the epic Sword Of Damocles, from 2014’s Redeemer Of Souls, its regular march enhanced by moments of depth and tranquillity that exhibit the complete capabilities of the 5 males on stage. Nevertheless it’s the back-to-back Painkiller (launched by Scott Travis’ double kick drum assault) and Electrical Eye that actually exhibit Judas Priest’s enduring energy. On each, Halford’s growl and falsetto are cranked as much as 11, Travis and bassist Ian Hill sound like they’re auditioning for a Swedish dying steel band with an unpronounceable title, and the guitarists are locked in an ongoing duel. Because the entrance man stomps throughout the stage like Godzilla, it’s clear Judas Priest are nonetheless unstoppable.

As if to ram it down, they stroll off to Queen’s We Are The Champions however not earlier than Glenn Tipton comes out for the evening’s final hurrah. An integral member for the previous 5 many years, the guitarist’s been stored off the street since 2018 by Parkinson’s illness. So there’s an apparent outpouring of affection from the stage and the viewers as he performs on two genre-defining classics: Metallic Gods and Dwelling After Midnight, full with a quiet part for the steel maniacs to chant: “Dwelling after midnight/ Rocking to the daybreak/ Loving ’til the morning/ Then I’m gone, I’m gone”.

You could find Judas Priest on their website in addition to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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Phrases by Nils van der Linden. You possibly can go to his writer profile for Louder Than Conflict here. He tweets as @nilsvdlinden and his web site is www.nilsvanderlinden.com. 

All images © Paul Grace. For extra of Paul’s writing and images go to his archive. Paul is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and his web sites are www.paulgrace-eventphotos.co.uk & www.pgrace.co.uk.