"It's Friday night and the Priest are back in town", and outside a rather damp looking Newport Centre the huge crowd already assembled for the opening night of the UK leg of the band's 'Epitaph' tour are certainly not letting a little moisture get in the way of delivering their very own Welsh version of "Heavy Metal Parking Lot". I'm not exactly sure if it is the prospect of this being (possibly) the last ever tour from Birmingham's second favourite sons of Heavy Metal music, or if it is the sight of something like six 44 ft trailers and five tour buses parked up outside the venue that has got me (and seemingly everyone else) quite so excited, but one thing is for sure...tonight is going to be very special indeed.

With the Uber Rock camp split in two tonight it was left to the old(er) guard to witness the mighty Priest whilst the (slightly) younger brigade could all be found at the Uber endorsed Revoker show up at Ebbw Vale Institute.  I have to honest most of us had purchased these gig tickets months ago, so to forfeit the chance of seeing the Preist one last time for the sake of seeing a band very much on the rise and due to be around for a long time yet, my money was always going to see me here tonight.

Maybe not quite as early as this though, but with the gauntlet thrown down by Jim Rowland to find out what Earache's hot new Retro Rock outfit Rival Sons might do in front of a Judas Priest audience. I found myself stood along with a very healthily sized crowd awaiting the band's arrival and it wasn't even 7 O'clock yet, a time more synonymous with having a party than playing old school Heavy Rock, but that's exactly what Rival Sons do, and they do it very well indeed.

Taking the stage to a rather comedic "shush" from one of the band's members themselves, I'd guess Rival Sons would have been rather pleasantly surprised by how many of us were soon singing along with monolithic stomp of 'Gypsy Heart', this quickly segued into the equally flipped out 'Burn Down Los Angeles' both cuts coming from the band's superb 'Pressure & Time' album.  What Rival Sons have the capability to do live is adapt, and to answer Jim's conundrum regarding what they might do differently to get a predominantly Heavy Metal crowd on their side is they concentrate on the more out and out rocky side of their repertoire by playing 'Torture' and 'Get What's Coming' from their debut E.P. and actually making those enough old enough to remember, draw strong comparisons to the Sean Harris fronted early days of Diamond Head, especially when it comes to the vocal stylings of singer Jay Buchanan. 

With such a short set time (less than thirty minutes) the guys left one of this years best songs until last but one as an abject lesson to those about to immediately follow them that less is in fact more in music, and 'Pressure & Time' has all the hallmarks of an anthem in the making without all the technical mumbo jumbo.   What I, along with the whole host of new fans the band made here tonight really need now is to see Rival Sons headlining a venue near us soon, even without tracks like 'Young Love' and 'Only One', witnessing the band was not unlike watching a caged animal, or that black and white German TV show that Led Zeppelin did back in 1969...the potential for Rival Sons to become a musical phenomenon is huge.  Now give us that tour.

Up next was the daunting prospect of a full set from a band I dislike more than Rush, Yes and modern day Iron Maiden combined, so there was only one place to be during Queensryche's set for yours truly, and that was in the bar. My original plan to have a few liveners before saying goodbye (?) to Judas Priest was soon underway, albeit now slightly delayed, and I left some of my Uber Rock colleagues to experience the 'Ryche in all their Technical Metal majesty. Soaking up the lively atmosphere upstairs in the bar myself and a few drinking buddies were soon reliving previous Priest visits to the Principality, and it felt rather strange, almost like we were talking about someone who had recently shuffled off this mortal coil and not about a band who are simply retiring (or maybe not) from the live scene.  As the stories got more and more hilarious (siphoning Halford's motorbike's petrol tank to get home after local crewing for The Priest back in the late seventies probably winning by a mile) those we had left behind were soon seeking us out, albeit with their own tales of just how under whelmed they were by Geoff Tate and co. It certainly seemed like I'd made the right decision giving them a wide berth, as that trip down Priest memory lane soon found me just three people off the barrier as the huge 'Epitaph' curtain shrouding the stage billowed to the soundtrack of Birmingham's favourite sons of Heavy Metal, via an intro of 'War Pigs'.  The track itself being very dangerously close to being drowned out, as the chants of "Priest, Priest Priest" went up around the packed out (but not sold out) auditorium.

Finally breaking out from behind said curtain (first night hiccups are always the best) with British Steel opener 'Rapid Fire', the spectacle of Judas Priest live in 2011 is certainly a feast for the (electric) eye.  Lasers, smoke and flames (yes pyro in Newport Centre for possibly the first time since Metallica used it albeit very sparingly on the 'Damaged Justice' Tour) all added to the chained down backline that was secured in place by huge metal pins driven into the stage, all set amongst the usual multi tiered platforms that have become such an integral part of a Priest show over the years. Keeping with that pivotal album for a heavy as lead visit from the 'Metal Gods' it was 'Heading Out To The Highway' that had me head banging like a teenager again as I was suddenly back at Sophia Gardens on the 'Point of Entry' Tour witnessing Judas Priest for the very first time.

Having already published some glowing reports of Judas Priest's new recruit Richie Faulkner on Uber Rock, it's only at the point where the machine gun fire double bass drums of 'Judas Rising' kicked in that I suddenly remembered that he was the new guy up there on stage, as to his credit Richie fitted perfectly into the void that could have been left by the recently departed KK Downing.  Faulkner brings a sort of classic UFO era Michael Schenker look to the band and his Randy Rhodes guitar stylings along with his stage manner really do add an extra dimension to Judas Priest live in 2011, and that's not something easily said. 

With almost forty years of metal to choose from Richie's new band mates were always going to find it hard pleasing everyone, having to squeeze as many old favourites as possible into a two hours plus set, whilst also dipping into their back catalogue for tracks like 'Starbreaker', Victim Of Changes', and 'Beyond The Realms Of Death'. In the past I'd had my doubts about whether Rob Halford still had the ability to cut it live, especially on these types of tracks, however throughout tonight the musical delivery from the band really was second to none (pun intended) and Rob himself was almost faultless (I say almost, because his Thatcher gaff prior to the audience sung 'Breaking The Law' both smacked a little of complacency, but as I say these were my only minor quibbles).

When it came to the tracks from the 'Ram It Down' and 'Painkiller' era of the band, I personally wondered why 'Blood Red Skies' or 'Painkiller' would be played in place of tunes like 'Exciter', 'Freewheel Burning', 'Riding On The Wind or 'Sinner', but one look around me at the younger element of the crowd going absolutely mental to these tunes answered my quandary in an instant, and in keeping with the "playing a track from each album" ethos of the set list make up even lesser known songs such as 'Never Satisfied' and 'Prophecy' were welcomed with open arms, even if they aren't necessarily two of the band's greatest tunes.

And talking of the greatest hits, they were pretty much all present in one shape or another including the aforementioned Halford-less 'Breaking The Law' as well as the final encore of the night 'Living After Midnight', which sent everyone home soaked in sweat and beaming from ear to ear.

It was also a delight to see Rob Halford enjoying himself quite so much, taking in more costume changes than a Heavy Metal Liberace, and sounding back on top form vocally. Was that a sly grin I detected from the Metal God as he appeared from behind Scott Travis' drum kit for tonights first encore 'Electric Eye'?  Dancing around the stage like he once did so effortlessly, and commanding the crowd with the flick of his gloved hand to join him for a rousing rendition of 'You've Got Another Thing Comin'', Rob has never looked more at home at the helm of Judas Priest and that just makes me think this might not be the end of the live road for them after all.  If it is though I'll live with the memory that tonight's performance illustrated why Judas Priest are more than just a great Heavy Metal band, they are THE epitome of everything that is great about Heavy Metal music, and if they do call it a day then the live Heavy Metal scene will be losing a true musical tour de force the likes of which we may never see again in our lifetime. 

I for one am certainly glad I made it along to catch the 'Epitaph' tour as it is one of the best Heavy Metal shows I've been to this millennia, just make sure you get to see it too.