Judas Priest Live

0 Shares

JUDAS PRIEST Live at Rosemont Theatre
Rosemont Theatre, Rosemont, IL, USA May 25, 2019
by Bradley Todd

It’s a very good time to be a Judas Priest fan. It’s strange to think that only 8 years ago, Judas Priest was almost kaput. The group had endured the departure and return of iconic singer Rob Halford, only to have founding member/guitarist K.K Downing decide to leave the group in 2011, feeling uninspired…among other reasons. But the group persevered and added hot shot axe slinger Richie Faulkner to replace Downing.

And what has happened since then has been wonderful: Priest has released two excellent albums, Redeemer of Souls and Firepower, and has toured regularly. Both albums are all killer/no filler, rock extremely hard, and brought Judas Priest’s classic metal sound into the current era with no compromises.

It is with this momentum that Judas Priest rolled into Rosemont, IL. on May 25th, on what seems like the umpteenth leg of the Firepower tour. Despite being out on the road promoting the Firepower album for some time, the group didn’t seem weary at all as they opened with new song, Necromancer, and made their way through an 18 song set that included two other new tracks (see setlist below), as well as older crowd favorites Take These Chains, The Sentinel, and Hell Bent for Leather. The set obviously included songs that are played at every Priest show (hint: the last two songs), but the setlist doesn’t get stale as the band shows that it “gets it “and rotates in different songs from night to night and has been including old songs they haven’t played in decades on the past couple tours…the Rosemont crowd got Starbeaker, Steeler, and Tyrant from the band’s earlier days.

The band played with good energy May 25th, with lead singer Rob Halford leading the way as he showed the Illinois fans that he still has the pipes and range that has made him one of the best heavy metal singers of all time. It seems likely he has made a deal with the devil in order to hit the notes he does and to still perform at such a high level at that this stage of his career…seriously, it’s mindblowing and an honor to witness. And Mr. Halford isn’t afraid to show his feisty side, as his well-publicized running punt of a fan’s cell phone that had its flashlight illuminated has made the rounds.

The rest of the band, the aforementioned Richie Faulkner on guitar, Ian Hill on bass, Scott Travis on Drums, and Andy Sneap (filling in for guitarist Glenn Tipton, who is not touring due the effects of his Parkinson’s Disease), were locked in on steady grooves all night, and Faulkner provided all the guitar heroics and fan interaction one could ask for.

Hopefully, Halford and the Priest machine have more gas in the tank for another record and tour in the future, because they seem too energized and vital to stop now.

SETLIST