Metal Masters Tour: Testament, Motorhead, Heaven & Hell and Judas Priest

by Zane Ewton

Thrash titans Testament opened the show with a furious, if brisk, set of lean and mean metal anthems. Over 20 years in the game and Testament has weathered changing musical climates as well as revolving lineups. The classic lineup is back and stoking the resurgence in 80s heavy metal with a new album, The Formation of Domination.

From the first note it is evident this is a band that knows who it is, what it does and how to do it well. Cuts from Formation mix seamlessly with the band's standards.

It is a shame Testament takes the stage so early. A 5:30 show time on a Thursday evening does not even allow people to get out of work before the band takes the stage. Testament is headlining shows between Metal Masters shows. To get more than merely a taste of classic thrash, it would be prudent to hit up one of those shows.

There is the sun. There is the moon. There is Motorhead.

Few bands are as defiantly reliable as Motorhead. With a new album in the can and another round of world domination in mind, Lemmy and the boys are all business. With just a few words – "We are Motorhead and we play rock and roll" – Motorhead is a bomber plane on a collision course. There is no stopping it. What else can be said?

On a darkened stage at the gates of heavy metal oblivion, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler stand as centurions. There is still an air of mystery and intrigue around these two men. They invented heavy metal. Butler's horror lyrics and Iommi's iconic riffs are the foundation for everything to come after. Add the irrepressible Ronnie James Dio and the stone solid Vinny Appice and Heaven & Hell (why couldn't they just be Black Sabbath) is a metal juggernaut.

 This is the third tour in two years of the reunited Dio-era Black Sabbath. The foursome still clearly enjoys playing together. Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules and Dehumanizer are classic metal records. In a live setting these songs are absolutely electric. From opener, "Mob Rules", to closer, "Neon Knights", the band was picture perfect. They were also a welcome measure of subtlety in a night lacking it. Iommi's solo spots were particularly enjoyable as his playing ranged from quietly eerie to 300-pound sledgehammer.

Dio hit every note and constantly engaged the crowd. For being small in physical stature, that man was built to sing in the largest places. Heaven & Hell is enjoying a successful reunion and the metal public is reaping all the benefits.

A vicious Arizona monsoon was no match for the legendary Judas Priest. As rain and wind whipped into the Pavilion, Priest took the stage with a duo of tracks from the new album, Nostradamus. In a thrilling moment the monsoon and Rob Halford met at the edge of the stage during the classic "Metal Gods". The forces of nature at odds. Halford screaming as the storm roared across the stage. As the storm literally tore apart much of Phoenix, it did not brave standing up to the mighty Priest. In the eye of the storm the band ripped through decades of scorching metal hits, and we were all in the palm of its leather-clad hands.

"Painkiller", "Hell Bent for Leather" and an incendiary "Electric Eye" were steamroller heavy. Halford made liberal use of vocal effects but he never failed to deliver that trademark scream. Guitarists K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton unleashed furious riffs. Even after assaults from three of the heaviest bands in metal, Judas Priest was downright skull crushing. They did everything you would hope for. The metal, the chains, the motorcycles, the solos, the guitar-swinging, the screams, the stalking presence of one of rock's greatest vocalists, the classic tandem of guitarists and the galloping rhythm section.

Some concerts are emotional roller coasters, some are testimonials to musicianship and some are merely choreographed entertainment. Then there are shows where when it's over and you are lying on the ground with blood pouring from your head there is a smile spread from ear to bludgeoned ear. You pick yourself up and walk out – ten feet tall and bulletproof. That is metal at its best.

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