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Judas Priest was back in North America to promote their Invincible Shield album, and they elected to start it in Montreal at the Bell Centre. Once again Sabaton was their opening act and you could see that there were as many fans to support both bands.

Once again, we can see the huge tank drum riser named Audie in the background. Their setup is roughly the same stage that the one Sabaton used for the last few North American tours. As usual, drummer Hannes Van Dahl gets behind the drums first as the other musicians appear on stage for “Ghost Division”. This old song gets the attention of the fans that quickly sing along with Joakim Brodén. The band keeps things going with “The Last Stand” and “Swedish Pagans” and fans are loving every second of their performance. As usual, Joakim Brodén interacts with the crowd constantly and his charisma is contagious. The war hymns keep coming and reached its peak with “Stormtroopers” and the Swedish version of “Carolus Rex”. 

Joakim brought out a pink Hello Kitty guitar and teased the fans a little by playing the riff of “Breaking The Law” before they playing “Resist And Bite”. This was succeeded by “The Attack Of The Dead Men” where the musicians wore gas masks. Thobbe Englund is back in the band after a few years of hiatus and his chemistry with the other musicians is spot on, it’s like he never left the band.

The band finished their set with the classics “Primo Victoria”, “Soldier Of Heaven” and “To Hell And Back”. Looking at the reaction of the musicians, they enjoyed playing in Montreal once again. They were very dynamic on stage but they seemed a little jet-lagged or rusted during this first concert in comparison to their over-the-top performances we are used to. That being said, their set warmed up the crowd nicely for the headlining band.

It was now time to see the mighty Judas Priest and all the fans were on their feet as soon as they saw the giant invisible shield banner hiding the drum riser. First thing we knew, the introduction of ‘Panic Attack’ was playing, the banner disappeared to reveal the band and fans went ballistic. Surprisingly, the band followed with one of their usual closer, “You've Got Another Thing Comin'” and the crowd sang the chorus to the top of their lungs. “Rapid Fire” is always full of intensity and if was not for the seats on the floor, I’m pretty sure we would have seen our first mosh pit of the night. This British Steel segment is concluded with the iconic “Breaking The Law” and fans once again sang along with Rob throughout the classic.

As usual, Ritchie Falkner is the most dynamic musician on stage and is very photogenic and constantly interacts with the fans. Rob Halford is spot on with his powerful vocals but sadly he still walks the stage in a rectangle pattern for most of the night.

The first chills of the night came when a few songs from the album Screaming For Vengeance are played in succession. Rob belted the bone-chilling screams of “Riding On The Wind” and this was quickly followed by “Love Bites”, another song that showcased Rob’s voice. The giant LED screen displayed vampire sequences to accompany that song as well as parts of the lyrics. The eerie feeling of this song was pure pleasure and raised the hair on the neck of many fans. This segment was finished with “Devil’s Child” and fans were pumping their fists to the rhythm of the song from start to finish.

The first surprise came with “Saints In Hell”, this song had barely been played in a concert in the past and you could see that the die-hard fans were really appreciating this deep cut that showcased Andy Sneap on the guitar. “Sinner” is another older song that came back in the set list this year and I’m baffled that Rob can still hit those high notes at the age of 73.

I know that many hate this song for its commercial style, but I must say that “Turbo Lover” comes to life in concert and its chugging guitar riff is a lot heavier than on the studio version, making it a real banger of a song. The combination of the dual guitars and the high pitch vocals on “Victim Of Changes” is always bone chilling and something I look forward to hearing at their concert. It was a very emotional to see the footage of Glenn Tipton on the LED screen during the last guitar solo of this song and I know many fans were hoping that he would come out for a few songs during the encore, but sadly that did not happen.

Rob does not interact a lot with the crowd during the concert, but you know that the night is nearing its end when he makes the crowd sing for a few minutes. The band followed with “The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown)”, another Judas Priest classic. This was followed by the immortal “Painkiller”, if there is one song that fans never get tired of hearing it is this one and it is always impressive to see that Rob can still pull off most of those high-pitched vocal melodies.

It was now time for the encore that included the sing along “Electric Eye”, “Hellbent For Leather” where we see Rob entering the stage on the shiny motorcycle, it is the first night of this tour after all, so it is still impeccably clean.  The night ended with a party vibe as fans sang loudly the words of “Living After Midnight”. 

Judas Priest decimated all doubts and showed that their music is still relevant today and that they can put a modernized classic metal show together that will get fans on their feet for the whole night. Don’t miss this tour as we never know, it might be the last time you get to see them.