Judas Priest At The Anthem 3-18-2018

Judas Priest released their 18th studio album Firepower on March 9th, Sunday night they brought the ‘Firepower 2018’ tour to the nation’s capital for a sold out show at the Anthem. The tour which kicked off March 13th is scheduled to crisscross the U.S. before wrapping up in San Antonio on May 1st. Tickets for the tour can be purchased at Judas Priest’s website HERE.

Black Star Riders were first to take the stage for the night, the band is currently touring in support of their 2017 release Heavy Fire. The band played a short eight song set which consisted of two songs from the newest release while the rest of the set was made up of tracks from the band’s first two albums. The set also featured the Thin Lizzy cover of “Jailbreak” before wrapping up with 2013’s “Bound for Glory.”

Black Star Riders Setlist: “All Hell Breaks Loose” “Jailbreak (Thin Lizzy cover)” “Heavy Fire” “Soldierstown” “The Killer Instinct” “When the Night Comes In” “Kingdom of the Lost” “Bound for Glory”

Visit BLACK STAR RIDERS online:
Website: www.blackstarriders.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BlackStarRidersOfficial
Twitter: twitter.com/BlackStarRiders

Up next were Saxon, touring in support of their 22nd studio album Thunderbolt which was released in early February. The band played an 11 song set that lasted just under an hour with the set opening with the title track from the latest release and included “Nosferatu (The Vampires Waltz),” “The Secret of Flight,” and “They Played Rock and Roll” also from Thunderbolt.

Saxon Setlist: “Thunderbolt” “Power and the Glory” “Nosferatu (The Vampires Waltz)” “Motorcycle Man” “The Secret of Flight” “Dallas 1 PM” “They Played Rock and Roll” “Crusader” “Princess of the Night” “Denim and Leather” “Heavy Metal Thunder”

Visit SAXON online:

Website: www.saxon747.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/saxon

Twitter: www.twitter.com/SaxonOfficial

Instagram: www.instagram.com/saxon. official

YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/ PlanetSaxon

Closing out the night, was the band everyone had come to see, metal icons Judas Priest. When the band hit the stage shortly after 9 p.m. The Anthem was filled to capacity with fans chanting ‘Priest, Priest, Priest’. As the curtain rose the band ripped into the title track of their latest album Firepower and took fans on a 90 minute, 18 song set that spanned the band’s career. Firepower, which was released on March 9th is Judas Priest’s highest charting album in the U.S. to date. At the start of “Grinder” Rob told the D.C. crowd to tell everyone that the Priest is back, causing the 6500 in attendance to erupt. With Glenn Tipton having to retire due to his battle with Parkinsons, Firepower producer Andy Sneap was tapped to fill in on the tour. Andy did a great job filling the role and fit right in with the band on stage. Fans sang along with Rob and the gang on classics like “Turbo Lover,” “Breaking the Law,” “Hell Bent for Leather,” and “Living After Midnight” often times as loud as the band themselves. During “Painkiller” images of Glenn Tipton scrolled across the big video screens behind the band as they paid homage to the guitarist.The night wrapped up with a four song encore consisting of the classics, “Electric Eye,” “Metal Gods,” “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’,” and “Living After Midnight”. With the success of Firepower, the sold out shows, and Robs voice being as strong as ever I would say that Judas Priest are indeed back.

Judas Priest Setlist:
(Intro) War Pigs
(Intro) Guardians
Firepower
Running Wild
Grinder
Sinner
The Ripper
Lightning Strike
Bloodstone
Saints in Hell
Turbo Lover
Angel
Evil Never Dies
Some Heads Are Gonna Roll
Breaking the Law
Hell Bent for Leather
Painkiller