Judas Priest at The Met Philly 3/29/2022
words & photos: Paul Havelin
British Heavy Metal titans Judas Priest brought their '50 Heavy Metal Years' tour to The Met Philly on Tuesday night, wowing an enthusiastic crowd of metal hungry maniacs with a set of material that spanned their storied five decade career. Clenched fists and devil horns were raised high as soon as the opening riff of "One Shot at Glory" blasted across the hall, and continued to pump through the air for the duration of the show as the band weaved through a stream of fan favorites and deep cuts including "Diamond and Rust", "Freewheel Burning", "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" "Painkiller" and 'Rocka Rolla". Frontman Rob Halford worked the stage like a denim and leather clad demon, taking control of the audience and putting his vocal gymnastics on full display.
The band - Richie Faulkner (guitar), Ian Hill (bass), Scott Travis (drums) and Andy Sneap (guitar) - equally executed with power and precision making decades old songs sound as fresh as the day they were released. The band took very little time between songs to address the crowd throughout the night until the encore which kicked off with "Electric Eye" followed by "Hell Bent for Leather" which saw Halford take his trademark ride on stage through billowing smoke on his Harley. After a brief pause Halford appeared at center stage to welcome longtime Priest guitarist Glen Tipton to the stage to help the band close out the night. Tipton made his diagnosis with Parkinson's disease public in 2018 and has stepped back from touring since then, but still remains a vital part of the Priest machine. The sight of Glen was met with raucous applause as the band set to deliver the final goods for the night with a 1-2-3 punch of classic anthems "Metal Gods", "Breaking the Law" and "Living After Midnight". Judas Priest 50 Heavy Metal Years tour continues across the US and Canada through mid-April then heads to Europe for a June-August run. Check out photos from the night below.
The band - Richie Faulkner (guitar), Ian Hill (bass), Scott Travis (drums) and Andy Sneap (guitar) - equally executed with power and precision making decades old songs sound as fresh as the day they were released. The band took very little time between songs to address the crowd throughout the night until the encore which kicked off with "Electric Eye" followed by "Hell Bent for Leather" which saw Halford take his trademark ride on stage through billowing smoke on his Harley. After a brief pause Halford appeared at center stage to welcome longtime Priest guitarist Glen Tipton to the stage to help the band close out the night. Tipton made his diagnosis with Parkinson's disease public in 2018 and has stepped back from touring since then, but still remains a vital part of the Priest machine. The sight of Glen was met with raucous applause as the band set to deliver the final goods for the night with a 1-2-3 punch of classic anthems "Metal Gods", "Breaking the Law" and "Living After Midnight". Judas Priest 50 Heavy Metal Years tour continues across the US and Canada through mid-April then heads to Europe for a June-August run. Check out photos from the night below.
Judas Priest - 50 Heavy Metal Years of Music
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