One of heavy metal’s all-time greats, Judas Priest, will be celebrating their 50th anniversary this year with a world tour coming to the US in the fall. The 50 Heavy Metal Years Tour will also feature Sabaton as openers and is being fueled by the highest charting album of Priest’s career, Firepower which peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200.

Says the band: "Judas Priest are primed and ready to deliver the goods with our 50 Heavy Metal Years anniversary celebration stage show spectacular! Performing a blistering cross section of songs from our lives in metal - we can't wait to raise horns with you again at this once in a metal lifetime event!”

Sabaton bassist Pär Sundström comments: “It’s a great honour for us to be special guests to one of the most influential metal bands of all time, for a very special tour. We received a lot of requests from the USA that fans wanted to see us return after the successful tour we did last year and here we are, in great company.”

Judas Priest originally formed in 1970 in Birmingham, England (an area that many feel birthed heavy metal). The original nucleus of musicians - Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, KK Downing & Ian Hill (along with several different drummers over the years) would go on to change the face of heavy metal. Throughout the 70's Priest were responsible for helping trail blaze metal with such classic offerings as Sad Wings Of Destiny (1976), Sin After Sin (1977) and Hell Bent For Leather (1978) as well as one of the genre’s top live recordings Unleashed In The East (1979) among others.

But it was during the 80's that Priest conquered the world, becoming a global arena headliner on the strength of such all-time classics as British Steel (1980) and Screaming For Vengeance (1982), as well as being one of the first metal bands to be embraced by the then-burgeoning MTV, plus performing at some of the decades biggest concerts (1980’s Monsters of Rock, 1983’s US Festival, and 1985’s Live Aid) and being the first to exclusively wear leather and studs - a look that began during this era and would eventually be embraced by metal heads throughout the world. Priest’s success continued throughout the 90's and beyond with the addition of drummer Scott Travis, as evidenced by such additional stellar offerings as Painkiller (1990) Angel Of Retribution (2005) and A Touch Of Evil: Live (2009) the latter of which saw Priest win a Grammy Award for a killer rendition of the classic "Dissident Aggressor".

In 2011 new guitarist Richie Faulkner came in to replace the previous guitarist who had left in 2010 - the move seemed to have reinvigorated the band, as evidenced by a show-stealing performance on the American Idol TV program that also served as Faulkner's debut performance with the band (also in 2011 was the release of a new compilation The Chosen Few which included Priest classics selected by some of metal's biggest names) and the 'Epitaph' concert DVD in 2013.

Priest’s next studio effort would arrive in 2014 Redeemer Of Souls which was supported by another strong tour. In 2017 (and again in 2019) Judas Priest received a nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and got ready to unleash their latest studio album Firepower (produced by Andy Sneap and Tom Allom) which received global success and critical acclaim.

Few rock or metal acts remain as much of a must-see live attraction as Judas Priest. And the forthcoming 50 Heavy Metal Years Tour will undoubtedly drive this point home.

Tour dates:

September
9 - Oxon Hill, MD - MGM National Harbor
11 - Uniondale, NY - Nassau Coliseum
12 - Ledyard, CT - Foxwoods Casino Arena
14 - Philadelphia, PA - The Mann Center
15 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
17 - Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion
18 - Orlando, FL - Central Florida Fair - Rebel Rock Fest
21 - Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena
23 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre
24 - Youngstown, OH - Covelli Centre
26 - Chicago, IL - Rosemont Theatre
27 - Minneapolis, MN - The Armory
29 - Milwaukee, WI - Miller High Life Theatre
30 - St. Louis, MO - Saint Louis Music Park

October
2 - Oklahoma City, OK - The Zoo Amphitheatre
3 - Dallas, TX - Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
5 - Austin, TX - HEB Center
6 - San Antonio, TX - Freeman Coliseum
8 - Albuquerque, NM - Sandia Resort and Casino
9 - Denver, CO - The Mission Ballroom
11 - Salt Lake City, UT - Vivint Smart Home Arena  
13 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Federal Theatre
15 - Los Angeles, CA - Microsoft Theater
17 - Las Vegas, NV - Zappos Theatre at Planet Hollywood