Judas Priest Begin 2018 Firepower Tour: Set List and Video
Judas Priest are officially on the road in support of their new Firepower LP — and fan-shot video of the tour's opening night in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., last night is already here for your enjoyment.
As previously reported, Priest's 2018 dates mark the start of a new era for the group, and the debut of a new touring lineup that finds them performing without guitarist Glenn Tipton, whose lengthy tenure spans the entirety of the band's discography. Retired from the road due to his Parkinson's diagnosis, Tipton will be replaced onstage by Andy Sneap, whose recent Priest duties also included producing the Firepower LP.
The set included the first-ever live performance of "Saints in Hell," which first appeared on Judas Priest's 1978 album Stained Class. It also made room for "Bloodstone" and "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" for the first time in more than 25 years, as well as "Running Wild," which has been absent from the band's shows for 16 years.
Aside from the unpleasantness of being forced to soldier on without Tipton, Judas Priest's 2018 tour represents a struggle for a far more traditional reason: the pain of putting together a well-rounded set list that's going to make the band happy as well as the fans. "We'd love to be able to do two or three songs off each album live," drummer Scott Travis recently told UCR. "But you just don't physically have the time to do that."
Judas Priest are scheduled to remain on the road in the U.S. into the spring, with dates lined up through the tour's May 1 conclusion in San Antonio. Visit the band's site for ticketing information, and look over the opening night set list below.
Judas Priest, Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, March 13, 2018
"Firepower"
"Running Wild"
"Grinder"
"Sinner"
"The Ripper"
"Lightning Strike"
"Bloodstone"
"Saints in Hell"
"Turbo Lover"
"Angel"
"Evil Never Dies"
"Some Heads Are Gonna Roll"
"Breaking the Law"
"Hell Bent for Leather"
"Painkiller"
"The Hellion / Electric Eye"
"Metal Gods"
"You've Got Another Thing Comin'"
"Living After Midnight"