Judas Priest and Me
If you’ve paid attention to this blog for a little while now, you probably know that I’m a big metal fan (or “metalhead” as we like to call it). So it shouldn’t be any surprise that I went to a Judas Priest concert this past Sunday…
Judas Priest. Heaven and Hell. Motorhead. Testament. At a huge venue (Shoreline Amphitheatre).
Quite alot of metal, of different kinds, on one bill, and it was amazing. Priest was, by far the best, but Motorhead was fun to watch … Lemmy is always hilarious. The others were interesting too, but I’ve seen Heaven and Hell before, Dio gets annoying afterwhile and it just drags on.
Anyways, I have two points to make here:
- Judas Priest sounds better than they have their entire career. Ever.
- Metal is more than just music.
Older Isn’t Always Better
Most bands, especially in metal, don’t stand the test of time. Black Sabbath fell apart, Heaven and Hell looks and sounds tired, Iron Maiden is largely a joke to those under 45, Slayer is less-Slayer than ever before, and even Metallica has been accused of getting old (note: listen to the new album, then try and say that).
To go outside the realm of metal, The Rolling Stones sound and look like crap, Genesis is gone… the list goes on.
Pick up “Angel of Retribution” and “Nostradamus”, both by Judas Priest in the last few years, and tell me they’ve gone the way of the dinosaur. Tell me that they sound like crap, changed their sound, or haven’t come up with anything original, innovative, or interesting.
You won’t, because you can’t.
Poke around the ‘net, and you’ll see alot of discussions of the vitality of this band: guitars are stronger, faster and more complicated than ever; Halford’s vocal range, at both ends of the spectrum, is exponentially greater than anyone else in the industry, including himself from years ago; the quality of their gear adds a more modern tone to even the oldest of their songs; and this list goes on as well.
But none of this really feels important or interesting to most people… until you see them live.
Halford stomps around the stage as if he were a 25 yr. old, stage production is huge and full of crazy stuff, and the rest of the band has an energy that people their age shouldn’t have without help from a prescription. Not to mention flawless execution of the entire set. Or Halford.
At one point during the show, Halford went from a deep almost Angel Gossow-esque growl all the way up to a glass-shattering pitch that even Pavarotti would have been jealous of. The entire crowd roared as if Metallica had just announced they were forming a super-group with Slayer and Judas Priest.
The whole point is this: Judas Priest isn’t going anywhere any time soon. They aren’t a “studio band” that can’t deliver live because of their age. Their music isn’t “old and tired”. They are still influencing alot of new bands and artists… with music they created 4 years ago.
It’s a Community
The other great experience from the show is a perfect example of just how wrong the average metal-hater is about our particular group of diehard fans. We’re typically stereotyped as a bunch of angry, ignorant, juvenile, and anti-social blue-collar racists. Obviously I’m not, and I can tell you from all the shows I’ve been to that a statement like that is very far from the truth, but…
I was getting coffee right before Priest came on, since we were outdoors and it was getting a little chilly. I stopped at a picnic table to stir in some of the powdered creamer, and a girl slightly older than me asked if she could sit down.
We started talking about music, where she’s from, etc. Then her boyfriend came over from getting some food, sat down and joined in. No “why you talking to my girl, little man?” or anything like that… “hey, how you doin’? I’m [x]” was actually what happened.
Then a group of three 40+ yr. olds sat down on the other side of the table. Within two minutes, the 6 of us were discussing bands, industry events (like NAMM), John Petrucci vs. Joe Satriani, etc.
Keep in mind that I’m usually the “strong and silent” type, but that I was having a very in-depth conversation with five random strangers that I probably wouldn’t have connected with in “real life”.
But that illustrates just what the average non-metal person doesn’t see: being a metalhead is not about bravado, it’s about loving something that you truly connect with, and enjoying being part of a very large and diverse community. A community that, 9 times out of 10, protects it’s own. A community that doesn’t swallow stupidity easily, and can hold a more intelligent discussion on the merits of music than most other non-music students in the world.
Do a little research on this. Talk to people, poke around online… you’ll immediately find all the Slipknot fans who are violently angry at any and everyone. But dig deeper. Find the true metal fans, of real metal bands.
You’ll be surprised.
