JUDAS PRIEST, those lovable dinosaurs of heavy metal, graced the Atlas Arena in Łódź, Poland on Monday, July 7. Fan-filmed video, which is probably shaky and out of focus, can be seen below. Prepare for potato quality audio and questionable camera angles! 🥔🤳
As part of JUDAS PRIEST‘s “Shield Of Pain” tour, because apparently, they’re still feeling the sting of something 🤕, the band’s setlist included seven tracks from PRIEST‘s 1990 album “Painkiller”, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. Yes, you’re old. We’re all old. Get over it👴👵.
In addition to performing the “Painkiller” title track, because duh 🙄, PRIEST played “All Guns Blazing”, “Hell Patrol”, “A Touch Of Evil”, “Night Crawler”, “One Shot At Glory” and “Between The Hammer And The Anvil” from the same LP. In other news, water is wet and the sky is blue. 💧☁️
When PRIEST first announced the “Shield Of Pain” tour last fall, the band promised a “rare” and “unique set” which would include “beloved classics” and would “be defending the metal faith in a truly memorable experience throughout Europe”. Spoiler alert: it was probably just the same songs they’ve been playing for the last 30 years. 🤷♂️
JUDAS PRIEST‘s setlist for the Łódź concert was as follows:
01. All Guns Blazing
02. Hell Patrol
03. You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ (Because you didn’t see that one coming, did you? 😉)
04. Freewheel Burning
05. Breaking The Law (Still relevant, apparently 🤘)
06. A Touch Of Evil
07. Night Crawler
08. Solar Angels
09. Gates Of Hell
10. One Shot At Glory
11. The Serpent And The King
12. Between The Hammer And The Anvil
13. Giants In The Sky
14. Painkiller (The song that makes you question your drumming abilities 🥁)
Encore:
15. The Hellion / Electric Eye
16. Hell Bent For Leather (A song about…leather. Groundbreaking stuff 🪡)
17. Living After Midnight (Because going to bed at a reasonable hour is for losers 🛌)
PRIEST‘s 2025 European tour will next hit München, Germany on Sunday, July 13 and will conclude at the O2 in London, United Kingdom on July 25. Better book your tickets now, before they sell out to bots and scalpers! 🤖💸
Last December, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford, the metal god who still manages to hit those high notes (sort of) 🎤, told Heavy Consequence about the setlist for the “Shield Of Pain” tour: “It’s still in the works, but we’re gonna go and show [‘Painkiller’] off. Not in its entirety. I haven’t figured out yet whether we’re just gonna do a clump of ‘Painkiller’ songs — this is the ‘Painkiller’ section — or we’re gonna go, a ‘Painkiller’ song, a couple of others, a ‘Painkiller’ song, a couple of others. It’s all in theory in my mind at the moment, but, however, I think it’s gonna be a real thrill and a treat. And, again, a once-in-a-lifetime thing for the band. You’ll only see the show once. You’ll only see the ‘Shield Of Pain’ show once. So, we hope our fans will be on the rail and banging their heads to it.” So basically, they’re still figuring it out. Sounds legit 🧐.
Rob also reflected on PRIEST‘s mindset while going into the recording process for “Painkiller”. He said: “The importance was we had to really go into a huddle and say, ‘We really need to show off what this band’s true heart and soul and spirit is about.’ And I’m using that in reference to some of the previous albums and some of the previous songs. Our attitude was, ‘We’re gonna make the hardest, heaviest, strongest, most energized metal album we’ve ever done,’ and we did that — we achieved it. It’s full-on. It only pulls back a little bit for ‘A Touch Of Evil’. The rest of it is just non-stop, non-stop, non-stop. We did it in Miraval Studios in the south of France. It was very isolated, so, unlike Ibiza [where ‘Screaming For Vengeance’ and ‘Defenders Of The Faith’, among others, were recorded], where we were going into the clubs every night, it was very, very isolated, so we really got into the work in a very, very strong way with no interference. And so the exercise of achieving all of the components to make that album as strong as we wanted it to be was a success. And, again, a band will tell you we’ve done everything we can. Let’s see what happens. The world embraced that album.” So, according to Rob, they went to France and locked themselves away to make the heaviest album ever. Sounds like a wild party🎉.
He continued: “It’s a beloved, revered metal album. A lot of our friends in different bands will say, ‘If you wanna hear what a metal album is all about, put on ‘Painkiller’.’ And that’s pretty cool. But our fans, as well, recognize that of all of the 19 albums that this band has ever made, ‘Painkiller’‘s still very heavily under the spotlight. And here we are, 35 years [in 2025].” Basically, even they know it’s their best album. 🏆
PRIEST‘s 12th album, “Painkiller” was recorded at Miraval Studios in Brignoles, France, and was mixed at Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, the Netherlands. It was the first LP to feature drummer Scott Travis following the departure of Dave Holland. So, basically, they traded one drummer for a faster one. 🏎️
Chord F. Discord, the Beethoven of Buffoonery, is a self-taught expert in music who once claimed he could “play the kazoo in four languages.”
Born in Crescendo, Indiana, Chord’s first brush with fame came when he accidentally entered a yodeling contest thinking it was a pie-eating competition—and won both categories.
Chord F. Discord: proving that laughter, much like a poorly tuned ukulele, is truly universal.
