JUDAS PRIEST/SABATON – INVINCIBLE SHIELD TOUR – OAKDALE

By Kat Gullage

JUDAS PRIEST KICKS OFF U.S. LEG OF INVINCIBLE SHIELD TOUR WITH SABATON FOR SUPPORT.

Judas Priest, the godfathers of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal musical movement, chose the Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford CT for the first night of their U.S. Invincible Shield tour. Their longtime diehard fans answered the call by selling out the performance.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Judas Priest formed 55 years ago, have released 19 studio albums, and sold over 50 million LPs worldwide. Their latest, Invincible Shield, was released on March 8, 2024.

This quote I found from lead singer Rob Halford perfectly exemplifies how I felt about attending the show. “The music that touches you in your youth is magnified as you get older. Each record can be a virtual time machine – all you need is to hear a second or two and you go back in time when you first heard it. It’s a brilliant feeling when music touches you so profoundly and stays with you through time.”

Photos Holly Roy Photography

Back in the day my room was plastered with rock band logos, including Judas Priest. My apologies faithful readers, as I missed most of Swedish power metal band opener Sabaton. Why you ask? Because at every turn I ran into middle and high school classmates, people from the neighborhood I grew up in and friends that I have bonded with over music. We were all there to bask in the glory of the music of our youth.

Within the glimpse I caught of Swedish metal group Sabaton, my eyes were instantly drawn to the drum kit. She has her own name, Audie, and belongs to the band’s drummer Hannes Van Dahl. His kit sits atop a full scale tank that weighs two tons and takes two people thirty minutes to build. Crazy to think how that transport that thing all over the world!

Sabaton releases new albums every ten seconds. OK, well ten albums in seventeen years. The quintet performed twelve songs from their discography and gave it their all as the fans, obviously there for the main act, slowly sauntered into the venue.

I’ve seen Judas Priest at least five times through the years. The last time I saw them was at this same venue and I wasn’t that impressed. I was glad I went but my reaction was “Meh” and I probably would not have attended this show if I hadn’t been assigned to review it. Shame on me because they were great on this night, I had another thing comin.

A pre-recorded version of the beginning of Black Sabbath’s War Pigs blasted through the theater and as the crowd screamed in unison “Oh Lord, yeah!” Judas Priest took the stage and immediately performed “Panic Attack” off their new LP Invincible Shield. Halford is on point, even with the high notes. This mother fuckin metal icon is 72 years old! I mean can you imagine your dad or grandpa up there operating at that level?

One of the band’s signature hits “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” from Screaming for Vengeance had the fans fired up. Two from British Steel were up next, “Rapid Fire” and “Breaking The Law”. The trio of guitarists, original member Ian Hill on bass, Andy Sneap and Richie Faulkner as co-leads, gave off that well known Judas Priest synchronicity developed by previous players KK Downing and Glenn Tipton.

Photos Holly Roy Photography

This version of the band is as close as you’re gonna get to the original. Firepower’s “Lightning Strike” is followed by “Love Bites” from Defenders of the Faith. Judas Priest are also british metal fashionistas, heavily embellished black leather from head to toe, and Halford made multiple costume changes. Another Screaming for Vengeance track “Devil’s Child” is served up before a cut off of Stained Class‘, “Saints in Hell”.

There are the now normal big screens as a backdrop, splashing accompanying imagery, a standard and expected light show. A large version of the “T” in the Judas Priest logo begins above the stage and slowly moves to face the crowd. Except as it begins its descent, it’s crooked and lopsided. Halford notices it and says “I hope you stay up there you son of a bitch!”. It gets straightened out before its facing and shooting lights at us.

“Crown of Horns” another Invincible Shield single is belted out. Have you listened to this track yet? I swear the beginning samples Eddie Money’s “Two Tickets To Paradise”. I played them simultaneously and it was a DNA match. A deeper British Steel cut is up next with “You Don’t Have to Be Old to Be Wise”. Turbo’s “Turbo Lover” and title track “Invincible Shield” keep the party going.

Halford relies more on crowd response as the night continues, but his high note at the end of “Victim of Changes” off of Sad Wings of Destiny fuckin blew me away. It’s here that Halford plays with the fans with a back and forth sing-a-long. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, yeah” “Yeah, yeah, baby, yeah, yeah” “Why, baby, why, why” and honestly, at the end, we couldn’t even come close to copying him.

Drummer Scott Travis chimes in “Hey Connecticut, how you doing!” “It’s the first night of the tour!” Halford states “and where did we choose? Wallingford Connecticut!” (said no one ever until this moment) He throws the heart hands toward the audience and the set wraps up with “The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)”, which is an early Fleetwood Mac cover, followed by a damn near flawless rendition of title track “Painkiller”.

The fans clamored for a pretty much guaranteed encore that commenced with another Screaming for Vengeance favorite, “Electric Eye”. Killing Machine’s “Hell Bent For Leather” introduced the Judas Priest live show staple, Rob rolling out on his decked out Harley Davidson motorcycle.

One last costume change had Halford in this fabulous full length denim jacket covered in rock band patches. British Steel’s “Living After Midnight” was the closer. The band lined up to take a well deserved bow. Did you grow up listening to Judas Priest? Catch a date on this Invincible Shield tour to relive those glory days.

DID YOU KNOW? (points in Judas Priest history)

Director Rob Reiner saw Judas Priest live to prep for making his film This Is Spinal Tap.

In a 1990 court case, a judge ruled that Judas Priest did not have subliminal messages in their music that caused two male individuals to kill themselves in a suicide pact. The families of the victims had filed a lawsuit claiming that backward messages contained in the band’s Stained Class album were to blame.

Halford left the band in 1991 due to communication issues and internal band tensions.

Judas Priest chose a new singer, after years of searching, in 1996. They plucked Tim “Ripper” Owens from a JP tribute band called British Steel. This line-up released two studio albums, Jugulator and Demolition.

The 2001 film and box office flop, Rock Star, starring Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston, is loosely based on the story of Owens joining Judas Priest. The band was not involved in the film, it is fictional.

In 2003, after eleven years apart, Halford and Judas Priest reunited. The split with Owens has been described as amicable.

Guitarist K.K. Downing retired from the band in 2011.

Judas Priest appeared on The Simpsons in the 2014 episode “Steal This Episode”.

Guitarist Glenn Tipton stepped down from touring with the band in 2018 due to the progression of his Parkinson’s disease. He is still a member of the group collaborating on their new music. Judas Priest had to postpone their tour in 2021.

Guitarist Richie Faulkner (Who is married to George Lynch’s daughter. Lynch is known as the original guitarist of Dokken.) had his aorta rupture while he was playing “Painkiller” live on stage. This is nearly almost fatal. There was a hospital/heart center four minutes away that he was rushed to. Five parts of his chest were replaced with mechanical parts during a 10+ hour surgery. Faulkner had no prior symptoms and no history of heart issues. He urges all Judas Priest fans to get themselves checked out. I was reminded of this miracle when I watched in awe as he performed like nothing ever happened.

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