Judas Priest 1984 to 2024 Set List Comparison: 40 Years of Steel

Judas
Priest kicked
off
the
North
American
leg
of
their Invincible
Shield
tour on
Thursday
at
Wallingford,
Connecticut’s
Oakdale
Theatre,
delivering
a
blend
of mega-hits,
deep
cuts
and
new
songs
off
their
19th
album.

You
can
see
the
set
list
below.

The Invincible
Shield
tour
comes
shortly
after
Judas
Priest’s

50
Heavy
Metal
Years tour,
proof
of
their
status
as
a
pillar
of
the
genre. Several
songs
in the
band’s
current set
lists
have
been
mainstays
for
decades,
a
testament
to
their
enduring
popularity.
In
fact,
a
look at
Priest’s set
list from
exactly
40
years
ago
—
when
the
band
was
at
its
commercial
peak
—
shows
several
early-career
classics
that
are
still
whipping
audiences
into
a
frenzy
today.

On
the
other
hand,
Judas
Priest
has
never
been
a
band
to
phone
in
identical
set
lists
on
subsequent
tours,
nor
have
they
allowed
themselves
to
be
relegated
to “nostalgia
act”
status. Since
their
mid-’80s
heyday,
they’ve released several
beloved
albums
and
have
updated
their
set
lists
accordingly,
while
also
incorporating
a
variety
of
deep
cuts
and
spotlighting
their
latest
releases
on
the
road.

Read
on
to
see
how
Judas
Priest’s
April
2024
set
list
stacks
up
against
their
April
1984
set
list.

READ
MORE:

The
Best Song
on
Every
Judas
Priest
Album

What
Are
the
Biggest
Differences
Between
1984
and
2024?

Judas
Priest
was
in
the
midst
of
their
sprawling
Metal
Conqueror
tour
in
support
of


Defenders
of
the
Faith
when
they
hit Memphis,
Tennessee’s Mid-South
Coliseum
on
April
18,
1984.
They
dedicated
nearly
half
of
their
20-song
set
to
the
album,
which
had
hit
shelves
three
months
earlier.
The
only
song
Priest
didn’t
play
off
the
10-track
LP
was “Eat
Me
Alive.”

In
comparison,
the
band’s
April
18,
2024
show
only
featured three
songs
from
the
band’s
most
recent
album: “Invincible
Shield,” “Crown
of
Horns”
and “Panic
Attack.”
That’s
par
for
the
course
for
most
bands
these
days,
particularly
legacy
acts
with
extensive catalogs
and
plenty
of
hits
and
fan
favorites.

Watch
Judas
Priest Perform ‘Invincible
Shield’
on
4/18/24

Which
Songs
Have
Stayed
the
Same?

Judas
Priest’s
April
2024
set
shared
eight
songs
in
common
with
their
April
1984
set. British
Steel
hits “Breaking
the
Law”
and “Living
After
Midnight”
were
present
at
both,
as
were Screaming
for
Vengeance
classics “Electric
Eye”
and “You’ve
Got
Another
Thing
Comin’.”
The
Metal
Gods
also
retained “Hell
Bent
for
Leather”
and
the


Sad
Wings
of
Destiny epic “Victim
of
Changes,”
as
well
as
their
adrenalized
cover
of Fleetwood
Mac‘s “The
Green
Manalishi
(With
the
Two
Prong
Crown).”
The
final
—
and
arguably
least
expected
—
carryover
from
their
1984
set
was
the Defenders
of
the
Faith
single “Love
Bites.”

Watch
Judas
Priest
Perform ‘Love
Bites’
in
1984

Which
Judas
Priest
Songs
Have
Become
Set
List
Staples
Since
1984?

One
of
the
most
notable
differences
between
Judas
Priest’s
1984
set
list
and
their
2024
set
list
is
the
addition
of
several
hits
written
in
the
interim.
They’ve
routinely
played
the
synth-driven “Turbo
Lover” since
releasing
it
in
1986,
along
with
various songs off
1990’s career-revitalizing Painkiller.
(This
time,
the
title
track
made
the
cut.)
Priest
also
kept “Lightning
Strike,”
the
lead
single
off
2018’s Firepower.
Although
the
album
isn’t
that
old
yet,
it’s
been
received
well
enough
by
fans
and
critics
that
it’s
safe
to
assume
several
of
its
tracks
have
earned “modern
classic”
status
and
will
be
in Judas
Priest’s
set
lists
for
years
to
come.

Watch
Judas
Priest
Perform ‘Painkiller’
on
4/18/24

Best
Deep
Cuts
From
Judas
Priest’s
2024 Shows

Despite
amassing a
slew of
hits over
the
past
several
decades,
Judas
Priest
still
makes
room
for
some
lesser-known
gems
in
their
set
lists.
Their Wallingford
show
featured
the
fairly
rare “Love
Bites,”
which,
prior
to
2024,
hadn’t
appeared
since
2015
(and
prior
to
2014,
they
hadn’t
played
it
since
1986).
The
band
has
also
unearthed British
Steel
cut “You
Don’t
Have
to
Be
Old
to
Be
Wise”
this
year
for
the
first
time
since
2010,
along
with Stained
Class
rarity “Saints
in
Hell,”
which didn’t
receive
its
live
debut
until
2018.

After
more
than
a
half-century,
Judas
Priest
clearly
still
finds
pleasure
in
shaking
up
their
set
lists
—
ensuring
that
as
long
as
they
stay
on
the
road,
their
fans
will be
there
with
voices
raised
and
devil
horns
held
high.

Watch
Judas
Priest
Perform ‘Saints
in
Hell’
on
4/18/24

Judas
Priest,
4/18/24,
Oakdale
Theatre,
Wallingford
(via

setlist.fm)

1. “Panic
Attack”
2. “You’ve
Got
Another
Thing
Comin'”
3. “Rapid
Fire”
4. “Breaking
the
Law”
5. “Lightning
Strike”
6. “Love
Bites”
7. “Devil’s
Child”
8. “Saints
in
Hell”
9. “Crown
of
Horns”
10. “You
Don’t
Have
to
Be
Old
to
Be
Wise”
11. “Turbo
Lover”
12. “Invincible
Shield”
13. “Victim
of
Changes”
14. “The
Green
Manalishi
(With
the
Two
Prong
Crown)”
15. “Painkiller”
17. “The
Hellion”
/ “Electric
Eye”
18. “Hell
Bent
for
Leather”
19. “Living
After
Midnight”

Judas
Priest,
4/18/84,
Mid-South
Coliseum,
Memphis
(via setlist.fm)

1. “Love
Bites”
2. “Jawbreaker”
3. “Grinder”
4. “Metal
Gods”
5. “Breaking
the
Law”
6. “Sinner”
7. “Desert
Plains”
8. “Some
Heads
Are
Gonna
Roll”
9. “The
Sentinel”
10. “Rock
Hard,
Ride
Free”
11. “Night
Comes
Down”
12. “The
Hellion”
/ “Electric
Eye”
13. “Heavy
Duty”
14. “Defenders
of
the
Faith”
15. “Victim
of
Changes”
16. “Freewheel
Burning”
17. “The
Green
Manalishi
(With
the
Two
Prong
Crown)”
18. “Living
After
Midnight”
19. “Hell
Bent
for
Leather”
20. “You’ve
Got
Another
Thing
Comin'”