The 2nd leg of Judas Priest’s Firepower tour hit North America once again and let me just say that it was not the same old song and dance. I couldn’t even avoid the buzz from the tour’s opening night boasting a setlist full of deep cuts covering everything from Sin After Sin all the way to Firepower. After hearing this I knew that this was going to be a show not to be missed. On paper it looked fantastic but how would it be live?
Priest playing the Fox Theater was something really special. The last time they played the Fox was back in 1981 for the Point of Entry tour so this was pretty much full circle. The theater was buzzing with excitement. Priest’s stage set was one of the most visually stunning sets I’ve seen them have in a long time. Pulling from the Iron Maiden style of using scrims, this made the stage look like it was a huge arena stage in the theater with a giant screen behind them displaying the now legendary Judas Priest knight.
As the house lights went down along with the now signature “War Pigs” intro music, the place erupted and without warning the band kicked things off with “Necromancer” from Firepower. This has to be one of Priest’s best opening songs ever. Rob Halford emerged from the side of the stage looking like a Heavy Metal Dr. John donning a purple cape, a voodoo walking staff, and voodoo hat. He looked so badass and the band was ripping it as I’ve never seen them.
Halford came back out on stage in his signature head to toe leather as they went into “Heading Out to the Highway.” This drew a roar so loud that it filled the theater and at the conclusion of the song Halford traditionally addressed the audience; “It’s Wednesday night in Atlanta and the Priest is back!” Everyone lost their minds as they played “The Sentinel,” a song that hadn’t been played since the Turbo Fuel for Life tour. Even though I knew this was going to be a long night of deep classics, the showstopper for me was “Out in the Cold.” This is a song I’ve always wanted to hear live and it was absolutely mindblowing.
The set featured so many deep cuts like “Take These Chains,” “Steeler,” “Killing Machine,” and a mindblowing “Starbreaker” that took us all the back to the 1977 classic album, Sin After Sin. Even with all the deep cuts, the band didn’t leave the fans hanging as they delivered the “hits” such as the never disappointing “Victim of Changes”, “Hell Bent for Leather,” and closing things out with the basement party classic “Living After Midnight.”
It’s safe to say that the audience absolutely loved hearing so many deep cuts. For a band like Judas Priest, its easy to just play it safe like KISS and just play the same old tired setlist full of hits but on this leg of the tour, it was so amazing to see Priest actually pull off such an ambitious setlist. Judas Priest is definitely a band that is capable and more than willing to take the audience deeper into their legacy and as a fan, I thought it was a fucking gift unlike any other.
Judas Priest was on that stage playing with so much youthful energy. Richie Faulkner has totally owned his position at the right hand of his idols. As for Andy Sneap, he looked so comfortable and loose. Gone was the awkwardness and present was a guitarist who was completely into the performance, egging the crowd on, and even being playful on stage by paying bassist Ian Hill a visit a few times in the shadows for a laugh. Honestly, after seeing this show, I would love nothing more than to see Sneap continue on with Priest as he has really come into this position with his own pair of shoes and is completely holding his own.
Judas Priest was playing with this newfound youthful energy I believe comes from having Faulkner and Sneap in the band. They both have injected some fire into the band and everyone seems to be having a fucking blast on stage. Watching Halford being playful with Faulkner, smiling a lot, and just enjoying himself unlike I’ve seen before showed me that this incarnation of Judas Priest just may be what was needed to refuel the machine.
The stage show was easily one of my favorites. No, they didn’t the huge cheesy ass robot as they did on the Fuel for Life tour but this stage set up was sleek and classy. The screen behind the band had some amazing imagery and much like the recent Dream Theater show I saw, the visuals were a great narrative which took the songs to a whole other level of perception. Seeing these visuals totally made me hear so many of these songs in a different way and have also changed the way I’ll listen to them from now on.
Firepower 2019 in Atlanta was hands down the greatest I have seen Judas Priest since the Painkiller tour and honestly, I’d have to say that I liked this show so much better. I’m much older now and while I appreciate the hits, it was a dream come true to hear a set that was 90% obscurities. Judas Priest also proved to me that they have only begun to tap into the reserves as they are a band that I do not see packing it in any time soon. Much like Maiden, they just seem to be invincible and no matter what obstacles they may face, they plow right through them and come out on top!
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