Power Trip 2023: Judas Priest announces new album, delivers beyond expectations

After five decades, the metal band Judas Priest proved on Saturday at the Empire Polo Club in Indio it still has plenty of gas in the tank, far exceeding expectations with a spectacular opening set of Power Trip Day 2.

The crowd at the three-day heavy metal festival cheered as Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" played as the intro, but was followed by a few moments of silence before a graphic showed on the video screens announcing Judas Priest's upcoming album "The Invincible Shield," which is due out in March.

Judas Priest's 90-minute set featured colorful imagery similar to the artwork seen on the band's album covers and a spinning 3D cross logo on stage right. But nothing took away from the straightforward ear-splitting anthems that started with "Electric Eye." Frontman Rob Halford started singing the song behind the scenes and then appeared before the chorus. "Riding on the Wind" and "Heading out to the Highway" followed.

More: Power Trip 2023: Judas Priest setlist

Halford donned some colorful long jackets throughout the set, and the 72-year-old vocally dominated throughout the entire performance on songs such as "In The Night," "Turbo Lover" and "Firepower."

Before performing the band's cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)," he led the audience through a series of vocal exercises of "Yeah" "Yeah, Yeah" and "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah," showing the brawn of his pipes.

Halford told the audience "It's great to be back in the USA and in California" and said two months ago, the band was asked if it could perform one show in 2023, what would it be? Power Trip was the answer. Initially, former Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne was scheduled to perform at the festival, but pulled out in July due to ongoing health issues, and Judas Priest was invited to fill the spot.

Following "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" and "Painkiller," Judas Priest returned for an encore featuring guitarist Glenn Tipton, who retired from the band in 2018 due to Parkinson's disease. Tipton performed with the band during most of the encore, which included the classics "Metal Gods," "Breaking the Law" and "Living After Midnight."

Judas Priest silenced naysayers who questioned whether the band would be a satisfactory replacement for Osbourne. The band not only delivered, they slayed Power Trip.

Brian Blueskye is the arts and entertainment reporter for The Desert Sun, where he covers all the music festivals in the Coachella Valley. Email him at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com.

More: Power Trip 2023: The good, the bad, the sweat on Day 2 of Goldenvoice's metal festival

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Power Trip 2023: Judas Priest delivers beyond expectations