Sunday May 19th Judas Priest came to MGM National Harbor for a sold out show. I grew up listening to Judas Priest in the 1980’s and loved their music. I had not heard much from them lately and was happy to see they have 19 albums out. Prior to coming to the show I listened to music from their latest album as well as others and was blown away by their music.
To start the evening, they had a band from Sweden called Sabatron, which they started with a great joke, saying they came from IKEA. I had never heard them before. First thing that caught my eye was the stage setup. It was really cool. The center of a stage had a tank with the drummer where the turret would be. I had not heard any of their music before this evening but now I am a fan. I have already added them to my playlist. They opened the night with a song called “Ghost Division” I had not heard of them prior to this night but they had a lot of support in the audience from how many fans I saw wearing Sabatron shirts.
Judas Priest came on stage and there appearance was awesome. There was a large flag hanging and from the flag you could tell the drum setup was behind it. Before you could blink an eye, the lights came on and this flag pulled up to the top to reveal Judas Priest.
They opened the show with a song from their new albums “Invincible Shield”; “Panic Attack”, which I heard for the first time in my car driving to the show. I was thrilled they opened with this amazing song. Then they threw me for a loop. Usually banks will start off with a few new or lesser known songs before they play hits but the next song they performed was “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” which sounded amazing.
Sabatron was not the only shirt wearing fans. I saw many Judas Priest shirts as well. I think this is the first show I have been to with people wearing the bands tshirts including how many Sabatron shirts I saw.
Other songs they performed were “Turbo Lover” and “Invincible Shield” which is the title track to their new album. Of course they performed “Break The Law” and a three song encore including their hit song “Living After Midnight”
This was one of the best Heavy Metal concerts I have seen in a while, and to wet my whistle for the show. I was reading up on Judas Priest and they won a Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 2010 and rightfully inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
Lead vocalist Rob Halford went back stage a few times during the show to change is outfit and towards the end of show, Rob had left the stage, then you hear a Motorcycle engine and Rob drives on stage on a motorcycle to play one song.
I admit it has been a while since I heard Judas Priest but attending this concert and listening to their newest music they put on one heck of a show and I highly recommend seeing them live.
Grade: A
Sabatron
Judas Priest
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