Judas Priest and Queensryche Left Irving Up in Smoke on Friday

Queensryche and Judas Priest got straight to the point when they hit the stage at Irving’s Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory on Friday.

Normally bands like to thank the city, make a small intro and crack a joke, but this was not the case with Judas Priest. They sprinkled their thanks between song build ups.

Playing after Queensrychye, Judas Priest started off with a heavy metal battle hymn as the four members took their spots in the metal factory that was the stage. Heavy billows of smoke emanated from the smoke stacks, lights flashed everywhere and the giant Judas Priest emblem illuminated every fan’s face. No introduction was made; bandleader Rob Halford just ripped straight into “One Shot At Glory” from their 1990 album Painkiller.

The band’s two onstage hours left nothing to be desired: Thrashing chords ripped into endless divebombs and solos, and the crowd roared lyrics back while Halford shrieked his signature falsetto screams. Right before the encore, Halford left the stage with the crowd chanting after him, but rode back onto it soon after atop a black motorcycle, diving into “Hell Bent for Leather.”

He even had a special surprise as he introduced (OK, so there was one introduction) Glenn Tipton, the group’s old guitarist. to finish off the set on three songs including “Breaking The Law” and their closer “Livin’ After Midnight”. Fifty years of Priest, and they are still ripping it up, still wrapped in leather and studs.