Judas Priest Blows the Roof Off at The First Stop On Their “Invincible Shield Tour” AT Toyota Oakdale Theater In Wallingford, Connecticut on April 18, 2024

April 21, 2024
International Concert Reviews, International Galleries
by Jody Wilk Photographer/Writer

Judas Priest brought their quintessential heavy metal show to The Toyota Oakdale Theater in beautiful Wallingford, Connecticut for a sold-out crowd. Celebrating the recent release of their 19th studio album Invincible Shield. I believe this album may hail as one of the top heavy metal albums of the year. Surprisingly there wasn’t a long line to get into the venue. This was due to the security staff getting people through the checkpoint efficiently. Once inside, you could feel the excitement of the fans enjoying the “dome” area for their pre-gaming food and drink and hanging out with friends. There were lines for both merch stands until the show started. Although much of the crowd was older, there were several young children in attendance as well.

Opening the evening was the Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton. They are known as one of Sweden’s big four power metal bands. Their lyrics focus on real-life wars, their victories, triumphs, and the people who participated in them. The first thing I noticed when they hit the stage was the huge drum riser resembling an army tank with Hannes Van Dahl perched on top. Although I didn’t know much about the band before the show, I had heard they usually have lots of pyro and explosions. However, at tonight’s show, possibly as they were the opener, the performance was devoid of any of that. I came to find out that it didn’t really matter as this five-piece band put on a stellar performance and was one of the tightest bands I have seen in a while. Their mic stands looked like machine guns and an army helmet near the top. They played songs from 8 of their 10 albums spanning their 25-year career. These guys were well-rehearsed and sounded flawless. One thing I noticed was the guitarists and bassists sang backing vocals through much of every song, giving the band a very full sound. It is easy to see why they headline many big venues and play huge festivals in Sweden. If you love heavy metal and Sabaton comes to your area, you don’t want to miss them.

Sabaton is:

Joakim Broden – Lead vocals, additional guitars, keyboards, metal machine

Par Sundstrom – Bass, backing vocals

Chris Rorland – Guitars, backing vocals

Hannes Van Dahl – Drums, backing vocals

Thobbe Englund – Guitars, backing vocals

Setlist:

1. Ghost Division

2. The Last Stand

3. The Red Baron

4. Bismarck

6. Stormtroopers

7. Carolus Rex (Swedish)

8. Shiroyama

9. The Attack of the Dead Men

10. Primo Victoria

11. Soldier of Heaven

12. To Hell and Back

Judas Priest recently released their Invincible Shield album on March 8 of this year, which was produced by the band’s touring guitarist, Andy Sneap. It has been forty-five years since the release of their first album, Rocka Rolla. The album has been well received by everyone in the metal community and it debuted at number 2 on the UK Albums chart and number 18 on The Billboard 200 here in the US.

The theater was packed, as it was a sold-out show. Just before showtime, there was a huge curtain solely at the center of the stage displaying the Invincible Shield tour anthem. Black Sabbath‘s “War Pigs” was playing as the intro music when suddenly the curtain got whisked upwards (see photos) as the band began playing “Panic Attack” from their new album. All the band members were on the steps of the drum riser for the first 10-15 seconds of the song, which was long enough to get a great group shot of them all together. From the moment the intro music started playing, the crowd was on their feet for the entire performance.

Rob Halford is an icon in the heavy metal world with his black leather jackets and pants with his ear-piercing screaming metal. It’s certainly amazing that at 72 years old he can still hit the highs and keep his cool throughout the entire hour and forty-five-minute set. Drummer Scott Travis barely broke a sweat throughout the performance. The newest member of the band, Richie Faulkner often takes the spotlight to show off his stellar guitar skills for the crowd. He is a standout.

One of the most notable things on their set was the giant 3-prong pitchfork suspended above the center of the stage that changes colors throughout the night. For several songs, it gets lowered down to face the crowd. As it began to get lowered down, it shook as if a chain link that was suspending it had untwisted. I got nervous and it looked like Rob did too, as he may have seen it shake. He seemed to stay back near the drum riser for a minute rather than standing beneath the pitchfork. Its movements were smooth for the rest of the show without incident.

They played an 18-song set with 3 songs off of the new album, Invincible Shield and all the usual classics you would expect at a Judas Priest show. The setlist had very little change from their most recent show in France. With only the addition of “You Don’t Have to Be Old to Be Wise” and minus “Metal Gods” in the encore set. Glenn Tipton did not perform during the encore set this show as he has been doing for most shows recently. Probably the most iconic part of the show for me is when Rob rides his Harley out on stage during “Hellbent for Leather”. And as can be expected, they ended the night on a high note with “Living After Midnight”.

“We love you guys. Thank you for keeping the heavy metal faith. We are Judas Fucking Priest”.

It was great to be able to see Judas Priest still kicking heavy metal ass over 50 years since their inception. They are still producing killer albums as heard on Invincible Shield. Their first show of the Invincible Shield tour was a sold-out success as they brought all their classics along with a few new songs to a crowd that stood for the entire show. Sabaton was a great choice to start the night with their war-themed heavy metal performance. Judas Priest will be on tour in the US through May 22 before heading overseas. They return back to the US on September 29th at Louder Than Life Festival and October 12th at Aftershock Festival. If you have never seen Judas Priest, this is your chance to witness one of the most iconic heavy metal shows on the planet.

Judas Priest is:

Ian Hill – Bass, occasional backing vocals

Rob Halford – Lead vocals

Glenn Tipton – Guitars, backing vocals, keyboards

Scott Travis – Drums, occasional backing vocals

Richie Faulkner – Guitars, backing vocals

Andy Sneap – Guitars, backing vocals (touring member)