 Queensryche are received extremely well by the
audience tonight. Each member of this band seem
to have their own little personality within the
band; the drummer shows pure aggression, lead
guitarist Michael Wilton is the smooth one, Rhythm
guitarist Parker Lundgren is the excitable young
one, bassist Eddie Jackson hides back in the shadows
and lead vocalist Geoff Tate is like the daddy
by which I mean he used to be cool in his day
- at some points he still shows it - but now some
of the cringe worthy dance moves that are usually
associated with drunken fathers are what he’s
got for us. Never the less they squeeze as many
songs as they can into their set which you just
have to appreciate and they throw down some absolute
corkers that I thoroughly enjoyed, all of which
were performed terrifically. Tracks like “NM
156”, “Jet City Woman” and their
little miniature encore “Eyes of a Stranger”
and a few more before leaving the stage for the
night and leaving the mighty Judas Priest with
a thoroughly warmed up crowd.
 Judas Priest are finally bidding the music world
farewell with one final tour after storming it
for over 40 years, I am lucky enough to have been
able to attend. I’ve had extremely high
expectations of this show seeing as for a final
farewell tour one would imagine they would try
to leave on a high note; I was right. Pyrotechnics,
lasers, CO2 cannons, steel chains, multiple backdrops
with a screen behind, what else could you want?
KK Downing officially retired just before the
tour leaving the band needing to acquire a new
guitarist to fill in on this tour; they chose
Richie Faulkner who brings a lot of energy and
attitude due to his youth. Rob Halford to start
with definitely seems a bit frail, his age is
definitely a factor tonight but no matter how
he appears, his voice has not deteriorated even
a fraction those vocals are absolutely perfect.
Every member with the exception of the drummer
– due to the pyrotechnics – are wearing
studded leather outfits, Mr Halford himself having
multiple one of which for during “Prophecy”
included a sceptre which had sparks spraying from
it. The band plays 4 encores, treating each one
as though it was the last. First encore to the
song “Electric Eye” the backdrop displays
an eye with the screen playing in the middle.
Second encore “Hell Bent For Leather”
saw Halford riding on stage on a Harley Davidson;
the final 2 encores were “You’ve got
another thing coming” and finally “Living
After Midnight”. Massive 21 song set with
Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” Playing
as they come on and Queen’s “We are
the Champions” playing as they leave; “Painkiller”,
“Metal Gods”, “Turbo Lover”,
“Beyond the Realms of Death” and also
“Breaking the Law” which was sang
entirely by the Wolverhampton crowd with no input
from Halford. What a send off and what a damn
show!
Queensyrche – 4/5
Judas Priest – 5/5
Review By James Webb
Photos By: Robert Lawrence |
