Hell Bent For Leather With Judas Priest In Charlotte

Heavy Metal Legends Bring The Invincible Shield Tour To PNC Music Pavilion

Perhaps no other heavy metal band in the world exemplifies the genre better than the juggernaut that is Judas Priest. With over 50 million albums sold and over 50 years “rockin’ til the dawn,” Priest has become one of the most iconic rock bands in the world. With all that the band has accomplished, one would think that they could sit back and rest on their laurels. Instead, Judas Priest remains at the top of their game with the recent release of Invincible Shield , one of their best albums yet, and a subsequent tour that is any true metalhead’s dream.

Last week, Priest roared into town bringing the Invincible Shield Tour to PNC Music Pavilion for thousands of metal fans to enjoy. Anytime the band is in town, one can expect a top-notch show with world-class musicianship, an over-the-top stage production, and all the classic Judas Priest tunes we all love and remember. It was going to be a night of metal madness and Charlotte area fans were stoked and ready for action.

Kicking off the evening’s festivities was the Swedish war machine known as Sabaton. The band is a powerhouse with majestic metal anthems and lyrical themes of historical wars and heroism. It’s hard to believe but this year marks Sabaton’s 25th anniversary and like the true metal soldiers that they are, they continue their march onward.

The stage is set to resemble a battlefield with a Sabaton backdrop emblazoned with scenes of war and a huge tank upon which sits Hannes Van Dahl’s drumkit. The microphones are set up with replica rifles and helmets as the band makes their way out onto the stage. The cheers erupt from the audience as a taped version of “The March To War” begins to play and it is on! Lead vocalist Joakim Broden runs out, microphone in hand and wearing a military-style bulletproof vest.

Sabaton attacks with the force and fury of a thousand men and with their camouflage pants and boots it is as if we are all about to actually march off to war as the crowd bobs their heads to “Ghost Division.” Joakim’s vocals sound strong as Van Dahl and bassist Par Sundstrom drive a relentless pace. The guitars of Chris Rorhland and Thobbe Englund who has recently returned to the band, are blistering and soon we are in the midst of a great, heavy metal battle of the ages.

The air is thickened with fog and the band is washed with yellow and blue lights. Broden is like a general in charge of his troops as he runs from side to side of the stage, arms stretched out commanding the performance. A highlight of the set was hearing “Carolus Rex” sung in Swedish as the entire venue bounced along. As usual, Sabaton came, saw, and conquered in true metal fashion. What a great way for the night to begin! If you’ve been sleeping on Sabaton, wake up! These guys are amazing.

After a break to allow the crews to prepare the stage, it was finally time for the main event and everyone was beyond excited for the mighty Priest to make their appearance. The lights go down, and the chants of “Priest! Priest!” begin as a taped version of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” begins to play. The audience sings along as the lights reveal a huge banner in the center of the stage and shields on each side of the stage. The Invincible Shield Tour anthem begins to play as the excitement level builds and builds throughout the venue.

“United We Stand

Divided We Fall

Defenders of Metal

For One and For All

Keeping The Faith

Honour and Pride

Strength In This Bloodline

God On Our Side

Eternal Immortal

Metal Burns Bright

Lifting Our Horns

Ready To Fight

Stand And Bear Witness

With All Of Our Might

As We Raise The Invincible Shield”

True defenders of the faith, Judas Priest begins their show with this proud display of heavy metal fervor. It was a fantastic opening and the only thing that could make it better was for Judas Priest to make their entrance. The banner was hoisted up out of the way to reveal the band banging out “Panic Attack” with all members atop the riser by Scott Travis’s drumkit.

The band moved to their requisite spots on the stage and we were greeted fist in the air by The Metal God himself, lead vocalist Rob Halford. For the next 100 minutes or so, we bore witness to exactly why Judas Priest is at the top of the heavy metal throne. Everything about this show was superb in every way.

The band was dressed in their iconic leather with Rob changing jackets during the course of the night and interacting with the crowd at every possible moment. While I was in the photo pit, he was going back and forth across the front of the stage from side to side then back to the drum kit and then back down front in a constant whirl of motion. Halford is a master frontman, pointing and gesturing to the crowd as he belted out a setlist that ran through new songs and old including all the fan favorites and a few we haven’t heard live in quite a while. Does a metal show get any better than this? I don’t think so!

The band was on absolute fire with guitarist Richie Faulkner firing up the solos, lifting his guitar toward the sky with his long hair flying behind him. Occasionally Rob would come over and put his hand on Richie’s shoulder as if to say hell yeah let’s go. It was also great to see touring guitarist Andy Sneap coming into his own more and more with every show, making him a staple of Priest’s live performances.

What about that rhythm section though? We certainly can not forget about the one and only Ian Hill. After all, Hill is one of the founding members of Priest and the only existing member to have been there since day one way back in 1969. Although he seems to prefer the background and letting the spotlight remain on Rob and Richie, there is no mistaking his importance. Without Hill’s driving basslines, Priest would not be Priest. Helping Hill drive the pace all night long was drummer Scott Travis whose head we could barely see above his massive kit. Travis is simply an animal on the drums, pounding with such ferocity that I can’t imagine how many sticks he must go through.

The production of the show was amazing with beautiful lighting and all the bells and whistles one would expect from an arena rock show including the famous Judas Priest cross that is lowered down front and center at one point during the show. The sound and lighting were on point throughout the set and everything was running smoothly.

After a 15-song set, it was time for the show to wrap up with “Painkiller.” Not more than a few seconds after Halford walked off the stage the chants of “Priest! Priest!” and “One more song!” began in earnest. “The Hellion” began to play across the venue speakers and Judas Priest returned with an electrifying live version of “Electric Eye” as the audience headbanged to their heart’s content. In fact, I may have gotten some windburn from all the hair flipping my way, but it was worth it!

“Hell bent, hell bent for leather.”

Of course, no Judas Priest show could finish without a few more iconic moments and before we knew it we could faintly hear the roar of an engine. The venue exploded as Halford made his way out on his famous Harley-Davidson motorcycle, leather hat on his head, and a riding crop in his hand, as we got “Hell Bent for Leather.” This is always such an amazing moment of the show and I could easily experience this a thousand times and never tire of it.

“Living after midnight
Rocking to the dawn
Loving till the morning
Then I’m gone, I’m gone”

This would have been a great way to end the night but Judas Priest still had one more to go and it just happened to be my favorite Priest song ever as they rocked us to the dawn, well at least til about 10:45, with a rousing, raucous, and rocking “Living After Midnight.” People were singing at the top of their lungs, heads were banging, hair was once again flying in my face and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

After more than 50 years, Judas Priest is still alive and well, forever defending the faith, and keeping heavy metal alive for the next generation of fans and forever rocking us to the dawn.

See the Full Gallery of The Night Here!

If you captured any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazineand throw in #Shutter16and #TwitFromThePitfor the world to see.