Judas Priest Salute British Steel

07/09/09 2:56pm

by Sarah Kurchak (CHARTattack)

Judas Priest have been a busy band since reuniting with original singer Rob Halford in 2003.

They've made two studio albums, one live album — A Touch Of Evil, a collection of previously unreleased live material that hits stores on July 14 — and have toured almost constantly.

But not only do the legends of heavy metal show no signs of stopping any time soon, according to guitarist Glenn Tipton, they don't even feel like they're working that hard.

"We have slowed down, actually," he says. "Our work rate isn't what it used to be. We used to put out an album almost every 12 months. But we have more energy than we've ever had and we're enjoying it more than we ever have before."

At least part of that enjoyment is due to their current tour. In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the release of the 1980 landmark album British Steel, the band are playing the album in its entirety, along with a selection of other tracks form Priest's long and storied career.

According to Tipton, the band wanted to do something special to mark the anniversary because British Steel represents such an important time in their history.

British Steel stands in stark contrast to Priest's earlier, more blues rock sound. It includes iconic hits like "Breaking The Law," and "Living After Midnight," and was the debut of the trademark sound that most people associate with Judas Priest. On top of that, the British Steel era also saw another major change in the metal gods: their image.

"It's a significant album for us," explains Tipton. "It's when we first started wearing the leather and the studs and the sound really came together."

Although they've been playing the songs from British Steel for three decades now, they've never played them in quite this way until now.

"We've never played a full album before, but it's going well."

It's going well enough that talks to tour Nostradamus, last year's double concept album about the life and times of the infamous 16th century seer, and perform the entire 23 song opus are still on the table, even if they have no immediate or concrete plans just yet.

"Yes, we're still talking about it," says the guitarist. "But we've never been the kind of band that plans anything until everything is in place."

Tipton plays it coy when asked if the world can look forward to similar tours in support of other monumental anniversaries in the Priest discography.

"I don't think we'll be around in another 30 years," he says with a laugh.

You can see Judas Priest here:

July 9 Toronto, ON @ Molson Amphitheatre w/Whitesnake
July 11 Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center w/Whitesnake
July 12 Wantagh, NY @ Nikon At Jones Beach Theater w/Whitesnake
July 14 Cleveland, OH @ Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre
July 15 Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theater
July 17 Walker, MN @ Moondance Jam 18 w/Whitesnake
July 18 Cadott, WI @ Rock Fest
July 19 Chicago, IL @ Charter One Pavilion
July 21 Cincinatti, OH @ PNC Pavilion
July 22 Nashville, TN @ Nashville Municipal Auditorium
July 24 Houston, TX @ Verizon Wireless Theater
July 25 San Antonio, TX @ A&T Center
July 26 Corpus Christi, TX @ Concrete Street Amphitheatre
July 29 Paso Robles, CA @ California Mid-State Fair
July 31 Concord, CA @ Sleep Train Pavilion
Aug. 1 Marysville, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre (98 Rock Jamboree)
Aug. 2 Universal City, CA @ Gibson Amphitheatre w/Whitesnake
Aug. 4 San Diego, CA @ SDSU Open Air Theatre
Aug. 5 Costa Mesa, NM @ Pacific Amphitheatre
Aug. 7 Phoenix, AZ @ Dodge Theatre
Aug. 8 Las Vegas, NV @ Thomas & Mack Center
Aug. 10 Albuquerque, NM @ Sandia Casino
Aug. 11 Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Aug. 13 Grand Prairie, TX @ Nokia Live Theater
Aug. 15 St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheatre
Aug. 16 Tampa Bay, FL @ St. Pete Times Forum
Aug. 17 Hollywood, FL @ Seminole Hard Rock Arena
Aug. 19 Estero, FL @ Germain Arena
Aug. 20 Alpharetta, GA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre At Encore Park
Aug. 22 Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
Aug. 23 Gilford, NH @ Meadowbrook US Cellular Pavilion