Judas Priest - Live In London
Performance
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Judas Priest - Live In London
Performance
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Judas Priest was about the fourth concert that I ever saw, back in high school, circa 1982, and it remains one of my favorites to this day. It certainly didn't hurt that it was the tour supporting their best album, Screaming For Vengeance, and that the band was at the peak of their popularity. Oh, and that little old Iron Maiden band even opened for them too. Could you imagine that concert now? Live in London certainly doesn't compare to that monumental tour, but it is still an outstanding testament that proves that an aging Judas Priest can still hold their own in the heavy metal arena. Live in London was recorded at the Brixton Academy (in London, obviously) on the eve of the 2001 tour supporting their Demolition album. The Brixton Academy is a fairly small venue, much like a larger club, and this show creates quite the contrast to the spectacle of a full-blown stadium concert, such as Iron Maiden's Rock in Rio concert. That is exactly what makes this show special. The club is packed with a thousand or so rabid Priest fans who appreciate seeing their metal gods in such an intimate setting. Since 1996, and the release of their Jugulator album, Judas Priest have been fronted by new singer Tim "Ripper" Owens, who replaced original singer Rob Halford after he quit the band in 1992 to pursue a solo career. Although almost 20 years younger than Halford, Owens is a virtual clone of him vocally. He was actually discovered by the band through a tape of his Judas Priest cover band, British Steel, that was sent to them by a fan. The concert opened on a strong note with the classic British Steel anthem "Metal Gods". Any doubts about whether Ripper could fill Rob Halford's considerable shoes were immediately laid to rest. He easily hits all of the high notes, and he's got the famous Halford growl down pat. It does become obvious though, as the show progresses, that Ripper just doesn't carry the charisma or stage presence that Halford commanded. This shortcoming was easily overshadowed though by his inspired singing and the rest of the band's energized performance. The highlight of the show was taken care of early when they dusted off "Victim Of Changes" for the fourth song. Tipton and Downing's trademark harmonized guitar intro sounded phenomenal, only to be topped when the song's famous killer riff kicked in. Ripper simply made this song his own with a powerful performance that says "who cares if I wasn't even born yet when this song came out". Well, he might have been a teeny baby, with only his first tattoo, but you get my drift. They even go all the way back to 1976's epic "Sad Wings Of Destiny" for this setlist, and provide an equal mix of old and new that spans their entire career. Also from that album, they performed "The Ripper", where Owens amusingly led into the song by prompting the crowd "What's my name?.....What's my name?", which they were more than happy to scream. They even dropped the "The" from the title, I guess in honor of Owens. Oh yeah, he also opened "Breaking The Law" asking "Do we have any law breakers out there?". Hey, the drunken, British, metal-heads ate that shit up, as stupid as it was. "Diamonds And Rust" was transformed into a short, acoustic number which provided a nice breather at the halfway point before getting to the REALLY heavy stuff. "Burn In Hell" was the first of the "Hell" trilogy played this night. We also get "Hell Is Home" and a rousing "Hell Bent For Leather" for the encore. I guess Hell makes a hell of a good topic to write metal songs about. Iron Maiden and Slayer seem to fancy it too. Isn't metal great!? The best song of the night was "Electric Eye", but, damnit, they should always open that song with "The Hellion". It was on the album version of this concert, why would they possibly leave it off here? They opened the Screaming For Vengeance concert with "The Hellion" and "Electric Eye" and it scarred me for life, it was so ominous. The Priest mix in three new songs from the new Demolition album, as well as a couple from Jugulator. None of the new stuff was all that noteworthy, and I felt that Ripper's vocals were the least impressive on these tracks. He seems to sound much better when he is imitating Halford. Speaking of imitating Halford, I really think Ripper should retire from riding the Harley out onto the stage, which he did prior to "Painkiller". This was more of a Rob Halford trademark than a Judas Priest trademark, and they should really save it for the Halford reunion. Overall, I was a little disappointed with the setlist. How the hell can you be disappointed with a 19-song setlist that covers almost every album in the band's arsenal, you ask? First of all Screaming For Vengeance and Defenders Of The Faith were criminally underrepresented with only one song apiece. And where was "Heading Out The Highway"? Surely this could have replaced "United". But hey, like the band said in their special features interview, the hardest thing is coming up with the setlist each night, because they can only play so many songs, and many a fan's favorite will inevitably get left off the list. All I've got to say to that is...screw everyone else - I want MY favorite songs damnit! The production quality of this DVD was excellent all around. Especially the camera work. This was probably the best filmed "smaller-venue" concerts I have seen. The variety of camera angles was exceptional, including slow, sweeping craned shots from above, behind, and in front of the stage, and the changes were never too quick. Every important guitar solo, drum fill, or vocal delivery was captured with an appropriate close-up, and, most importantly, there were plenty of full stage shots showing the entire band in action. Both the Dolby 5.1 surround, and 2.0 stereo tracks sounded excellent. The surround track was slightly superior for providing a better enveloping concert ambience, but the stereo mix provided an improved bass sound, and slightly punchier guitar mix. On both tracks, Tipton's guitar was mixed to the right front speaker, and Downing's guitar was mixed to the front left speaker, providing excellent separation and detail. The video was very sharp and the colors were vivid. The fantastic widescreen presentation also helped to elevate this show above many of the full screen competitors, capturing the full stage show in all its glory. The DVD extras were pretty good here too. You get about half an hours worth of soundcheck footage including full versions of "Desert Plains", "Running Wild", "Turbo Lover", "The Sentinel", "Machine Man", and "Lost and Found". There is also some interesting behind the scenes footage with the band backstage, and on their tour bus. This DVD is a no-brainer for any Judas Priest fan. Ripper Owens breathed new life into the band during his eight year tenure, and they thanked him by unceremoniously firing his ass, as soon as Halford figured out he needed to be a Priest again. Well, what the hell were they supposed to do, huh? Ripper was quickly snatched up to front Iced Earth, and the Priest are now opening for Ozzy at this year's (2004) Ozzfest. They never could have done this without Halford back in the band. Don't you just love happy endings? Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - June 2004 |
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Running Time: 91 Minutes |
DVD Release Date - July 2002 |