Judas Priest, "Invincible Shield" Tour, with special guests Saxon and Uriah Heep, OVO Hydro, Glasgow. Monday 11th March 2024

Between them, these bands have been around for over a hundred and fifty years and have put out sixty-eight studio albums. They've each been going through a renaissance period recently, receiving radio airplay for their well-received new material. So far, so good.

Tonight, they haven't managed to sell out the Hydro, with the top tier and upper sides curtained off. It is the first night of the tour, but the audience seems up for it despite it being a Monday night. Bizarrely for a metal gig, the venue is all seated.

First up: Uriah Heep.

They played a short set of five songs, four of which I recognised and enjoyed. The lead singer has a strong voice and the band were tight. My only issue was with the keyboard player, who seemed to take umbrage from time to time and insist on banging out any old nonsense on his old Joanna.

Setlist:

Save Me Tonight (Live debut)

Grazed by Heaven

Hurricane (Live debut)

Gypsy

Easy Livin'

Next up: Saxon.

For a support slot, I was surprised to hear them play so many numbers from the new album, Hell, Fire and Damnation. Biff's vocals were good, although a little too reliant on echo. The bit that bugged me was the way the lead guitarist kept throwing in a million extra notes to his solos as if trying to avoid copyright, changing the sound dramatically from the record. Once or twice would have been okay, but not all the time. It spoilt my enjoyment of an otherwise excellent set.

Setlist

The Prophecy (on tape)

Hell, Fire And Damnation (Live debut)

Motorcycle Man

Sacrifice

There's Something In Roswell (Live debut)

And the Bands Played On

Madame Guillotine (Live debut)

Power and the Glory

Fire And Steel (Live debut)

Dallas 1 PM (Crowd given choice between this and Crusader)

747 (Strangers in the Night)

Denim and Leather

Wheels of Steel

Princess of the Night     

Finally, Judas Priest.

I wanted to enjoy them—I really did. The staging was a bit mid-budget (with no side screens and a weird lighting rig in the shape of the new album's emblem), but the band was excellent, with some amazing guitar work and tight drumming, and they performed well as a unit. Rob Halford, on the other hand, came across like Uncle Albert (from Only Fools and Horses) trying out metal karaoke, reading most of the song lyrics from the stage monitor, then parading around as if wearing armour until it was time to sing another bit or go to his curtained snug for a change of jacket. He often missed his cue to be back on stage and sang the start of the song from behind the curtain several times. I get that he's old and a metal legend, but this is doing little to protect his legacy. When he failed to sing several choruses, instead turning the mike to the audience, I switched off. 

This was a performance to endure, not enjoy. A real disappointment. 

Setlist:

War Pigs (Black Sabbath song played on tape)

Panic Attack (Live debut)

Rapid Fire

You've Got Another Thing Comin'

Metal Gods

Lightning Strike

Love Bites (First time live since 2015)

Breaking the Law

Saints in Hell (First time live since 2019)

Trial by Fire (Live debut)

Turbo Lover

Invincible Shield (Live debut)

Beyond the Realms of Death

Victim of Changes

Screaming for Vengeance

The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown) (Fleetwood Mac cover)

Painkiller

Encore:

Hell Bent for Leather

Living After Midnight   

Judas Priest, 'Redeemer of Souls' Tour 2015, Glasgow Barrowland. Tues 24th Nov 2015

Unlike Tom Russell, I don't think Judas Priest were sensational tonight at the Barrowlands. They were good, but a number of things counted against them: they only played for 90 minutes and Rob Halford had a tendency to remain off stage at the start of numbers while he changed his jacket (which he did for every song). It felt odd to hear the singer and scan the stage to look for him only to find him wander on a few lines into the song. Maybe there was a reason for it. Maybe he was just tired. Or lazy. Or old. I was disappointed by the way he engaged the audience. He never spoke to us until forty minutes in and it took another twenty to address us directly, his Glasgow audience. He strutted the stage like a WWE wrestler, arm aloft, waving his hand to cajole the audience to love him, which we did. Then he'd pop off during some of the guitar solos, rather than interact with the audience or the band. His voice was in fine tune though. I felt he phoned it in a bit tonight though. The younger guitarist was fantastic and the band sound was great so it wasn't all bad.

The support act Michael Schenker's Temple of God are a tight outfit. Their lead singer, Doogie White (who's also sung with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and Yngwie Malmsteen) is an experienced frontman with all the rock moves. At 55 years old, he confessed to the crowd that this was his first time playing the Barrowland and, as a local boy from Motherwell, he felt proud. They kicked off their set with UFO's 'Doctor Doctor', one of my favourite rock songs and the audience loved it too. They also played other UFO songs, some of their own and 'Rock You Like a Hurricane' by The Scorpions. A great band and a shame they only got 45 mins.

Highlights of the gig for me were: the last track played over the PA before Priest came on stage was 'Black Sabbath' by Black Sabbath. The lights dimmed as it started giving the crowd a sense of anticipation and then everyone began to sing along as one. Memorable, given it wasn't a Sabbath gig; the song 'Breaking the Law' - as it started, the youngsters in the crowd, of which there were a few, kicked off a mosh pit about five feet from me. So much energy bouncing around as they flew at one another and into the audience around them. It was wild: a mix of sweat, alcohol and aggression, boiling up in a circle. I thought one young lad was going to erupt into violence as he stared then lunged towards someone, only to be hugged and calmed down by his mate, who then shoved him away to kick off another bout of moshing. Wonderful stuff and amusing to watch security eye them for trouble.

'Living After Midnight' was great but my favourite tune of the night was 'Turbo Lover', just because it's a great anthem, it's easy to sing along to and I know most of the words. My voice is hoarse tonight.

This was the second time I've seen Judas Priest (the last time was at the Edinburgh Playhouse in the 80s) and I think that will be enough. I'm glad I went for the experience.

It still feels weird to leave the Barrowland not stinking of cigarette smoke with a voice two octaves lower.

Setlist
War Pigs (Black Sabbath song) (tape)
Battle Cry (tape)
Dragonaut
Metal Gods
Desert Plains
Victim of Changes
Halls of Valhalla
The Rage
Turbo Lover
Redeemer of Souls
Beyond the Realms of Death
Screaming for Vengeance
Breaking the Law
Hell Bent for Leather

Encore:
The Hellion (tape)
Electric Eye
You've Got Another Thing Comin'

Encore 2:
Painkiller
Living After Midnight
Beginning of the End (tape)