Black Shadow Photography

The original line-up of British heavy metal pioneers Judas Priest made their first trip to Australia as part of their Nostradamus world tour.

The HiSense (formerly Vodafone) Arena echoed to the chant “Priest! Priest” as the crowd grew restless awaiting the arrival of the leather clad chaps from England.

The strains of Black Sabbath’s War Pigs faded from the sound system as the lights dimmed and a blast of high energy metal guitar was unleashed. Up on a platform to the left rear of stage was Rob Halford, Priest’s singer, resplendidly cowled in a glittering monk’s robe and clutching a stylised trident of sorts as the band launched into the title track of their latest album.

The lights were great and the band were in top form delivering an almighty blast of old school metal.

Priest were a band I had been aware of but not a band that I was overly familiar with or fond of yet I was quite impressed by their stage show, musician ship and Halford’s vocals – the man still has a voice, something many of his peers have lost over time.

It was a little bit Spinal Tap with the outfits, the devil’s horn salutes and the whole metal cliche, but all good fun and as one of the pioneers of British metal Judas Priest were able to deliver with aplomb.

Camera equipment used for these photos was a Canon 1D Mark III + 70-200mm f2.8L lens and a Canon 20D + 16-35mm f2.8L II lens.

More photos of the show can be seen here.