Live: Judas Priest

After the truly powerful performance by Alice Cooper, Nita Strauss and co., I was really excited to see whether Judas Priest would be able to match that level. I have to say that I still find it a bit difficult to see the legends from Birmingham without KK and Glenn. That's why I'm sometimes a bit harsh when judging their gigs.

To cut to the chase: Judas Priest ruled the Niedersachsenstadion and put on a phenomenal performance. The current tour absolutely focuses on Painkiller, which celebrates its 35th anniversary on 3 September. The setlist offered the 45,000 spectators a continuous fireworks spectacle – the opening alone with “All Guns Blazing“ and “Hell Patrol“ made all my nostalgic thoughts about the classic lineup evaporate. Richie and Andy did a great job, as always skillfully accompanied by Scott and the eternal Ian.

But of course, the Metal God himself reigned supreme over everything. Rob is experiencing his fourth or fifth spring – what he delivers vocally at almost 74 years of age is incredible. By the time he played the triple pack of “You've Got Another Thing Comin'“, “Freewheel Burning“ and “Breaking the Law“, Hanover was at his feet.

The big highlights for me were “A Touch of Evil“, “Night Crawler“ and “Between the Hammer and the Anvil“ – these tracks are simply written for the big stage. When Priest finished their set with “Painkiller“, “Hell Bent for Leather“ and “Living After Midnight“, the numerous metalheads in attendance were already in a frenzy. I think we scared those Scorpions fans, who are mainly into ballads like “Still Loving You“, a little with our behaviour – but no one suffered any lasting damage. I have to admit that I was really sad when this spectacle was over after 75 minutes. On this 5th of July, I would have loved to listen to the band, even in this line-up, for twice as long.

Actually, I hadn't planned to see Judas Priest twice on this tour. However, given the quality of this performance, I immediately bought a ticket for the gig in Oberhausen on 20 July. I can only advise everyone to do the same as soon as possible – in this form, with this set list, Rob and Co. are unbeatable!