Judas Priest In Bloomington

British heavy metal powerhouse Judas Priest has released 22 albums over four decades. They laid much of the groundwork for the heavy music of the 80s with their two guitar attack of revved up blues-based riffs They continue to tour, treating metal fans to extravagant live shows and spirited renditions of their unmistakable anthems. Ticket holders are sure to get to a concert early because they don’t want to miss Singer Rob Halford’s stage entrance. He emerges from a cloud of fog riding on a Harley Davidson, clad head to toe in leather-studded S&M gear.The band released a live DVD of their Epitaph World Tour in May 2013, which well received and features 23 tracks covering most eras of the bands storied career.

The group formed in 1969 in Birmingham, England and released their first album in 1974 entitled Rocka Rolla. This was soon to be followed by Sad Wings of Destiny in 1976, which gained the group a wider audience in the UK. The group’s next three albums: Sin After Sin, Stained Class and Hell Bent for Leather were released in 1977, 1978 and 1979 respectively, and showed a band evolving its sound into shorter songs that still retained a heavy metal punch. Next came the album British Steel in 1980, which featured “Living After Midnight”, “Breaking the Law” and “United” — all earning regular radio play. Point of Entry was released in 1981, followed by Screaming For Vengeance in 1984, which went double platinum. The 2008 concept album Nostradamus found them pushing boundaries by challenging their listeners to consider how “metal” the man of prophetic talents actually was. Over the next four years the band toured relentlessly and they show no signs of letting up, with an impressive schedule of tour dates on the books for 2014.