Judas Priest Live at Grossing Motor Arena

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JUDAS PRIEST: FIREPOWER TOUR

Grossinger Motors Arena, Bloomington IL April 8 2018

For months now I’ve been waiting for this night to see Judas Priest unfortunately two of the original five members are in the lineup tonight for this tour. Judas Priest’s current lineup comprises lead singer Rob Halford, lead guitarists Andy Sneap and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis.

The concert, in support of Judas Priest’s 18th studio album FIREPOWER which is getting great praise all over the

Judas Priest (credit: Jake Warkel

world is about to begin here shortly.

Now Black Sabbath’s “Warpigs” is the intro song playing as the crowd was getting restless waiting for Judas Priest to take the stage after seeing a killer must see set by supporting acts Black Star Riders who are so talented and tight who sounded amazing and Saxon who always delivers like no other metal band. Both these acts gave performances that most bands cant follow.

Judas Priest, the heavy metal legends have takin the stage now and this arena has exploded. The energy level both onstage and off stage from fans is crazy. “Firepower,” the fast-paced title track from the Metal Gods latest album, is the best song Judas Priest has recorded in nearly three decades and is the opening song tonight.

The setlist consisted of some older material such as “Running Wild”, “The Ripper”, “SomeHeads are Gonna Roll”, and a forty year old classic “Saints in Hell” from Stained Class. Musically they were dead on and as tight as can be. Richie Faulkner is just fucking incredible on guitar. Richie not only nails every song with the rhythms and solos but shit he’s a rock star who know how to ham it up and be up front and interacting with fans the whole show. If Richie was not in this band there would be no stage presence whats so ever from this band. Don’t get me wrong Rob delivers his killer vocals with passion and blood but thats not enough on stage. Bassist Ian Hill plays great solid bass still and yes still stays in a corner being boring as hell on bass with zero stage presence. Andy Sneap well he played great sounded great but moved around very little, act like a rock star now for fuck sake you are in Judas Priest as a guitar player.

Rob Halford rode onto the smoke filled stage on his motorcycle to belt out “Hell Bent for Leather”. This is

Judas Priest (credit: Jake Warkel

something Priest fans always loved seeing at their concerts, and glad they still continue with that tradition.

For a 66 year old Rob Halford his voice is in top notch form, he didn’t miss a note as he belted out his powerful vocals from songs to songs for almost two hours. The Metal God still has what it takes hands down.

Andy Sneap replaced guitarist Glenn Tipton who announced his retirement last month due to an advancing case Parkinson’s Disease. Andy Sneap is a veteran heavy metal producer, and also the guitarist for the British band Hell. Tipton was the lone remaining original member of Judas Priest’s twin-lead guitar attack that powered solos on tracks including “Electric Eye” and “Hell Bent For Leather.” Guitarist Richie Faulkner replaced the other founding guitarist, K.K. Downing, in 2011. Andy Sneap was awesome tonight on guitar with solid rhythm and leads.

Drummer Scott Travis played a killer intro on drums to “Painkiller” which sounded stellar. Scott Travis sounded like a beast behind the drums all night keeping the drive going along with veteran Bassist Ian Hill keeping it tight still after all these years laying down the bass lines.

Judas Priest wrapped up the show with an encore that included “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” and “Living After Midnight.” The set list was just about as perfect as one could have expected with the new songs blending in perfectly. The crowd loved every minute of it. They sounded so good and gave the fans a killer show. If you have a chance get on out and catch Judas Priest on this FIREPOWER TOUR you will not be disappoint

Setlist
War Pigs (Black Sabbath song)
Guardians
Firepower
Running Wild
Grinder
Sinner
The Ripper
Lightning Strike
Bloodstone
Saints in Hell
Turbo Lover
The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown) (Fleetwood Mac cover)
Evil Never Dies
Some Heads Are Gonna Roll
Breaking the Law
Hell Bent for Leather
PainkillerEncore:
The Hellion
Electric Eye
Metal Gods
You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’
Living After Midnight
Song played from tape
We Are the Champions (Queen song)