REVIEW BY MATT RAMSBOTTOM FOR MMH THE HOME OF ROCK RADIO

I’ve seen Judas Priest before, so this is going to sound a little odd, but this one was off the scale special.

Firstly, I went with my best pal who convinces me that Priest get better with age.

But secondly, I’ve reached that age where Nu Metal, Hair Metal, Old Metal and everything in between are equally enjoyable. And yet watching Rob Halford scream his way around the stage, then appear on a motorbike, has somehow become more than music.

It’s art.

Actually, in heavy metal terms, it’s deep poetry being played out in front of you.

You can go and watch all the clips on YouTube, scroll through the social media posts and probably get a pretty good idea of what the show looks like. And I absolutely encourage you to do it.

But you still won’t quite understand what it feels like to stand there and experience it.

I’ve been lucky enough to see Iron Maiden this year too, and my love of rock music goes right back to Donington and the Monsters of Rock, long before it became Download and sex on Ferris wheels became a thing 😉.

And then there was the genius of Judas Priest opening with the “War Pigs” intro.

Absolutely genius.

I was screaming along about generals and masses before that curtain even came down. And that curtain drop was a brilliant bit of old-school theatre. Metal has always understood the importance of putting on a bloody good show, and Priest proved once again that they know exactly how to do it.

Judas Priest have been doing this for more than five decades. They helped define British heavy metal, influenced generations of bands and somehow still have the ability to make an arena feel like the most important place on earth for a couple of hours.

So thank you, Rob Halford.

Thank you, Judas Priest.

You’ve somehow kickstarted yet another wave of British heavy metal in me.

And judging by the state of my voice this morning, I’m not sure it was entirely welcome. 😂

Metal isn’t dead. Far from it.