Judas Priest
w/ Special Guest: Sabaton
YouTube Theater – Los Angeles, CA
Tuesday, October 15th, 2024
Review/Pics: Will
The Mighty Priest just cannot be stopped. After an appearance at the Aftershock Festival this past weekend, Judas Priest continued their march forward on their Invincible Shield Tour with a stop at the sold-out YouTube Theater, in Los Angeles, CA.
Getting to warm up the throngs on this tour are Swedish Power Metallers, Sabaton.
Sabaton are:
Joakim Brodén – lead vocals, additional guitars
Pär Sundström – bass
Chris Rörland – guitars, backing vocals
Hannes Van Dahl – drums, backing vocals
Thobbe Englund – guitars, backing vocals
If you’re unfamiliar with Sabaton, the first thing that will catch your eye is Hannes‘ drum riser that is basically a replica of a two ton tank with the nickname “Audie“. The tank shoots smoke and flames (although no flames in the YouTube Theater) and is the perfect symbol of what a Sabaton set is about to unleash. Their songs revolve around battles and historic wars, in general. The setlist, with song titles such as “The Last Stand“, “Stormtroopers“, “To Hell and Back” and “Soldier Of Heaven“…are clue enough that you’re about to go to war…and War is Hell! War in this instance is also insanely entertaining.
Singer Joakim Brodén struts around the stage in his battle vest and camouflage pants and has a great rapport with the crowd, leading them in “Battle Chants”.
As mentioned they’re a very visual band. I’ve seen many headliners with less of a stage show than Sabaton bring. As well as the tank, they have mic stands with army helmets and rifles, synchronized jumping, a dude running around with a gas mask and flame (smoke) thrower. And if that’s not enough, in the ultimate expression of masculinity, Joakim even brought out a “Hello Kitty” guitar to play. (Not just MEN, but very SECURE Men).
If “testosterone” were a band, it would be Sabaton. (Although Manowar would of course challenge them in a fight to the death for the title)
Sabaton put on a great, entertaining set and were given a full hour to get the metal juices flowing before the arrival of Priest. I definitely recommend that you get there early to witness the spectacle of these very entertaining Swedes!
50 Years… I said FIFTY YEARS! Judas Priest is almost as old as I am! And man, judging by the groans I made when trying to get out of bed the morning after the show while lugging around some way too heavy camera gear…that’s Fucking OLD!
But unlike me, Judas Priest are still on the top of their game. How can it be?! Here’s how… Judas Priest have had a youthful injection from one Richie “The Falcon” Faulkner, they continue to release hard hitting (and damn good) metal music and they have an ace up their proverbial sleeve in the form of The Metal God, Rob Halford.
Priest are touring in support of their 19th release, Invincible Shield and so far on this tour are giving us a small dose from that album in the form of set opener, the blazing “Panic Attack“, the power ballad, “Crown of Horns” and of course the title track.
The rest of the setlist is littered with most of the Priest classics you’d expect to hear, but happily, they’ve also included a few songs that were absent from the previous outing. I love a band that can mix it up from tour to tour. Among others, welcome to the setlist, “Riding On The Wind” (Screaming for Vengeance), “Saints In Hell” (Stained Class) and “Sinner” (Sin After Sin).
Of course the classics are well represented in the form of “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming“, “Breaking The Law“, “Turbo Lover“, and one of the many highlight’s of the night, “Painkiller“.
Rob Halford is almost unrecognizable from his early days in the band as a leather clad lad with short blonde hair. No, Rob is bald with tats on the side of his head, a nose ring and a long white beard (a closer resemblance to Uncle Albert from classic British Sitcom, “Only Fools and Horses”..look it up). But here’s what hasn’t changed: Rob’s voice. His high pitched vocals and piercing screams are…well… *chef’s kiss. My goodness, he’s a freak of nature.
Rob stomps around the stage, ground-pounding to the beat; stops to deliver one of those screams and then hauls on to the next part of the stage as if he’s a prize fighter who just put down a foe. Fucking Legend!
The tandem of Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap (who has been performing with the band for almost 6 years now) is formidable. Much like the classic JP duo, they of course are adorned in leather and trade off riffs and solos while keeping the energy levels pumped to the max.
As famously noted by Rob, the addition of “The Falcon” definitely sparked life back into the band and that vitality is ever present onstage from start to finish.
The lone original/founding member, Ian Hill is just steady as a rock on the bass and remains firmly tucked in the far right of the stage. Never venturing forward but anchoring the classic Judas Priest sound.
If you’re able to take your eyes off of Rob and Richie for a moment to focus on Scott Travis, you’ll realize that he is one of those drummers that makes playing metal seem easy. Of course, it’s not, but Scott makes it looks so effortless. He really is mesmerizing. A perfect example is when he kicks into THAT intro from “Painkiller“.
Sadly this is the only Priest show that I’ve seen where Glenn Tipton hasn’t played or at least made an appearance. He was shown briefly during some video screen footage that played behind the band, but the sad reality is that future “cameo” appearances from the man may be at a minimum.
Before “The Green Manalishi“, Rob started a crowd, repeat-after-me, sing-back (in the vein of Freddie Mercury). Let’s just say, Rob is no Freddie. But the sold-out crowd at least were able to keep up and were in fine voice.
After “Painkiller” closed out the main set, the band briefly left the stage but returned for “Electric Eye“, “Hell Bent For Leather” with Rob as expected, finally entering the stage on The Bike and set closer, “Living After Midnight“.
There are a lot of bands that are a decade or few younger that aren’t producing at this level. Judas Priest are still in the upper echelon of metal, old and new and if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times… Go See The Legends!
Related Links:
Judas Priest
Sabaton
