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.

General Admission tickets available:
Adults (over the age of 10) $15 evenings (after 4:00 pm) and Weekends
Adults $8 weekdays (Noon to 4 pm)
Seniors (60 and over) $3
Children (3 – 10) accompanied by an adult $3
Children (2 and under) FREE

Get your tickets for the Marcus Amphitheater here!

Be sure to check out the official Summerfest website for more information.

This album has some great songs but some weird arrangements for me.  When I go to a concert I want to hear an opening song come out and grab me by the throat!  Why on earth did Judas Priest pick “Out in the Cold” to start the show?  I can understand putting it later on in the show to give people a break but I feel it was a bad choice in the beginning.

The set list had some good hard rockin tunes in the beginning like:  “Metal Gods“, “Breaking the Law“, “Electric Eye“, “Livin after Midnight“, and “You Got Another Thing Comin“, which should be regulars in any Judas Priest show but there are a few that I could have done without.  “Private Property“, “Parental Guidance“, and “Love Bites“, have a slight pop edge to me that take away the effect of a hard rock concert.  They have so many other rockin tunes that would have worked better like: “The Green Manalishi“, “Hell Bent for Leather“, or “Touch of Evil“.  When you are in a hard rock band, your fans expect hard rock!

I would like to talk about the band members on this album also.  Lead singer, Rob Halford and his voice are always in tip top shape and this album was no exception.  Sometimes I have to keep the volume down at home in fear of Rob’s voice shattering a mirror or something when he hits those high notes.  I could do without the little sexual comments on this album too.  In 1998 he revealed to the world on MTV that he was gay.  On this album he has little hints about it also.  For example, before the song “Turbo Lover“, he says “It’s time to grab ahold of something and make it hard.”  I don’t know about you but I don’t need that crap, Rob just sing your songs!

KK Downing and Glen Tipton are two of the best guitarists in rock, period.  Their back and forth trading off of guitar solos is hard to match.  Just take a listen closely to “The Sentinel” and you will hear what I mean.

Ian Hill on bass guitar and Dave Holland on drums really give lackluster performances on this album in my opinion.  Ian on bass can hardly be heard and that probably explains why there aren’t any solos by him and in the photos from the concert he is usually standing off to the side of the stage. Dave Holland on drums is nothing but bass and snare.  I get more enjoyment watching my son Cam play drums on Guitar Hero World Tour.

All in all I would give this album 3 out of 5 stars.  If you are going to revisit this album I wouldn’t listen to the whole album, you would be wasting your time. If you were thinking of buying it, I would recommend the Judas Priest live album Unleashed in the East instead.  Now that’s what I’m talking about!

[tags]Judas Priest[/tags]

June
Alanis Moissette – Flavors of Entanglement – Released 6/2/08
My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges – Released 6/10/08
Weezer – The Red Album – Released 6/16/08
The Offspring – Rise & Fall, Rage & Grace – Released 6/17/08
Judas Priest – Nostradamus – Released 6/17/08
Coldplay – Viva La Vida – released 6/17/08
Chicago – Stone of Sisyphus – Released 6/17/08 (originally recorded in 1993 – finally being released)
Verve Remixed – Volume 4 – Released 6/23/08
Motley Crue – Saints of Los Angeles – Released 6/24/08
The Very Best of Billy Idol – Idolize Yourself (CD/DVD) – Released 6/24/08
Shinedown – The Sound of Madness – Released 6/24/08

Coming in July
My Chemical Romance – The Black Parade Is Dead: Live (CD & DVD) – Released 7/01/08
Night Ranger – Hole In The Sun – Released 7/1/08
Beck – Modern Guilt – To be released 7/8/08
Tesla – Comin Atcha Live 2008 – DVD – To be released 7/15/08
Bleeding Through – The Complete Truth – To be released 7/15/08
Nine Inch Nails – The Slip – To be released 7/21/08

Coming in August
Slipknot – All Hope Is Gone – To be released 8/26/08 (The single “All Hope Is Gone” has already been released. It is in the player below)
Single “Psychosocial” from the new album will be available online 7/1/08 (

Coming in September
The much anticipated album by Metallica – Death Magnetic – To be released 9/15/08 (Pre-sale available in The Rock Store)

These CD’s are available at the Rock Store and you can sample or download tracks from the player below.

If you get some time to check out any of this new stuff, send us some comments and let us know what you think.

[tags]New Music Releases, Metallica, Beck, Nine Inch Nails, Coldplay, My Chemical Romance, Motley Crue, Chicago, Slipknot, Billy Idol, Judas Priest, Shinedown, Night Ranger[/tags]