Tag: judaspriest

March 29, 2022 – The Met, Philadelphia PA

Review by Chris Yates // Photography by Estelle Massry

Judas Priest fans unite and descend upon The Met in Philadelphia, PA as the Heavy Metal elite come to play at the “50 Heavy Metal Years” tour!

As “Metal” worshipers immediately packed the house from top to bottom not to miss the thundering Queensrÿche, I knew I was going to be in for a night of eardrum blasting, Heavy Metal Rock and the head banging, fist pumping of loyal fans! Queensrÿche delivered a high energy level set with fan favorites such as “Queen Of the Reich”, “Warning” & “Empire”.

As the Judas Priest iconic symbol of a “pitchfork/cross” was lowered form the ceiling, outlined in red and shining bright spotlights from it’s core throughout the audience, as if searching for the devil in a sea of demons, the deep bass tone pounded through our chests. As the lights subsided the red glow of the pitchfork/cross ascended, revealing an industrial set design representing a scrap yard or foundry, complete with oil drums, fire, metal, and “Danger High Voltage” signs.

Note: the Judas Priest symbol of a pitchfork/cross first appeared on the cover of their second album, 1976’s Sad Wings of Destiny, around the neck of a fallen angel. It’s come to symbolize the triumvirate, or coming together of two guitars and “you”.

The 70 year old Judas Priest, Metal God, front man Rob Halford emerged to the stage blasting his mighty voice, against the electric guitar playing of Richie Faulkner and noticeably making the hair stand up on the arms of faithful parishioners! Halfords vocals were powerful and ripped through the veins of allegiant fans. To have pipes like that at 70 is something not many can maintain. The facial expressions as he belted vocals, combined with his tattooed shaved head and multiple jacket wardrobe changes had me glued to the bands presence and how the fans reacted.

Judas Priest revolutionized heavy metal fashion – leather, spikes and provocative/taboo clothing that became very popular during the 80’s. Tonight was a reminder of just how influential the band was and still are.

Judas Priest performed a set that featured a wide range of songs spanning their entire career. They have been touring and recording for over 50 years and have sold over 50 million albums worldwide as well as receiving a grammy award for Best Metal performance in 2010. That’s quite a career! The iconic band currently consists of Rob Halford (lead vocals), Richie Faulkner (guitar), Ian Hill (bass), Andy Sneap (guitar) & Scott Travis (drums).

As hard core metal fans would know, Judas Priest would not be Judas Priest it weren’t for Glenn Tipton. Needing no introduction, fans erupted in delight as Tipton walked out on stage. Although he stepped back from touring, he is hell bent on not letting Parkinson’s stop him from doing what he was born to do.