Fifty years is a long time in any respect of life, but being one of the world’s greatest Heavy Metal bands for fifty years and still releasing quality Heavy Metal records is a monumental accomplishment. Judas Priest, half a century in, continue to sell out arenas and execute high-energy live performances, putting to shame most bands half their age. Priest is on the road for the second leg of the Invincible Shield Tour, supporting their nineteenth studio album of the same name, released earlier this year on March 8, 2024. Invincible Shield is a total banger of a record showcasing Priest’s timeless ability to release quality heavy metal anthems.
Continuing to support Judas Priest in the opening slot are Swedish power metal kings Sabaton. On Tuesday, October 15, the Invincible Shield Tour stopped at The YouTube Theater in Los Angeles. Sabaton and Priest rocked a SOLD-OUT show for the SoCal metal maniacs.
Sabaton hit the stage and delivered a full sixty minutes of war and battlefield-themed power metal. With the drum riser being a life-size army tank and the band dressed in camouflage and battle gear, vocalist Joakim Brodén led this five-man army on a total assault of Los Angeles as the band opened with the upbeat “Ghost Division.”
A Sabaton show is pure fun and chock full of metal anthems that mandate sing-alongs and lots of clapping and fist-pumping. Brodén is a fine frontman supported by the thunder of drummer Hannes Van Dahl and bass player Pär Sundström with guitarists Chris Rörland and Thobbe Englund flanking each side of the stage.
For the song “Resist and Bite,” Brodén played a Hello Kitty guitar, and for “The Attack of the Dead Men,” Brodén suited up with a gas mask and smoke cannon as he somehow sang the vocals with the mask on. The Sabaton die-hards that were there early were all totally loving this performance, and after about fifty minutes, Brodén announced the bad news that they were about to play their last song, and the band ended their time onstage with “To Hell and Back.” Sabaton is truly the perfect band to prime a metal crowd for Judas Priest.
Sabaton
Photo Credit: Chris Loomis
At 9:00 pm sharp, “War Pigs” blasted over the PA, and from behind a large curtain blocking the stage, the band kicked into “Panic Attack,” the first single off Invincible Shield and with a bang, the curtain was sucked up into the ceiling revealing all members of the band gathered at the drum riser and this began 90 minutes of pure metal nirvana as Judas Priest – The Metal God, Rob Halford on vocals, Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap on guitars, Ian Hill on bass and Scott Travis on drums, took Los Angeles on a turbulent ride through the assortment of Heavy Metal anthems Judas Priest has released over the years. “Panic Attack” is the perfect song to open the current show. The band didn’t let up as “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’,” “Rapid Fire,” and “Breaking the Law” followed. Immediately, it is obvious that although Halford may look a bit older, his voice remains as piercing and strong as ever, as at seventy-three-years old, his voice still gives you chills and goose-bumps hearing his screams in a live setting.
With nineteen studio albums, it must be a challenging task to create a setlist, but on this night, whoever curated this current set list deserves an award as deep cuts “Riding on the Wind,” “Love Bites,” “Saints in Hell” and “Sinner” were played. Thirteen years into his tenure with the band, Richie Faulkner has sure proven to be the perfect replacement for KK Downing and brings a youthful spark to the live show with his blazing guitar mastery as he trades off solos with Andy Sneap who continues to nicely fill the shoes of Glenn Tipton as he deals with Parkinson’s disease.
Ian Hill, the sole original member is stationary tucked in the back of the stage but wails on the bass with his rhythm partner Scott Travis pounding the drums. The band slowed things down a bit with “Crown of Horns,” also from the new album and the last six songs of the set were really just an “out of body Heavy Metal experience” with “Victim of Changes,” “The Green Manalishi” and then “Painkiller” ending the main set with Scott Travis calling Los Angeles the Heavy Metal capital of the world and having the crowd scream Painkiller prior to the drum intro of the song.
The encore consisted of “The Hellion/Electric Eye” before Halford revved up the infamous Judas Priest Harley backstage and rode it out to center stage where the band blasted through “Hell Bent for Leather” and then concluded this epic night with “Living After Midnight” that had every fan in the YouTube Theater on their feet singing out loud with a raised fist, headbanging to this classic anthem. Halford ended the night with “We are Judas Fucking Priest” and walked off stage.
Invincible Shield is an incredible record, October 15 in Los Angeles was an incredible night of live Judas Priest music – WOW . . . just WOW . . . Judas Priest proved once again they remain the undisputed Kings of Heavy Metal. The Invincible Shield tour runs through October 26, ending in Dallas, TX, and then the band heads over to Japan for four shows in early December. Not only is Judas Priest back in 2024 . . . they never left!
Judas Priest
Photo Credit: Chris Loomis
Judas Priest Set List:
Panic Attack
You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’
Rapid Fire
Breaking the Law
Riding on the Wind
Love Bites
Devil’s Child
Saints in Hell
Crown of Horns
Sinner
Turbo Lover
Invincible Shield
Victim of Changes
The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)
Painkiller
Encore:
The Hellion/Electric Eye
Hell Bent for Leather
Living After Midnight
