And enjoy I did!!! what a fantastic awesome metal night!!!
No Uriah Heep as opener, Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons were there. Got three Motorhead songs: Going to Brazil, Born to Raise Hell which I like a lot and I never got to hear with Motorhead so yay, and the immortal Ace of Spades, with the crowd obviously going wild.
Saxon were next; it's funny, I never cared to properly follow Saxon, I know who they are, I know their most famous songs, but for whatever reason, I never took the time to listen to their albums. But when they appear on a festival or as opener like in this case.... boy if they're NOT to be missed. They're probably my favorite bands out of those I don't actually care for
they were impressive, bunch of 70 years old still kicking ass, powerful and precise, and Bill Byford is a beast, excellent powerful performance from him. One hour of solid, devastating NWOBHM great music.
And then JUDAS FREAKING PRIEST. It's been a long time since I saw them, after the Redeemer of Souls tour they only came at festivals I couldn't attend, so this was my first time seeing them in almost a decade or so. And they were brilliant as ever, powerful, loud and destructive
This was the setlist, for those who don't care for spoilers:
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/judas-priest/2024/mediolanum-forum-di-assago-assago-italy-6bab9e52.htmlI got a tour debut,
Devil's Child, and luckily I got
Lighting Strikes, yay! Seeing previous dates I guess I would have enjoyed
Sinner more than
Victim of Changes, which I heard many times, but it's ok. 50 years of muisc, 19 albums, it really has not much sense to play the "I wish they played this song" game. Having said that, it's a pity I didn't get a song from my second favorite album,
Defenders of the Faith.
The place was packed. It's the place Dream Theater always play in Italy, and that Iron Maiden sell out in two days. If it wasn't a technical sold out, it was still 99% full. I'm glad, Priest gave me the idea of relatively winding down with audiences, and I'm very glad to see the appreciation for them going still strong. What a powerful performance, awesome stage setup, they really outdid themselves this time and moved away from the usual ramp things they were always doing incorporating more technology and video screens in the stage.
Honestly, I'm going on an hyperbole and say that they're becoming what they're singing about in their songs. Invincible. Made of metal. Undestructible. Between them and Saxon, how is it possible that a bunch of 70 years old are this good and this kickass??? I know, Scott Travis is younger and he has the most physically demanding job, and Richie Faulkner wasn't even born when Sad Wings of Destiny came out, but Biff Byford and Rob Halford are what, 73 and 72 years old and they're still this insanely good? Ok, Rob uses a phuckton of reverb and echo but he's STILL DAMN GOOD. The insane screams were there, including
the 15 seconds one at the end of Victim of Changes. And - I got to see Glenn Tipton for the last two songs!!! he came out to a roar of the big packed arena and everyone rose up from their seats (I only found tickets for the "roof" of the arena basically), it was a damn well deserved standing ovation that almost moved me. He could have stayed home to enjoy his most normal days but he still comes up thin and frail on stage to try and play two songs at least. What a legend and what a cruel destiny for a musician, the world is full of 70 years old people with ailments but it must take a real toll for a musician to get a disease that prevents them from playing.
Show was 1h40' and felt intense and not short at all. Fun fact, while I was thinking in my head about which songs were missing, I totally forgot about
Electric Eye and when it came on, I was so energized from it. It was also one of the better received songs, with wild moshpits, and just as Priest commented about it, also
Turbo Lover got one of the best reaction.
All in all it was a great and basically perfect evening of british geriatric metal
but really, we need to hold on to these old guys as much as we can, they still have a lot to offer and they're basically undestructible. Rob Halford is gonna die on stage I'm sure. He truly IS the Metal God and if this was not the last time I'll be seeing Priest, the next time I will definitively be there. The screen at the end of the show as they were taking their bows said it after all - THE PRIEST WILL BE BACK. Fuck yeah!!!
Topic: THE Judas Priest thread - v. new album and tour in 2024 (Read 219384 times)
