The Return Of The Metal Masters – Saxon And Judas Priest

The early eighties were a fertile period for British heavy metal music; the birth of the so-called New Wave of British Heavy Metal brought bands like Saxon and Judas Priest to the fore. Admittedly, the latter band had already had moderate success, though it was the 1982 album Screaming for Vengeance that catapulted Judas Priest to a higher level.

Uriah Heep had their initial success in the 1970s; the group is still touring and recording today. When most of tonight’s audience were normally at home having their evening meal, Uriah Heep had the unenviable task of warming up the audience at Leeds Arena. Armed with classic metal tracks like Gypsy and Easy Livin’ the task was an easy one; both sounded vibrant and exhilarating.

With a new album to promoteHell, Fire, and Damnation Saxon chose four new tracks although it might not have been the best idea in their short set. Some, like Madame Guillotine, sounded better than the title suggests. Frontman Biff Byford can still headbang with the best and still has some punchy lines to deliver, urging the fans to get out of their seats.

Brian Tatler from the influential group Diamond Head has recently replaced original guitarist Paul Quinn in Saxon. Rather than taking the lead guitar parts, Tatler blended into the band with ease, bringing a crisp and clear sound to the proceedings. Quinn, though, surprisingly appeared for a blistering performance of Denim and Leather a and Princess of the Night, the latter one of the best songs you will hear about a steam train. At the end of their sixty-minute set, Saxon were back on track.

The curtain dropped to reveal the five members of Judas Priest assembled on a staircase at the start of a ninety-minute set that focused on their fifty-year careers. Lead singer Rob Halford and bass guitarist Ian Hill have been in the band since their formation; Halford can still hit the high notes too, his falsetto singing being distinctive as ever, Hill ever the mainstay with his pounding bass, drummer Scott Travis providing a masterclass in technique, precision, and power; add to that the twin guitars of Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap, and the result is a true powerhouse of heavy metal.

Panic Attack, taken from their latest album, Invincible Shield, was urgent, stringent, and pandemonium all in one. Old favourites You’ve Got Another Thing Coming and Breaking the Law are now part of the heavy metal songbook, though undeniably a new track, Trail by Fire, was not pale by comparison.

The sight of the seventy-two-year-old Halford riding on the back of a motorbike, clad head to toe in leather, performing Hell Bent for Leather is not as preposterous as it sounds; when the music and energy are as exhilarating as this, the stunt still worked superbly—motorbikes are synonymous with this musical genre.

“We’ll be back,” proclaimed Halford at the end of a blistering night of music. A point that no one could argue about after this tour de force of heavy rock.