Judas Priest's return is triumphant

JUDAS PRIEST, ANTHRAX, E Center, West Valley City, Wednesday.

WEST VALLEY CITY — "The Priest is back," exclaimed Rob Halford to several thousand screaming fans in the E Center Wednesday.

After parting ways for more than a decade with the band he helped define, Halford and Judas Priest made a triumphant return to Utah with an old-school heavy-metal show.

A red spotlight coming from the iris of a giant eye hanging from the rear of the stage moved about the crowd before guitarists Glenn Tipton and KK Downing took over with the opening chords of "The Hellion/Electric Eye."

The spotlight dropped off, and Halford appeared high above the stage, dressed from trench coat to boots in leather and studs. With his tattooed bald head, goatee, gloves and a variety of dominatrix-type leather trench coats throughout the evening, Halford walked his way around the elaborate two-level stage, garnering wild cheers simply for his presence.

His voice sounded a bit muddy earlier, though it was hard to tell if it was because he was still warming up or due to the sound system. But by the third or fourth song it was clear that the voice that made Judas Priest one of heavy metal's legendary bands for more than two decades was as strong as it was in the late '70s and early '80s.

The Priest played a crowd-pleasing selection of older hits, such as "Metal Gods," "Touch of Evil," "Breaking the Law," "Turbo Lover," an acoustic version of "Diamonds and Rust" and 1976's "Victim of Changes." Its latest songs off the "Angel of Retribution" album, such as "Judas Rising," "Revolution," "Worth Fighting For" and "Hellrider," also came off exceptionally well in concert.

It's impossible to please every fan when bands with long histories put together set lists. But JP could have done without songs like "I'm a Rocker" in favor of something off "Defenders of the Faith." But that's a small criticism of what was otherwise a great show.

Longtime bassist Ian Hill, and the lone Yankee in the group, drummer Scott Travis, kept the rhythm section in check. Travis, in particular, with his pounding double bass and array of stick tricks put on a clinic.

The Priest ended its main set with the driving "Painkiller" before Halford returned to the stage decked out in more leather and studs with his Harley-Davidson motorcycle and appropriately launched into "Hell Bent for Leather."

The night ended with the group's best-known songs, "Living After Midnight" and "You've Got Another Thing Comin' "

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E-mail: preavy@desnews.com