Though fans were given a preview of the project and a rejuvenated lineup on last year’s Ozzfest, this weekend’s offering was a better indication of Priest’s return to form. Gone were the days of straying from its slicing sounds to be more commercially palatable and back were the riffs to rock everyone’s face off. And, whether you like them and their devil-horn salutes or not, Halford and his helpers delivered nearly two hours of textbook heavy metal material. Tracks like “I’m a Rocker” and “Painkiller” were unloaded with such ballsy bombast that they would’ve made any power balladeers fear for their life, while the skull-crushing rhythms throughout “Judas Rising” and “Deal With the Devil” were sure to make Aquanet rockers run for cover.  

That synthesis between oldies and the “Angel” album continued with “Hellrider” and “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’,” both of which evoke the band’s signature blend of Black Sabbath darkness and Led Zeppelin-eque explosiveness. Though it’s become less authentic given everyone’s age, “Living After Midnight” was fired off with Halford’s bellowing beastliness and even the tacky “Breaking the Law” rippled with guitar shreds that matched the speed of bullets splattering a shooting range. A steady stream of shrieks and screams from concertgoers affirmed the fact that Judas Priest’s rekindled legend rages on even after three decades.

Opening act Queensryche brought additional chaos to the fold, but in slightly more controlled, harmony-packed pretenses. Rather than revolving its set around the rock opera “Operation: Mindcrime” (which was the focus of January’s House of Blues residency) most cuts were culled from the group’s first four albums.

Among the fist raisers were the fire breather “Take Hold of the Flame,” the ominous “Walk in the Shadows” and the infuriating “Screaming in Digital.” 

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