After touring the U.S. and the rest of the world, heavy metal icons Judas Priest and the mighty Sabaton made their final stop at the Toyota Music Factory in Irving, Texas. Metal fans of all ages filled the Pavillion for what was easily one of the best shows of the year.
Sweden's Sabaton hit the stage first, opening hard and fast with their traditional opener "Ghost Division." For Sabaton, this was their "The Tour to End All Tours" tour - a play on their most recent album, The War to End All Wars. Listening to Sabaton's music is like getting a heavy metal history lesson, as all their songs are about historical battles and figures. But while the subject matter is very serious, the band themselves are far from it, and their sense of humor, especially that of lead singer Joakim Brodin, shines through every night. Some of their stage antics saw guitarist Chris Rorland stick multiple guitar picks to a sweating Broden's head and face as he tried to sing, and when Broden decided he wanted to play guitar on "Resist and Bite," a roadie dressed in a Buc-cee’s beaver outfit brought him a pink Hello Kitty guitar to play. "Somebody's getting fired over this," Broden joked before playing the song. The rest of the band included bassist Par Sundstrom, recently returned guitarist Thobbe Englund and drummer Hannes Van Dahl, who sat high above the band on top of a huge tank that took up a large portion of the stage.
The fans were into everything the band did, clapping and singing along even when the band decided to sing "Carolus Rex" completely in Swedish. Other show highlights included the big sing along "Swedish Pagans," "Bismarck," "The Attack of the Dead Men" where the band came out wearing gas masks and their biggest hit to date "Primo Victoria." It was only fitting that the closing number was a song about Texas, "To Hell and Back." If the show had ended here, everyone would have gotten their money's worth. But there was plenty more to come.
Judas Priest's Invincible Shield tour opened with the lead single from their recent album of the same name, "Panic Attack" before dishing out the classic "You've Got Another Thing Comin'." Even after 55 years, the Metal Gods are still at the top of their game. If anything, singer Rob Halford sounded better and seemed more mobile than he has in recent tours. Guitarists Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap do a great job continuing the twin guitar sound legacy of original guitarists Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing. Faulkner especially is very charismatic and dynamic onstage. Drummer Scott Travis, known as "The man who put the "Pain" in "Painkiller" and bassist Ian Hill provided the pounding rhythm that brought it all together.
Obviously when you have 18 previous albums and a new one to promote, there will be some favorites that don't make it into the setlist, but Priest did their best to cover as much of their career as possible. Highlights included "Breaking the Law," "Love Bites," "Victim of Changes," "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" and the show's closer, the previously mentioned "Painkiller." The band returned for three big encores, "Electric Eye," "Hell Bent for Leather" with Rob Halford riding a Harley Davidson motorcycle onstage and "Living After Midnight" to end this incredible night. Another amazing performance by one of the greatest bands in music history.
METAL LIVES AND ENDS IN TEXAS!
CONCERT REVIEW
Judas Priest / Sabaton
October 26, 2024
Toyota Music Factory
Irving, TX
Review / Photos
by Andy Laudano