Review of Judas Priest at Rockfest 2009

Nineteen years have passed for me since I last saw Judas Priest. I remember it like it was yesterday. My buddies and I traveled 3 1/2 hours to see Judas Priest in Chicago when I was a senior in college. It was an amazing show to say the least, so you can imagine my excitement when I heard they were coming to Cadott, WI for Rockfest. I get to see one of the originators of Heavy Metal again !

This particular tour for Judas Priest is special. This is the 30th anniversary of their groundbreaking album “British Steel”. It was one of the first heavy metal albums that was made with songs that could be played on the radio due to it’s format and use of pop hooks….paving the way for many other bands to follow.

During this anniversary tour, the band is playing the entire “British Steel” album. Being a lifetime fan of the band, I was familiar with all the songs. From the looks of the crowd around me I can’t say the same for many people. The only real headbanging I saw was during the performance of “Breaking The Law“, “Metal Gods” and “Living After Midnight“. It seemed these were the only songs people recognized. Three songs were played in addition to the “British Steel” album. “Freewheel Burning“, “Diamonds and Rust” and of course the big hit of the evening, “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin“. This one definitely brought the crowd to its’ feet.

I thought it was a great show. Kind of cool seeing one of my favorite bands again with the guitars moving in synchronicity and Halford hitting those high notes like very few really can and still doing it after all these years. I hope many others enjoyed this show as well, they may not have been familiar with all the songs that were played but one thing is for sure, everyone is familiar with the name “Judas Priest“.

Half way through the set I had to chuckle to myself thinking about the black light in my room and my Judas Priest black light poster on my wall in high school. I remember it looking so cool when the light was on. Maybe I can find another one and put it up in my bedroom that I share with my wife. Probably not…

Judas Priest has 2 more dates, Thursday, August 20th in Alpharetta, GA and Saturday, August 22 in Columbia, MD at the Heavy Metal Weekend also featuring Heaven and Hell.