One of heavy metal’s all-time greats, Judas Priest will be celebrating their 50th anniversary this year with a world tour coming to the US in the fall. The 50 Heavy Metal Years Tour will also feature Sabaton as openers and is being fueled by the highest charting album of Priest’s career ‘Firepower’ which peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200.
“Judas Priest are primed and ready to deliver the goods with our 50 Heavy Metal Years anniversary celebration stage show spectacular! Performing a blistering cross section of songs from our lives in metal – we can’t wait to raise horns with you again at this once in a metal lifetime event!” – Judas Priest
Judas Priest originally formed in 1970 in Birmingham, England (an area that many feel birthed heavy metal). The original nucleus of musicians – Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, KK Downing & Ian Hill (along with several different drummers over the years) would go on to change the face of heavy metal. Throughout the 70’s Priest were responsible for helping trail blaze metal with such classic offerings as ‘Sad Wings of Destiny’ (1976) ‘Sin After Sin’ (1977) and ‘Hell Bent for Leather’ (1978) as well as one of the genre’s top live recordings ‘Unleashed in the East’ (1979) among others.
But it was during the 80’s that Priest conquered the world, becoming a global arena headliner on the strength of such all-time classics as ‘British Steel’ (1980) and ‘Screaming for Vengeance’ (1982), as well as being one of the first metal bands to be embraced by the then-burgeoning MTV, plus performing at some of the decades biggest concerts (1980’s Monsters of Rock, 1983’s US Festival, and 1985’s Live Aid) and being the first to exclusively wear leather and studs – a look that began during this era and would eventually be embraced by metal heads throughout the world. Priest’s success continued throughout the 90’s and beyond with the addition of drummer Scott Travis, as evidenced by such additional stellar offerings as ‘Painkiller’ (1990) ‘Angel of Retribution’ (2005) and ‘A Touch of Evil: Live’ (2009) the latter of which saw Priest win a Grammy Award for a killer rendition of the classic ‘Dissident Aggressor’.
In 2011 new guitarist Richie Faulkner came in to replace the previous guitarist who had left in 2010 – the move seemed to have reinvigorated the band, as evidenced by a show-stealing performance on the ‘American Idol’ TV program that also served as Faulkner’s debut performance with the band (also in 2011 was the release of a new compilation ‘The Chosen Few’ which included Priest classics selected by some of metal’s biggest names) and the ‘Epitaph’ concert DVD in 2013.
Priest’s next studio effort would arrive in 2014 ‘Redeemer of Souls’ which was supported by another strong tour.
In 2017 (and again in 2019) Judas Priest received a nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and got ready to unleash their latest studio album ‘Firepower’ (produced by Andy Sneap and Tom Allom) which received global success and critical acclaim.
Few rock or metal acts remain as much of a must-see live attraction as Judas Priest. And the forthcoming 50 Heavy Metal Years Tour will undoubtedly drive this point home.
CONFIRMED TOUR DATES:
9/9/2020 Oxon Hill, MD MGM National Harbor
9/11/2020 Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
9/12/2020 Ledyard, CT Foxwoods Casino Arena
9/14/2020 Philadelphia, PA The Mann Center
9/15/2020 Newark, NJ
9/17/2020 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion
9/18/2020 Orlando, FL Central Florida Fair – Rebel Rock
9/21/2020 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
9/23/2020 Detroit, MI
9/24/2020 Youngstown, OH Covelli Centre
9/26/2020 Chicago, IL
9/27/2020 Minneapolis, MN The Armory
9/29/2020 Milwaukee, WI Miller High Life Theatre
9/30/2020 St. Louis, MO Saint Louis Music Park
10/2/2020 Oklahoma City, OK The Zoo Amphitheatre
10/3/2020 Dallas, TX
10/5/2020 Austin, TX
10/6/2020 San Antonio, TX Freeman Coliseum
10/8/2020 Albuquerque, NM Sandia Resort and Casino
10/9/2020 Denver, CO
10/11/2020 Salt Lake City, UT Vivint Smart Home Arena
10/13/2020 Phoenix, AZ Arizona Federal Theatre
10/15/2020 Los Angeles, CA Microsoft Theater
10/17/2020 Las Vegas, NV Zappos Theatre at Planet Hollywood
