JUDAS PRIEST swooped into Dallas' Bomb Factory last Friday night like a band on a mission. It was one of the best, in your face, take no prisoner type of shows that I've seen in a long time. Not content to rest on their laurels and go through the motions, PREIST decided that on this run of their "Firepower 2019" tour to shake things up setlist wise. Indeed, fans seeing this tour have witnessed the tour debuts of deep cut PRIEST songs such as "Necromancer", "Spectre", "(Take These) Chains" and "Traitor's Gate". Also, "Heading Out to the Highway" returned to the rotation for the first time since 2012, and "All Guns Blazing" closed out the set, being played on tour for the first time since 1991. The majority of the remaining setlist was comprised of hits from "Hell Bent For Leather" and "British Steel".

JUDAS PRIEST roared into town amidst a bit of controversy. Frontman and Metal God himself, Rob Halford, had gone viral the previous day for having kicked a cell phone out of a front row fan's hands in Chicago. The fan had been filming at the time, and made the poor choice of leaving his LED flash on while filming. JUDAS PRIEST is on record that they don't care if fans film, just be respectful of the band and your fellow fans. PRIEST is incredibly generous to their fans, as demonstrated  by their allowing fans to film in an era where a lot of bands restrict even fan photography. So, I guess consider that a lesson to learned, don't film/photograph with your flash on, and don't irritate a Metal God.

Performance wise, the band sounds phenomenal. Halford sounds as good as he ever has, and still paces the stage like a man possessed. There are no extra vocal tracks here. This is Halford screaming as Halford always has, and it's something every metal fan should witness live. On lead guitar, Richie Faulkner simply wails. He plays like every note might be his last, yet never overpowers. Filling in for The ailing Glen Tipton is "Firepower" producer Andy Sneap. While Sneap may not completely "look" the part of degenerate metal star, his presence is incomparable. When he and Faulkner join for those iconic dual flying V motions, it's as if all is right in the world. Holding everything down are the absolutely steadfast Scott Travis on drums and the legendary Ian Hill on bass. Without Hill, there is no JUDAS PRIEST.

The band kicks things off with "Necromancer" from "Firepower" with Halford in a Screaming Jay Hawkins type suit, complete with a staff topped with a rhinestone adorned skull. Highlights for me were "(Take These) Chains" "Out In The Cold", "Judas Rising", "No Surrender", "All Guns Blazing" and the encore trio of "Hell Bent For Leather", "Breaking the Law" and "Living After Midnight". The tour is only less than half way complete, so many will still have an opportunity to catch the band sounding as good as they have in years.