JUDAS PRIEST
Monday December 3
The Palace, Melbourne
By James O'Toole
The last time I saw Judas Priest live was way back in 1986 in Toronto, Canada. Back then Priest were at the height of their US popularity following the albums British Steel, Screaming For Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith. They were touring in support of the Turbo album and back then I don't think anyone could have imagined Rob Halford leaving the band. Judas Priest was one of the biggest metal acts of the time and regularly filling arenas alongside the likes of Iron Maiden, Van Halen and The Scorpions.
Fast forward fifteen years and Judas Priest are in Australia for the first time, playing The Palace nightclub, with the trio of Glen Tipton, K.K. Downing and Ian Hill the only remaining members from the '86 line up. Rob Halford has been gone six years and his replacement Ripper Owens is now firmly entrenched in the band after two albums, Jugulator and latest release Demolition. Old school metal is something of an underground genre, after the rise of grunge in the early nineties and a slew of nu metal and rap-rock bands in the last few years. There were three questions on my mind before the show - can Priest still do the job after all these years, will Ripper Owens be able to pull off the Rob Halford era material live and is old school metal really a dying genre as many would have you believe?
Upon arriving at The Palace an hour before Judas Priest were due to hit the stage I was mildly surprised to find the venue filled close to capacity. If metal is dying then someone forgot to tell the healthy crowd of punters who turned up tonight. There was a real buzz of anticipation in the audience and the main room was filled with Melbourne metal heads eager to catch their first glimpse of Judas Priest in action. Support band Heaven kept the crowd warmed up with their raucous brand of eighties hard rock and did a good job of holding the attention of the crowd. After a half hour break the lights went down and a rumbling intro from the PA shook The Palace, announcing the imminent arrival of Judas Priest.
With a blaze of lights and a deafening roar from the crowd the band appeared on stage, kicking off with classic track Metal Gods from British Steel. Any doubts over Ripper Owens' ability to perform live were soon dispelled. His voice was easily a match for Halford's and if anything he is more versatile. The crowd went berserk and there were many a raised fist and cheer as the band finished off Metal Gods. Ripper whipped up the crowd further and the next track was Heading out to the Highway, from Point of Entry, which had the crowd singing along and the band plainly enjoying the response. In particular Glenn Tipton and Ripper Owens were relaxed and lapping up the attention, playing up to the crowd and urging them to cheer and show their support, resulting in a huge roar every time.
Next up was some more recent material in the form of A Touch of Evil from Painkiller and Blood Stained from Jugulator. These heavier tracks sounded great live and the vocals were superb. From here the band chose to play a section of slower material. It was good for long-term fans to hear old classics like Victim of Changes, The Ripper, Green Manalishi With The Two Pronged Crown, Diamonds and Rust and Beyond the Realms of Death. These older songs are classics, but this part of the set could have done with a few quicker numbers to keep the crowd fired up. Demolition tracks One on One, Feed on Me and Hell is Home plus Painkiller track Burn In Hell mixed things up but even Priest couldn't keep the crowd completely captivated after playing half a dozen slower and mid-paced tracks in a row.
After almost an hour they finally stepped things up a gear, playing You Got Another Thing Comin', Breaking the Law and Painkiller, which was long overdue. Scott Travis's brutal drum intro to Painkiller went down well live and the three aforementioned songs were among the best received.
Just as they had the crowd worked up again the band walked off stage, returning for their first encore after a deafening chant of 'Priest, Priest, Priest!' rocked the floor. The strains of former opening track The Hellion blasted out, still possessing tremendous power and energy nineteen years after its release and Electric Eye followed, which was another one of the best tracks. Anthemic track United had the crowd singing along next, nearly drowning out the band and filling the venue with a positive feeling. Old favourite Living After Midnight kept the crowd up, and then the band wrapped up the encore with one of their frequent huge rock finishes. A few weary punters started to head for the door, assuming the show was over, but after a few minutes Ripper Owens emerged again to a roar of applause and a rousing rendition of Hell Bent For Leather rounded out proceedings.
The crowd stayed around hoping for yet another encore but the lights came on and the show was over. For most it was the first chance they had to see this legendary metal act in action and they weren't disappointed. The crowd made a lot of noise whenever Ripper wound them up and went away satisfied they had seen an excellent performance. Ripper Owens was first rate. He was very relaxed on stage, built a good rapport with the crowd and produced some amazing vocal feats which left everyone present impressed. Despite persistent rumours I don't think Rob Halford will be coming back any time soon. Glenn Tipton in particular obviously enjoys having Ripper in the band, repeatedly pointing out his vocal performance and smiling from ear to ear.
My only criticism of the show was the set list. There was a distinct lack of material from Defenders of the Faith, which was disappointing. I was hoping to hear Freewheel Burning, The Sentinel, Love Bites and Some Heads Are Gonna Roll. Screaming For Vengeance and another track or two from Painkiller would also have gone down well. However a band with such a large back catalogue can never please everyone when it comes to choosing the set list, so this was only a minor complaint. The show went for nearly two hours, so it was good value for money and the band played faultlessly, obviously enjoying their time on stage. The sound was great, with a thunderous bottom end from the bass and drums. The mix was clean and the volume was enough to give the PA a solid workout without sacrificing clarity.
Since Priest's mid-eighties heyday a lot of bands have come and gone and metal has mutated into many different forms. This was a rare opportunity to step back into a time where long hair, head banging, guitar solos, flamboyant performances and hard rocking, often uplifting music was the order of the day. You won't see Judas Priest on MTV or hear them on radio too often but there is no doubt there are a lot of people out there who will continue to turn up to see them play and deservedly so.
8/10
Monday December 3
The Palace, Melbourne
By James O'Toole
The last time I saw Judas Priest live was way back in 1986 in Toronto, Canada. Back then Priest were at the height of their US popularity following the albums British Steel, Screaming For Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith. They were touring in support of the Turbo album and back then I don't think anyone could have imagined Rob Halford leaving the band. Judas Priest was one of the biggest metal acts of the time and regularly filling arenas alongside the likes of Iron Maiden, Van Halen and The Scorpions.
Fast forward fifteen years and Judas Priest are in Australia for the first time, playing The Palace nightclub, with the trio of Glen Tipton, K.K. Downing and Ian Hill the only remaining members from the '86 line up. Rob Halford has been gone six years and his replacement Ripper Owens is now firmly entrenched in the band after two albums, Jugulator and latest release Demolition. Old school metal is something of an underground genre, after the rise of grunge in the early nineties and a slew of nu metal and rap-rock bands in the last few years. There were three questions on my mind before the show - can Priest still do the job after all these years, will Ripper Owens be able to pull off the Rob Halford era material live and is old school metal really a dying genre as many would have you believe?
Upon arriving at The Palace an hour before Judas Priest were due to hit the stage I was mildly surprised to find the venue filled close to capacity. If metal is dying then someone forgot to tell the healthy crowd of punters who turned up tonight. There was a real buzz of anticipation in the audience and the main room was filled with Melbourne metal heads eager to catch their first glimpse of Judas Priest in action. Support band Heaven kept the crowd warmed up with their raucous brand of eighties hard rock and did a good job of holding the attention of the crowd. After a half hour break the lights went down and a rumbling intro from the PA shook The Palace, announcing the imminent arrival of Judas Priest.
With a blaze of lights and a deafening roar from the crowd the band appeared on stage, kicking off with classic track Metal Gods from British Steel. Any doubts over Ripper Owens' ability to perform live were soon dispelled. His voice was easily a match for Halford's and if anything he is more versatile. The crowd went berserk and there were many a raised fist and cheer as the band finished off Metal Gods. Ripper whipped up the crowd further and the next track was Heading out to the Highway, from Point of Entry, which had the crowd singing along and the band plainly enjoying the response. In particular Glenn Tipton and Ripper Owens were relaxed and lapping up the attention, playing up to the crowd and urging them to cheer and show their support, resulting in a huge roar every time.
Next up was some more recent material in the form of A Touch of Evil from Painkiller and Blood Stained from Jugulator. These heavier tracks sounded great live and the vocals were superb. From here the band chose to play a section of slower material. It was good for long-term fans to hear old classics like Victim of Changes, The Ripper, Green Manalishi With The Two Pronged Crown, Diamonds and Rust and Beyond the Realms of Death. These older songs are classics, but this part of the set could have done with a few quicker numbers to keep the crowd fired up. Demolition tracks One on One, Feed on Me and Hell is Home plus Painkiller track Burn In Hell mixed things up but even Priest couldn't keep the crowd completely captivated after playing half a dozen slower and mid-paced tracks in a row.
After almost an hour they finally stepped things up a gear, playing You Got Another Thing Comin', Breaking the Law and Painkiller, which was long overdue. Scott Travis's brutal drum intro to Painkiller went down well live and the three aforementioned songs were among the best received.
Just as they had the crowd worked up again the band walked off stage, returning for their first encore after a deafening chant of 'Priest, Priest, Priest!' rocked the floor. The strains of former opening track The Hellion blasted out, still possessing tremendous power and energy nineteen years after its release and Electric Eye followed, which was another one of the best tracks. Anthemic track United had the crowd singing along next, nearly drowning out the band and filling the venue with a positive feeling. Old favourite Living After Midnight kept the crowd up, and then the band wrapped up the encore with one of their frequent huge rock finishes. A few weary punters started to head for the door, assuming the show was over, but after a few minutes Ripper Owens emerged again to a roar of applause and a rousing rendition of Hell Bent For Leather rounded out proceedings.
The crowd stayed around hoping for yet another encore but the lights came on and the show was over. For most it was the first chance they had to see this legendary metal act in action and they weren't disappointed. The crowd made a lot of noise whenever Ripper wound them up and went away satisfied they had seen an excellent performance. Ripper Owens was first rate. He was very relaxed on stage, built a good rapport with the crowd and produced some amazing vocal feats which left everyone present impressed. Despite persistent rumours I don't think Rob Halford will be coming back any time soon. Glenn Tipton in particular obviously enjoys having Ripper in the band, repeatedly pointing out his vocal performance and smiling from ear to ear.
My only criticism of the show was the set list. There was a distinct lack of material from Defenders of the Faith, which was disappointing. I was hoping to hear Freewheel Burning, The Sentinel, Love Bites and Some Heads Are Gonna Roll. Screaming For Vengeance and another track or two from Painkiller would also have gone down well. However a band with such a large back catalogue can never please everyone when it comes to choosing the set list, so this was only a minor complaint. The show went for nearly two hours, so it was good value for money and the band played faultlessly, obviously enjoying their time on stage. The sound was great, with a thunderous bottom end from the bass and drums. The mix was clean and the volume was enough to give the PA a solid workout without sacrificing clarity.
Since Priest's mid-eighties heyday a lot of bands have come and gone and metal has mutated into many different forms. This was a rare opportunity to step back into a time where long hair, head banging, guitar solos, flamboyant performances and hard rocking, often uplifting music was the order of the day. You won't see Judas Priest on MTV or hear them on radio too often but there is no doubt there are a lot of people out there who will continue to turn up to see them play and deservedly so.
8/10
