I had a great time..... personally I can't get enough of Testament they are just so exciting live. Megadeth are consistent and you may say boring but I've got a sore throat from singing along so I must have enjoyed it.

Priest were great, I'm not a huge fan but it's great to see a classic band on form.

HEAVY METAL FOR LIFE!!

That was a fantastic night and all round magical mystical metal maument. We didn't enter the arena until Testament were finishing their last song - it sounded pretty bad, but maybe that was just the horrendous vocals. Megadeth didn't grip me either; it seemed like they were going through the motions and I found most of the songs quite boring, though I'm not a huge fan anyway.

I was only there to see one band though, and Priest were total metal gods! The setlist was a nice mix of stuff - the absence of a few 70s staples was noticeable but not too much of a downer as the material they did play was phenomenal. It was quite heavenly to witness tracks like Rock Hard Ride Free, Between the Hammer and the Anvil, Sinner, and even Eat Me Alive! The new album tracks were so terrible it was laughable, but at least they provided a breather.

The band performed amazingly, which at their age was even more remarkable. Tipton and Hill were rock solid heavy metal heroes, although KK Downing was just another level!! I've traditionally preferred Tipton as a guitarist for his widdly nice solos, but KK was SO into it and passionate, he must be forged from pure steel! I totally worship KK now, he looks like an "old decrepit hag" (Jamie's words) but he is also a living god.

Halford was supremely entertaining, but his vocals were a mixed bag - he definitely hasn't got it in him to do the effortless clean high notes any more (he either bails at lower octaves or does Painkiller style screams), which was kind of a shame in moments like the ending of Green Manalishi (which he didn't even attempt) and also some cool melodies in various songs which he delivered with quite bland improvisations. As an entertainer though he was magic, with his various sparkly robes, the obligatory motorbike and also a throne pushed on by a robed roadie!

It was such a good time, bloody hell. The whole trip went quite well also - despite a wrong turning we eventually found quite a decent place to park by Wembley Central tube, and on the way home it was amazingly easy to leave London - it seemed like we basically followed one road all the way to Braintree! Also made a successful trip to a record shop in Soho earlier in the day to pick up a rare vinyl I spotted in there on Wednesday: 'Hell and High Water' by the Danish 80s metallers Alien Force!

Lots of familiar people there too, nice to meet Paul Thrashduck again (hope the journey back is alright, sorry I had to leave early this morning), plus Stu, Jamie, Jon, Stevedot2, Sonic Sam of Deceptor, Miika, and I also encountered Zurab in the mosh area which was cool.

So yeah, a Wild Night indeed, Priest are more or less the best thing in the world.

James how can you say this!!! I think hands down that was the best Megadeth preformace i have seen!!

Priest i loved Rock hard ride free, brilliant song live.

I think his vocals really did stand up, its more noticable if you saw them on the world tour last year as you can see how they improved but you just have to look at the song sinner and see how he was hitting those incredibly high screams throughout which he couldnt do last year. Painkiller also seemed alot more together in terms of his vocals as alot of the effects have been toned down as his voice becomes better again.

As for the new songs they work ever so well. Dawn of prophecy and creation is a fucking awesome opener. From the start with the lights to then Halford rising out of the stage on a platform, dressed in a cloak with a Priest staff...what more do you want? The song itself is one of the better on the album and is just fist pumping mania and a chorus that is easy to grasp so everyone can sing "i ammmm nostradarmus" bad ass. Death was also good, i liked the heavy bit.
If anything maybe Angel out and Screaming for Vengance in. And i would liked to have seen living after midnight aswell!

Breaking The Law was just sooo much fucking fun.

Priest for life!

Unbelievable.

I caught the last song of Testament, and I didn't really know what was going on and couldn't hear anything properly.

Megadeth, I'm sorry to say, I thought were pretty rubbish. They came on and played the songs perfectly, but I felt no excitement whatsoever. Wake Up Dead was nice, and I enjoyed Hangar 18, but they played too many boring songs, and even the good songs they played with no life. Dave Mustaine acted at the end like it was his show, and I hate him. He's got no charisma at all, and the things he says on stage are rubbish and full of bull shit. I know a lot of people enjoyed them last night, but I didn't. For a band with so many amazing songs, they should've been better.

But that didn't really matter, I forgot all about them when Priest came on! Fucking hell, they're just the best. AMAZING WAAAAAA1a2212gh1! Prophecy is a pretty rubbish song, but it was hilarious and so much fun when they came on to it. And it just got better and better, the setlist was amazing. By the time they got to Devil's Child, I was nearly crying with so much unbelievable joy. I've never felt such joy at a gig in my life, apart from the last two times I saw Priest (the second time at Birmingham was still the best though). Unfortunately though, they had to play Death (a really boring Nostradamus song) halfway through, and that killed my joy a little bit. The theatrics were hilarious, but the song's soooooo boring! Seriously, if they go out and play the whole album live, it's going to be such a flop. It's a shame they played Dissident Aggressor straight after, it's such a great song, but I just didn't feel that into it after Death. And then they played Angel, which was nice, but not really necessary. Rock Hard Ride Free was fantastic, but I was still trying to get back into it all really... and then they played Sinner. AAAAAGAGAGAGAGAHGAHHH FUCKING HELELLLL!@1111 Sinner was one of the best heavy metal things I've witnessed, out of this fucking world. Unbelievable. KK had a massive solo which destroyed the world, he was fucking amazing, much better than silly Glen. And then the rest of the show was just as amazing as the first part of it was. The Green Manalishi was absolutely blinding, and You've Got Another Thing Coming was unbelievable fun.

Just basically, I can't believe it. Priest are the most fun amazing heavy metal band to see live, Halford is the best. His vocals may not always be up to scratch, although a lot of the time they were pretty amazing (his screams were amazing!), but he is really old. His dance moves are great and his costumes are hilariously awesome, and he still has an amazing stage presence. That was just fucking brilliant, one of the best gigs I've ever been to. I love Judas Priest... I just wish they hadn't made Nostradamus! Oh well.

On the plus side for Halford, he did hit those notes in the final lines of "between the hammer and the anviiiiiiiiiiiiil" which was joyous, and some of his screams were insane for a man of his age!

James wrote:The new album tracks were so terrible it was laughable, but at least they provided a breather.

Prophecy is a fantastic track but I assume they also played Death which was pretty much the only lowlight of the NEC show. They really should play Revelations from that album. The chorus sends shivers down my spine every fucking time.

James wrote:HEAVY METAL FOR LIFE!!

The band performed amazingly, which at their age was even more remarkable. Tipton and Hill were rock solid heavy metal heroes, although KK Downing was just another level!! I've traditionally preferred Tipton as a guitarist for his widdly nice solos, but KK was SO into it and passionate, he must be forged from pure steel! I totally worship KK now, he looks like an "old decrepit hag" (Jamie's words) but he is also a living god.

Whole review fucking spot on!
Fukkin KK!

Fucking hell yeah, Between The Hammer & The Anvil was godly. Goodness me! Hell Patrol was amazing too. God, it was so amazing.

I just remembered also how amazing Eat Me Alive was! Bloody hell! Alriiiiight!!

Yeah I was just going to mention Eat Me Alive! Traditionally that's one of my less favourite tracks on Defenders (not that it isn't excellent), but it was so powerful and great live!

Twas a great night.

Oh christ! What a truely brilliant gig!! I bumped into so many people I know, was nice to see Zurabs 2 mates, although they had lost young Zurab Sorry I didn't hang out out with you forumers more, I did return back to the burger van a short while after leaving but you weren't there anymore. Testament were brilliant, but I didn't get stuck in for them because I wanted to use the time to drink a bit more, but I watched the whole set from the non mosh area of the crowd.

Megadeth... Oh my dog! Anyone who says they were not very good shall burn in the pits of hell!!! They played a blinding set, minus tout le mond or whatever it's called, oh and sleepwalker. Skull Beneath the Skin!!!!!! I went berserk!! Theat was awesome. What's with singing "Megadeth" to the verse of Peace Sells????? The only thing missing was Mechanix.

After Megadeth I lost everyone, so I was on my own for the whole of priest, and ended up drinking a lot, peeing twice and headbanging all by myself. Between the Hammer and the Anvil!!!! OOOOMMMMGGGGG, incredible. And Helper Troll was sooo good.

I don't actually remember leaving, which is annoying because I wanted to catch up with you guys again, but I'll see you all again soon I'm sure!

My phone is broken, but I'm not sure if I've lost all my numbers again or not as they may or may not be on the sim card. Oh yeah and I got a cab home and had to get him to stop on the way so I could get out for a piss! I think I just went right next to the car, haha.


This gig ------

I remember you making a desperate sounding phone call to Billy after we were halfway to the car, along the lines of "where is everybody?!" - glad to hear you made it back in one piece (and in one piss)!

By the way I'm listening to Hell Patrol now and I want to cry because I can't see them again immediately!!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=6 ... 82&l=793cc

Photos from Manchester gig are up. Turned out much better than I thought they would! I love my camera!

I loved Sinner, despite never hearing it before, that was fucking heavy!

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA BRILLIANT!!!!!!1

Yeah, wonderful times, Judas Priest magic and awe pretty much sums it up, and the other gig reviews which are a lot of words. Bit disappointed with Megadeth though. But it was well worth horrific travel arrangements, thanks a whole lot for brills hospitality Bill and unbeatable driving performances James and Lewis. Good seeing everyone else as well, shame I didn't get to meet Zurab though, that was a shame, a shame. So yeah, totally textbook weekend and beyond, cheers.