Speaking with Heavy Consequence about Judas Priest's upcoming Shield Of Pain Tour 2025, frontman Rob Halford reflected on the band's iconic Painkiller album, which will celebrate its 35th Anniversary.
Painkiller will be a focus of the tour, but Halford revealed they will not play the albun in its entirety.
Looking back on the making of Painkiller, Haford offered the following:
"The importance was we had to really go into a huddle and say, 'We really need to show off what this band's true heart and soul and spirit is about.' And I'm using that in reference to some of the previous albums and some of the previous songs. Our attitude was, 'We're gonna make the hardest, heaviest, strongest, most energized metal album we've ever done,' and we did that. We achieved it. It's full-on; it only pulls back a little bit for 'A Touch Of Evil'. The rest of it is just non-stop, non-stop, non-stop."
"It's a beloved, revered metal album. A lot of our friends in different bands will say, 'If you wanna hear what a metal album is all about, put on Painkiller....' and that's pretty cool. But our fans, as well, recognize that of all of the 19 albums that this band has ever made, Painkiller's still very heavily under the spotlight. And here we are, 35 years next year."
Judas Priest have announced two new dates for their European "Shield Of Pain Tour 2025", which launches on June 14 in Hamar, Norway.
The new dates are July 23 at Scarborough Open Air Theatre in Scarborough, England with support from Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons, and July 25 at The O2 in London, England, a co-headline date with Alice Cooper. Tickets for both dates will be available here
Current Judas Priest 2025 European tour dates are listed below. Check judaspriest.com for the band's complete tour itinerary and ticket links.
June
14 - Hamar, Norway - Tjuvholmen Kro
17 - Stuttgart, Germany - Schleyerhalle
18 - Frankfurt Am Main, Germany - Hessentag Festival
July
1 - Ferrara, Italy - Ferrara Summer Festival
3 - Zürich, Switzerland - Hallenstadion
7 - Łódź, Poland - Atlas Arena
10 - Rättvik, Sweden - Dalhalla
13 - München, Germany - Olympiahalle
15 - Carcassonne, France - Festival de Carcassonne
17 - Sion, Switzerland - Sion Sous Les Étoiles
19 - Esch-sur-alzette, Luxembourg - Rockhal
20 - Oberhausen, Germany - Rudolf Weber-Arena
23 - Scarborough, England - Scarborough Open Air Theatre
25 - London, England - The O2
