Judas Priest at MGM Music Hall, April 25, 2024

Concert reviews

Oh, and its final stop in Boston proved that the legendary heavy metal band can still roar, even more than 50 years later.

Judas Priest, with Sabaton, at MGM Music Hall at Fenway, Thursday, April 25

A cynic might argue that Judas Priest has already proven his point. The founding band of heavy metal, never particularly respected by the rock and roll establishment, can play American idol without losing credibility. Its prodigal frontman can come out at a time and in a corner of the music world little known for its queer allyship without losing its fanbase. He can be inducted (somewhat) into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame without losing his rebel-outsider status. She can celebrate her 50th year in the business and still roar.

It’s this last point that seems to be the reason why Judas Priest didn’t pack it. If it were simply a matter of demanding acceptance, then the cultural pariahs and bogeymen of old would no longer have a world to conquer. But their motivation seems to be both bigger than that and more personal, and on Thursday at MGM Music Hall in Fenway, they spread gospel metal to those who needed to hear it, among the longtime fans who were there at the end of the group’s 70s. / The golden age of the early 80s for at least a 10 year old already passionate about the visceral thrill of metal.

When Judas Priest last played Boston in October 2022, it was an overdue repair after several health issues within the band and, oh yes, two years of the COVID pandemic had derailed a planned getaway for the band. golden anniversary. This time there was a new album (this year Invincible Shield) on tour, and once a mission statement banner dropped to reveal the five musicians packed tightly onto the drum column before fanning out across the stage, “Panic Attack” charged forward to serve as strong, fast and sharp opening like Priest in their prime.

Despite this, it was one of only three songs on Invincible Shield the band played, and a set so light on new material is usually less about selling the new album than appeasing fans and polishing their legacy. This was evident when they followed the opener with vintage tracks: the resentful growl of “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'”, the sheer velocity of “Rapid Fire” and “Breaking The Law”, where singer Rob Halford left singing the title to the crowd. “Love Bites” rolled on a relentless pound triggered by two repeated hits from the floor tom that sounded like bangs on sheets of tin, and the shuddering, frantic “Invincible Shield” was like hurtling down a highway in a rolling 18-wheeler 80.

Judas Priest also greeted some of his ancestors and peers, directly or indirectly. As well as the usual howl of ‘War Pigs’ to announce their imminent arrival, the bludgeoning ‘Victim Of Changes’ tipped its hat to Black Sabbath, albeit with a slightly more histrionic vocal from Halford. His lyrical sweep was abandoned in favor of Bon Scott’s growl in “Devil’s Child,” which, from the title to the chord riff to the thud of the drums, was pure AC/DC. Meanwhile, with its heavy minor-key breathing and Halford’s low, guttural croak, a cover of Fleetwood Mac Mark I’s “The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown)” sounded nothing like Judas Priest’s.

Judas Priest himself too, with no guarantees after half a century and with two guitarists whose tenures do not predate the 2010s. But Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap succeeded in their mission, from haunting solos to the locked twin rhythms of songs like “Turbo Lover” and “Electric Eye”. They became a two-headed dragon by the end of “Sinner,” feeding off each other and bonding over both their leads and the breathy chords.

If all of this could be considered gloriously silly, then “glorious” was still occasionally in the mix, especially towards the end when Halford rode his motorcycle on stage for the “Hell Bent For Leather” and punched Sneap in a faux-dramatic way on the shoulder with a crop several times during the song. And while closer “Living After Midnight” is ultimately nothing more than a party anthem, it still hits like a ton of British steel.

Openers Sabaton offered galloping old-school metal backed by vocalist Joakim Brodén’s power growl, while adding rousing volunteers and warmongering imagery (a simulated tank-like drum lift here, a spewing chemical weapons fumigator smoke there) which might have raised eyebrows. if Brodén wasn’t light-hearted enough about it to also exploit it for the occasional fart joke.

Judas Priest setlist at MGM Music Hall at Fenway, April 25, 2024

• Panic attack
• You have something else coming
• Rapid fire
• Break the law
• Thunderbolt
• Bites of love
• The Devil’s Child
• Saints in Hell
• Crown of horns
• Fisherman
• Turbo lovers
• Invincible Shield
• Victim of changes
• The green Manalishi (with the two-toothed crown)
• Pain killer

BIS

• Electric Eye
• Hell bent for leather
• Living after midnight

Marc Hirsh can be reached at (email protected) or on Bluesky @spacecitymarc.bsky.social.