Concert Review: Judas Priest, 4-17-18 Portland, Oregon

In the shadow of Mount Hood,

We were all waiting....

For Lightning to Strike!

As most of you know, I became a truck driver last year. Well, last Friday, I delivered to Portland, Oregon. I am a trainer, and since we were going to here until Monday, my student wanted to go see a Portland Trailblazers playoff game on Saturday. I told him to go ahead, and I realized that all I ever did on downtime was sit in the truck. I decided to see if anything was going on that I would want to see. Tuesday, April 17th, Judas Priest was in town. DAMMIT, I was leaving on the 16th! Son of a...

It would take an act of the Metal Gods for me to get to go to that concert. Well, they decided to smile on me because my truck broke down on Sunday. Had to be towed Monday, soooo, I was PRIEST BOUND!

I got to the arena, and Saxon was playing. I was late for them, but that couldn't be helped. While waiting in line for my $11 beer, I met a proud father, taking his 9 or 10 year old daughter to her FIRST concert. I wrote about that meeting as well because it was really cool. I went in, and my seat was appropriately in section KK. I knew it was going to be an awesome night. 

If you don't already know, guitarist, Glenn Tipton has left the band because of health issues with Parkinson's Disease, and couldn't tour anymore. He has been replaced by guitarist, Andy Sneap, along with Richie Faulkner who replaced KK Downing after he retired. He's played for some amazing bands, so I wasn't worried about him playing Glenn's parts. He's done production work for Megadeth, Accept, Testament, and many other bands known for exceptional guitar ability, not to mention been members of various heavy hitting guitar bands. 

Rob Halford and Andy Sneap

The band opened with the title track of their latest album, Firepower, which is in the top 5 albums of their entire discography. Glenn Tipton played the songs on the album, and if anyone had any doubts about Sneap and Faulkner carrying the torch, they were quickly erased. The crowd accepted both guitarists with enthusiasm. Rob Halford's vocals were piercing, and strong as ever. I had never seen Faulkner with Priest before, but I was amazed. He is one HELL of a showman. I couldn't really see Scott Travis from where I was, and Ian Hill just did his normal performance, just staying on his side of the stage, beating the deep darkness from his bass that gives Priest songs the scary essence that they are known for. 

Showman Extraordinaire, Richie Faulkner 

The band played a wide variety of hits, classic gems, and several songs from Firepower. They played Sinner, Freewheel Burning, Grinder, The Ripper, and a couple other classics. I was a little surprised to hear Turbo Lover, but it was still great. Of course, they played Painkiller, which Rob nailed, and the solo was done perfectly by Faulkner and Sneap. After Painkiller, something happened that we were all hoping for, but not expecting. Sneap joined Ian Hill at the back of the stage, and none other than Glenn Tipton emerged from side stage. The place erupted with applause, and Glenn stood there with his hand on his heart and pointing at the audience. You could tell that our enthusiasm for him met the world to him. They finished the set with Tipton playing his signature Hamer guitar. His first song with them? Metal Gods of course. He then played Breaking the Law, You Got Another Think Coming, and Living After Midnight with the band. 

Rob and Glenn

That was an incredible concert, mixed with excitement, and emotion. The band sounded great, and everyone enjoyed it. I'm sure the people in attendance were a lot happier leaving than the Trailblazers fans were who had just watched them drop a second playoff home game in a row, going to a 0-2 deficit to the Pelicans. That arena is right next to Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where Priest played. You don't get many options for a personal life out on the road. I'm glad I had this opportunity, and it was a concert that I won't forget any time soon.

Album Review: Judas Priest, Redeemer of Souls

Right off the bat, let me tell you what I think of the post-Painkiller albums just so you know where I am coming from. I liked Jugulator and Demolition, although I acknowledge the fact that they weren't exactly canon. Angel of Retribution was very good, but it seemed rushed. Nostradamus? Not so much. Didn't really care for that one.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's get down to business here. I heard that Judas Priest were hanging up touring, but were going to release another album. I was excited to hear it, and I was optimistic too. I knew that Priest wasn't going to call it a career with Nostradamus being the last album that they put out. Then, I heard that they are going to be touring after all? SWEET!

The Metal God,
Rob Halford

But, what I wasn't expecting was a juggernaut of a metal album. Not only is Redeemer of Souls a very worthy successor to Painkiller in the sense that the music easily represents the next step in the musical evolution of the band's style, it also is easily the band's best sounding album. Period. It is very well produced, and the guitars sound like they were played through a wall of Marshalls, 100 feet tall. The Metal God, Rob Halford's voice is very powerful, and while Redeemer isn't full of the piercing high notes that Angel of Retribution and Painkiller had, he still showcases his vocal range with several very high screams. In fact, we get to hear him go guttural in one song. And to anyone who would say anything negative about Halford's voice, I would tell them (dis)respectfully to go back and keep listening to their auto tuned pop heroes like everyone on the radio these days. I would rather hear someone real over a singing computer any day, and that goes for music too.

Richie Faulkner and Glen Tipton

From the first track on Redeemer of Souls, we are treated to the powerful metal riffs, heavy rhythms, and brutal twin leads that Priest is known for. Guitarists Glen Tipton and newcomer, Richie Faulkner are all over the place with their twin leads, more-so than on any other recent album. There are also several anthem type songs, like Battle Cry. The bass and drum combo of Scott Travis and Ian Hill is solid and heavy as ever, and while there are no drum-gasams like in Painkiller and Machine Man, Scott Travis displays some of his finest drum work. With this album being the little brother of Painkiller, you'd expect to hear some songs that resemble that album, right? Well, the opening track, Dragonaut and title track, Redeemer of Souls could have been on it. But, the whole album really is an evolution.

Ian Hill

We are also introduced to a couple new monsters/ heroes. Dragonaut, and Metalizer. I wonder how they would match up against the formidable Priest characters, Painkiller and Nightcrawler? There is a SyFy Original Movie there somewhere, I'm sure.*

Scott Travis

If this is to be the final chapter in Judas Priest music, then I am okay with it. They will go out with a bang. But, if they decide to do another album, after hearing this one, I say **"Bring it On!" As I mentioned before, I liked all of their most recent albums except for one. I can't say that about other favorites of mine, including Iron Maiden. The fact that since 1990, Priest has taken their time between albums is very likely a reason why. Take Iron Maiden for example. They haven't. In 1990, they released No Prayer for the Dying. Not a very good album by a long shot. Their next albums were Fear of the Dark, X Factor, Virtual XI, Brave New World, Dance of Death, A Matter of Life and Death, and The Final Frontier. That's 2 more than Priest put out, INCLUDING, like Priest, 2 albums with a different singer. Iron Maiden only put out 2 good albums since 1990, and Priest only put out one bad one. Now, I'm as big of a Maiden fan as I am of Priest. They are my number one and two favorite bands. I am only bringing up Maiden for comparison, and not to bash them.

So, go get this album. Whether you are a Priest fan from the beginning, or a newer one, Redeemer of Souls will be sure to make your neck sore from headbanging. I won't say its better than Painkiller, but its easily their best SINCE Painkiller, and easily in the top 5 Priest albums.

Once again, BUY IT!

EDIT: This album debuted at #6 on the US Billboard charts, making this the most successful Priest debut of all time. Amazing, isn't it? And with bands like Black Sabbath, Queensryche, Stryper, The Winery Dogs and others all putting out awesome albums that are debuting in the top 25, I think its safe to say that....METAL IS BACK!!!

....Seems like I've heard that somewhere before. ;)

*  I have an outline for a movie like that. Contact me if you're in the business and interested.

**Bring it On is the title of a bonus song on the deluxe edition of Redeemer of Souls.