USA Today has jumped on the Judas Priest bandwagon as the band's North American tour for their new album, Redeemer Of Souls, kicked off on October 1st in Rochester, NY. Following is an excerpt from their look back at Priest's enduring career:

Judas Priest formed in 1970, with Halford signing on three years later. The band first played the USA in 1977 in support of its Sin After Sin album. 

"We wanted to conquer America, and that wasn't just New York and L.A.," Halford says. "We wanted to go to every place we could plug in the gear." 

As a result of those initial jaunts across the nation, "we still find ourselves in a position that we can play everywhere from the upper East Coast, straight across to Seattle, everything down to San Diego, across to Miami and everything in between. There are very few British acts, regardless of what kind of music they play, that can claim to have that connection after doing it for so long." 

An opening slot for Led Zeppelin at Oakland's Alameda County Coliseum on that tour helped establish the group's reputation as a live act.

In 2011, the group announced that its Epitaph world tour would be its last, and longtime guitarist K.K. Downing did retire that year. Adding guitarist Richie Faulkner re-energized the band. 

"If you're making a change, it should be significant," Halford says. "Where at one time the sun was setting, now the sun is rising again. It's a new metal dawn."

Go to this location for the complete article.

Judas Priest's schedule is as follows:

October

3 - Hammond, IN - The Venue at Horseshoe Casino
4 - Louisville, KY - Louder Than Life Fest at Champions
9 - Brooklyn, NY - Barclays
10 - Atlantic City, NJ - Harrah's
11 - Mashantucket, CT - MGM Grand
14 - Lowell, MA - Tsongas Center at UMass
15 - Allentown, PA - PPL Center
17 - East Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center
19 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre
24 - Baltimore, MD - Pier Six Pavilion
28 - Duluth, GA - The Arena at Gwinnett Center
30 - Hollywood, FL - Hard Rock Live Arena

November

6 - Allen, TX - Allen Event Center
7 - Austin, TX - FunFunFun Fest
10 - Los Angeles, CA - Club Nokia
12 - Phoenix, AZ - Jobing Arena
13 - Highland, CA - San Manuel Casino
14 - Las Vegas, NV - The Pearl
16 - San Jose, CA - City National Civic
18 - Salt Lake City, UT - Maverik Center

The Metal Gods on Metal Mayhem this Friday, October 3rd from 6 - 10 PM, EST, heard worldwide on WVOX.com and 1460 AM locally in New York.

A special 4-hour Judas Priest radio presentation. All Priest, all night long. Plus an in depth interview with Rob Halford and more.