Judas Priest At Centre Bell

It’s the Fall of 1984 and a fellow fourth grader, whose name has long been forgotten to time, has asked me to join him in forming a band.  I can’t sing worth a lick or play any kind of instrument, but the idea of being in a band seems pretty cool, so of course I accept the invitation.  He tells me he wants to play the same kind of music as his favourite band, Judas Priest.  I have no idea who they are as growing up, we were mostly a talk-radio family and what music I did have access to came from either Video Hits on CBC or CJFM, which played mostly Top-40 Pop music.  So, he lent me his copy of their 1980 classic, British Steel.  The first track was their hit ‘Breaking The Law’, with its unforgettable opening guitar riff.  I didn’t know what this music was, but I loved it.  My ambitions of being in a band evaporated 4 weeks later when that unnamed classmate moved away, but my love for Judas Priest continues to this day.  Here we are 40 years later, I still can’t sing or play any kind of instrument, but that little nine-year-old would have thought it pretty cool to learn that we would find ourselves right in front of our early metal heroes.  There for the launch of the North American leg of Judas Priest's Invincible Shield tour at the Centre Bell in Montreal.  The anticipation in the building was palpable.  Despite having been formed in 1969, Judas Priest remains one of the vital bands of the genre. With the foot soldiers known as Sabaton, who opened the show and whose photographs you can find by following the link, having done their job readying the masses, Judas Priest was ready to hit the stage.  As the curtain lifted, Judas Priest were huddled together around the drum riser as they played Panic Attack, the opening track from their most recent album, Invincible Shield, which was released earlier this year.  Between belting out their classic songs, strutting along the stage with an extended hand  like royalty, or stopping to strike a pose, Rob Halford dominates the stage.  He isn't known as the 'Metal God' for nothing.  It is also worth noting the impeccable metal chops of Richie Faulkner on guitar.  His performance only made the more impressive when you consider that only three years ago he suffered an aortic aneurysm and complete aortic dissection while playing a concert with the band.  He was perhaps touched with the blessing hand of another form of deity on that night.  The rest of the band is in impressive form as well including the awesome Ian Hill on bass.  He spends the whole
show back by the drum risers, but he, and his stage position, are an iconic part of the band and the concert.  Back to the show, what followed for me was three songs of heavy metal majesty, given to the people by one of the best in
the game.  For the fortunate others in the stands, the performance lasted for almost another two hours as the band played a large collection of their greatest hits, as well as a few more cuts from Invincible Shield.  The roars and chants from the crowd were still audible as I walked down the street after leaving the building.  Judas Priest remain at the top of their game, and arguably still at the top of the Heavy Metal Mountain.  The photographs here were all taken at f/3.2, using various different focal lengths, shutter speeds and ISO.  Keep scrolling for more photographs of Judas Priest taken during their Centre Bell performance.

If you would like to find out more about Judas Priest and their music, you can do so by following the link to their website.  If you would like to see the photographs that I took of Sabaton, who played earlier in the evening, you can do so by following the link.  Many thanks to to Chip Ruggieri and Jen Farhood of Chipster PR and Christopher Gonda of V13 Media for getting me a pass to shoot the show.  It is always very much appreciated. I’m sure that somewhere out there in 2024, prospective band members are still sharing Judas Priest songs amongst each other as influences get discussed.  Hopefully these new bands are more talented musically than yours truly.  Judas Priest’s Invincible Sheild tour continues through to the end of October.  Don’t miss these legends when they come to a town near you.