JUDAS PRIEST : First leg of of US Tour wraps up in Syracuse NY; concert cut short by storm

When The Metal God and Mother Nature do battle, the outcome is always unpredictable. Judas Priest brought their 2024 Invincible Shield Tour to central NY and Mother Nature got the best of this battle.

Judas Priest performed at the Syracuse amphitheater for the first time Wednesday night, but the concert was cut short by a thunderstorm in the area.

The Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview cautioned concertgoers earlier in the evening that severe weather in the forecast would delay the scheduled door opening time. Gates opened shortly after 6 p.m. and the show went on as scheduled at 7:30 p.m.

The night started with Sweden’s own Power Metal brigade SABATON as the more-than-special openers of the night. Although I’m not a huge fan of their music, I must admit they sound amazing live. Spearheaded by the charismatic frontman Joakim Brodén, Sabaton killed it with a solid and very entertaining show, each song having its own special war-inspired background story, with their setlist encompassing songs from their 2022 album The Symphony to End All Wars, like Stormtroopers and Soldier of Heaven, plus some classic bangers such as Shiroyama (my favorite of their setlist) and To Hell and Back.

The band includes Thobbe Englund (guitar), Chris Rörland (guitar), Hannes Van Dahl (drums), Pär Sundström (bass).  Thobbe originally joined the band in 2012 and recorded two studio albums with the band before his amicable departure in 2016 and now returns in replacement for Tommy Johansson.

Mid-set we were entertained when a glittery pink guitar and matching pink strap was delivered to frontman Joakim who would go on to add a third guitar to the mix after teasing the crowd with a few bars of Breaking the Law to get everyone excited for Judas Priest. 

They later finished strong with the thundering vocals the band is known for, singing of immortality and the stairway to heaven with “Soldier of Heaven” from their latest release, The War to End All Wars album.

The band was genuinely having the time of their lives. Throughout the show the crowd was encouraged to sing along with the songs in a very heartwarming chant style. Countless times the crowd followed Brodén's request to wave their arms back in forth in sync with the music. Very entertaining. Everyone who was already at the venue loved their show, and I bet Sabaton will return to Western NY soon headlining their own tour based on the warm reaction from all during their set.

 It was only 9pm when the main attraction of the night, JUDAS PRIEST took the city of Syracuse by storm (Literally) with one hour and forty-five minutes of nonstop Heavy Metal magic, courtesy of Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner, Andy Sneap, Ian Hill and Scott Travis.

The show was the band’s first in Syracuse since 2005 when they last played at The Landmark Theatre with ANTHRAX. With nineteen long years between visits, the first noticeable thing was the performance and sound of the band. While the years have added up the band is still putting on very extremely satisfying shows for the fans and have not lost a thing. Even at 72 years of age vocalist Rob Halford is still singing like he was back when he last came to town in 2005.

The band hit the stage and set the tone of the show with “Panic Attack” the leadoff track from its 19th and latest album Invincible Shield and seamlessly segued into their classic of You’ve Got Another Thing Coming. What a great opening 1,2 punch.

The Metal Gods delivered an ass-kicking mix of timeless classics the likes of Rapid Fire, Love Bites and Green Manilishi, as well as additional new songs Crown of Horns, and the title-track Invincible Shield.

My favorite portion of the set was when they visited the older more deep cut tracks like Saints in Hell from  Stained Class and Devils Child from Screaming for Vengeance. 70's classic tracks Sinner and Victim of Changes were spot on including a rare guitar solo performed by touring guitar fill in and album producer Andy Sneap. Sadly, what I thought was missing was more representation from the 40-year-old Defenders of The Faith CD as they band only played Love Bites. Personally, I would have rather heard either Free Wheel Burning of maybe The Sentinel.

There wasn’t a lot of talking during their performance, apart from Halford reminding everyone that the band was celebrating 50 years of Heavy Metal as they released the cult album Rocka Rolla back in 1974, and five decades later here they are still rocking’ hard with Invincible Shield. Damn, time flies since the first time I started seeing Judas Priest Waaaaay back in October of 1982.

The main set ended with “Painkiller” which may be the fiercest and loudest song in the bands catalog. Simply amazing how Halford can still pull off the vocals to that song. The band managed to get “Electric Eye” in before the concert had to end due to severe weather and a torrential downpour. Not the way anyone wanted the concert to end but for everyone’s safety it was decided that was the way to go.

I never would have thought this band would still be touring in 2024. On top of that they are still churning out some great new music that still is finding its way on the music charts. As long as the band can put on performances like this and everyone is healthy it appears they will keep going. Definitely a win for young fans who may just be getting their first chance on seeing the metal legends live for the first time, as well as the legion of old fans who have been on board for many years.

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(All Photos Courtesy of Justin Morey)