Epitaph World Tour
Tour by Judas Priest | |
Location |
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Start date | 7 June 2011 |
End date | 26 May 2012 |
No. of shows |
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Judas Priest concert chronology |
The Epitaph World Tour was a concert tour by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, at the time intended to be the band's farewell tour.[1] The tour commenced in June 2011 and concluded in May 2012. The tour was named after the 6th track from their Sad Wings of Destiny album.
Guitarist K. K. Downing abruptly left the band shortly before the start of the tour. He was replaced by then 31-year-old Briton, Richie Faulkner. The last date of the tour was held in an unusually small venue, London's Hammersmith Apollo. This return to Judas Priest's homeland was filmed for a live DVD.[2]
Epitaph would ultimately turn out not to be the band's final tour, as they embarked on the Redeemer of Souls Tour two years later.
Production
On 10 May, the band announced that preparations for the tour had begun, including rehearsals, photos, stage construction, and special effects.[3]
On 6 June, guitarist Glenn Tipton announced on his website that:
We have just finished production rehearsals for our Epitaph World Tour; the show looks great bikes, lasers, flames you name it, we've got it.
But as always, the most important thing is the music and the set list contains all the old favorites combined with songs we haven't played before live, such as "Blood Red Skies" and "Never Satisfied", and also earlier songs, including "Starbreaker" and "Night Crawler".
In addition we changed the arrangement of some songs slightly, including "Diamonds and Rust" and "Hell Bent for Leather", which I'm sure every one will enjoy.
Our first show is in Holland on June 7th at Tilburg; the band is really excited and can't wait to get back on stage. I will post regular bulletins from now and as the tour gets underway keep every body up-to-date on our progress.[4]
Rob Halford incident
On the 15 September 2011 show in Brasília, Rob Halford fell off his Harley-Davidson motorcycle when he rode across the stage, only to slip off as "Hell Bent for Leather" was set to be performed. This was reminiscent of an incident that occurred on the Operation Rock & Roll tour in 1991,[5] but this time he did not sustain any major injuries. He was assisted by crew members as the intro piece began, and finished the show thereafter.[6]
Tour dates
Setlist
According to a posting on Tipton's website on 27 January 2011, the tour will "include some classic Priest songs that we haven't played before -- and of course, the old favourites that everybody will want to hear."[7] On 15 February, the band announced they were considering playing at least one song from each of their albums as part of the setlist.[8]
The setlist for the first leg of the tour was as follows:[9]
- "Battle Hymn"
- "Rapid Fire"
- "Metal Gods"
- "Heading Out to the Highway"
- "Judas Rising"
- "Starbreaker"
- "Victim of Changes"
- "Never Satisfied"
- "Diamonds and Rust" (acoustic to heavy version)
- "Prophecy"
- "Night Crawler"
- "Turbo Lover"
- "Beyond the Realms of Death"
- "The Sentinel"
- "Blood Red Skies"
- "The Green Manalishi (with the Two Prong Crown)"
- "Breaking the Law"
- "Painkiller"
- "The Hellion"/"Electric Eye"
- "Hell Bent for Leather"
- "You've Got Another Thing Comin'"
- "Living After Midnight"
Note: The band played a shorter set with omitted songs at certain festival appearances.
Reviews
A review of the band's performance at the Sonisphere Festival in Basel, Switzerland by RockAAA.com was favourable, praising both Rob Halford's vocal performance and Richie Faulkner's guitar playing.[10] The reviewer said that Halford's "tone is astonishing...and [his] delivery as good as there is in the business."[10]
Support acts
- Black Label Society (12 October – 3 December 2011)[11]
- Crash (4 February 2012)
- Diablo ft. Yim Jae-beom (4 February 2012)
- Duff McKagan's Loaded (20 June 2011)[12][13]
- Exodus (10 August 2011)[14]
- HammerFall (22–25 April 2012)
- Hatebreed (3 July 2011)
- Kobra and the Lotus (26 May 2012)[15]
- Lamb of God (20 February 2012)
- Morbid Angel (10 August 2011)[16]
- Motörhead (29 July – 2 August 2011)[15]
- Queensrÿche (15–27 July 2011)[17]
- Rival Sons (15–24 July 2011)[17]
- Sabaton (9 August 2011)
- Saxon (29 July – 2 August 2011; 23–26 May 2012)[15][18]
- Thin Lizzy (12 October – 3 December 2011; 27 April – 4 May 2012)[11]
- Vader (10 August 2011)[19]
- Whitesnake (27 June – 10 July 2011; 10 September – 3 October 2011)[20]
- Leash Eye (14 April 2012)
Personnel
- Rob Halford – lead vocals
- Glenn Tipton – guitar
- Richie Faulkner – guitar
- Ian Hill – bass
- Scott Travis – drums
References
- ^ "JUDAS PRIEST Announces Farewell 'Epitaph' Tour – Dec. 7, 2010". Blabbermouth.net. 7 December 2010. Archived from the original on 11 December 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
- ^ Warrell, Richard (25 May 2012). "Judas Priest – Hammersmith Apollo, London (26/05/2012)". Born Music Online. Retrieved 10 August 2012.[permanent dead link ]
- ^ "JUDAS PRIEST Begins Rehearsing For 'Epitaph' World Tour". Blabbermouth.net. 10 May 2011. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
- ^ "Epitaph World Tour Diary". Glenn Tipton official website. 6 June 2011. Archived from the original on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- ^ "[HQ] Judas Priest - Accident - Toronto 1991 (Halford Falls From His Motorcycle) [Very Rare Video]". YouTube. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
- ^ "Judas Priest, Hell Bent for Leather (Rob Halford drops his Harley-Davidson) in Brasília 15.09.2011". YouTube. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ "JUDAS PRIEST Working On New Material – Jan. 27, 2011". Blabbermouth.net. 27 January 2011. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
- ^ "JUDAS PRIEST Contemplating Playing Material From Every Studio Album On Upcoming Tour". Blabbermouth.net. 15 February 2011. Archived from the original on 19 February 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ "JUDAS PRIEST's TIPTON: New Guitarist FAULKNER 'Has Injected So Much Enthusiasm In The Band'". Blabbermouth.net. 23 June 2011. Archived from the original on 27 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- ^ a b "40 years on and Priest still rip it up". RockAAA.com. 24 June 2011. Archived from the original on 27 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- ^ a b "Judas Priest Plan 'Full-On Metal Extravaganza' for Farewell Tour – May 24, 2011". Rollingstone.com. 24 May 2011. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
- ^ "Duff McKagan's Loaded live in Paris". Metal Traveller. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
- ^ "Duff McKagan's Loaded". Songkick. Archived from the original on 2 April 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ "Exodus To Open For Judas Priest In Katowice, Poland". Metal Underground. 10 March 2011. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- ^ a b c "Tour Information". Judas Priest official website. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ "Metal Hammer Festival @ last.fm". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
- ^ a b "JUDAS PRIEST: U.K. Tour With QUEENSRŸCHE Officially Announced". Blabbermouth.net. 28 February 2011. Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ "Saxon tour page". 6 May 2012. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
- ^ "JUDAS PRIEST To Headline Poland's METAL HAMMER FESTIVAL – Feb. 6, 2011". Blabbermouth.net. 6 February 2011. Archived from the original on 10 February 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
- ^ "Whitesnake home page". Whitesnake official website. Archived from the original on 8 February 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2011.