Review: Judas Priest at Tons of Rock, Oslo

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But – the contrast with Wednesday's concert is great – in many ways, it will be somewhat anticlimactic. Because it was to a much greater extent Displays.

Simplified

For a long time, Judas Priest remained a somewhat simplistic band that lacked the fun of Metallica. It eases up after an hour, when frontman Rob Halford addresses the crowd for the first time and prepares for one Call and response– A stage act that draws the crowd in – and a strong chorus. It slides into the only cover song of the evening, Fleetwood Mac's “The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)”. It's all good, but the light comes on with the first encore, “electric eye” – A song that many have been waiting for. There's something going on in the dynamics and pull on the drum that might not have been there before.

There aren't many staff on stage, if you ignore the screens, but the band's crossed-out symbol is held up – and then up again. Halford wears the symbol on his back, on his lapel, on a chain around his neck. You see it on the side of the stage, on the back wall, everywhere.

Studs and leather

Halford looks a bit like a safe grandfather with his long, full gray beard, but the tattoos on the sides of the shiny ice cream and the ring in his nose tell me he's no ordinary grandfather. The jacket sparkles silver, eventually turning gold, and there are plenty of studs. And a comment.

Halford brought studs, leather and biker style to the heavy symbolism. He got inspiration for fashion from the gay community in Soho, London. In 1998, he finally came out as gay, one of the first in the heavy camp. It has nothing to do with music, but it's a good introduction to tomorrow's Pride Parade. The grey-bearded Halford would have done in the intro!

“cleaner”

Judas Priest's heavy rock and metal sounded “purer” than, say, Metallica, and more Iron Maiden and AC/DC. “Sad Ewings of Destiny” (1976), reminiscent of both Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, was the album that established them entirely. A jaded Halford was away from the group from 1991 to 2003, but there was never any doubt that it was Judas Priest's sound. Does it still hold up?

The answer is a short and precise yes. Many older artists have to change their voices and adjust their song selection because they can't hit the high notes. Ask Deep Purple's Ian Gillan about that! Halford's voice is still impressively good – and it soars. very loud.

Don't panic!

The band starts with “panic attack” From the band's first album in six years – and their 19th – 'Invincible Shield', released in March. Once the number two single comes “You have something else coming.” From the 1982 album Screaming For Vengeance. Metallica's debut album appeared the following year.

In 2018, Andy Sneap took over to play guitar for Glenn Tipton, who had to withdraw from the group after 45 years due to Parkinson's disease. The other “guitar twin” is Richie Faulkner (44), who replaced one of the founders, KK Downing, in 2011. Travis Scott has been playing drums for 35 years.

Only Ian Hill (bass) was involved from the start, while Halford joined in 1972, quite by chance, because his sister was with Hill and his band needed a new vocalist! He managed to be included on the group's rock/psychedelic inspired debut “Rocka Rolla” in 1974, an album that was not represented on this tour.

Based on the formula

You might think that a band with a name that consists of the words Judas and Priest must be full of contradictions, and band leader Rob Halford said something like this about Judas Priest: We are not a traditional metal band, we push the boundaries and break the rules of music. What heavy metal is. And yet, they seem to be based entirely on the Ekebergsletta formula. The sounds are hard to hear at first, but they get better as time goes on. They have revisited ten of their albums during this tour, and the songs that sound so good are “Breaking the law” With built-in sirens and a movie showing street riots on the back wall Turbo lover.

“security”

It’s not the same Judas Priest who started out in Birmingham in 1969 and was on the Tons of Rock stage. They’re managing the legacy well, and the two guitarists are having a busy evening at work. But I could have wished that a slightly “relaxed” Halford had brought in the shock earlier. It would have been a bit of fun, sort of. But maybe there’s something to the message of the song that ends the show, Life after midnight – Before Queen's “We Are the Champions” airs across the plain. A big self-portrait never hurt anyone.