Judas Rising at the Cricket

Author

By Daniel Knighton

Publish Date

Oct. 25, 2011

Judas Priest never does anything half-assed. Twenty-foot-high flames erupted across the back of the stage as CO2 cannons shot off in every direction among the fog and lights. Not to mention screaming lead-guitar battles between Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, pounding bass lines from Ian Hill, frantic speed-metal drums from Scott Travis, and the wailing voice of Rob Halford.

Faulkner's riffs and showmanship were front-and-center throughout the night as he spent much of his time on the edge of the stage working the crowd and shredding leads in songs such as “Metal Gods” and “Judas Rising.” Tipton is no slouch, but he obviously preferred to stand back with bassist Hill, only stepping up to the front during his four-minute solo leading into “Victim of Changes.”

The two-hour set went like this: “Rapid Fire,” “Metal Gods,” “Heading Out to the Highway,” “Judas Rising,” “Starbreaker,” “Victim of Changes,” “Never Satisfied,” “Diamonds and Rust” (Joan Baez cover), “Prophecy,” “Nightcrawler,” “Turbo Lover,” “Beyond the Realms of Death,” “Sentinel,” “Blood Red Skies,” “Green Manalishi” (Fleetwood Mac cover), “Breaking the Law,” and “Painkiller.” The encores were “Hellion/Electric Eye,” “Hellbent for Leather,” “You've Got Another Thing Coming,” and “Living After Midnight.”