Alice Cooper at the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre.. (Photo by Donovan Roche/Times of San Diego)
While they take on disparate personas — Alice Cooper as the “Godfather of Shock Rock” and Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford as the “Metal God” — the pair are complementary co-headliners on their current Shield of Pain tour, and they proved it to an enthusiastic crowd on Oct. 18 at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre.
Following a short but electric opening set from Southern metal veterans Corrosion of Conformity, Cooper and his five-piece band took the stage first.
The master of macabre still reigns
Emerging from the shadows like a creature of the night, Cooper immediately set the macabre tone for the night with “Hello, Hooray” and “Who Do You Think We Are.” Dressed head to toe in black — from top hat and raccoon eyes to leather pants and boots — the spry 77-year-old prowled across the stage as if presiding over a carnival sideshow.
One of rock’s most theatrical showmen for more than 50 years, Cooper used numerous props to bring his sinister songs to life. He shook shrunken-head maracas during “Muscle of Love,” brandished a fencing sword on “Spark in the Dark,” and impaled a pesky paparazzo with his mic stand in “Hey Stoopid.”
And it only got darker and bloodier from there. During “Ballad of Dwight Fry,” Cooper struggled in a straitjacket before being decapitated by guillotine, after which a woman (his real-life wife, Sheryl Cooper) gleefully paraded his severed head around the stage. Moments later, he was back onstage and dancing with a female corpse during “Cold Ethyl.” It was all deliciously twisted.
Fittingly timed with Halloween around the corner, “Feed My Frankenstein” featured a giant Alice-faced monster, while Cooper donned a black cape to become Dracula for “Dangerous Tonight.”
Circuslike as his shows are, Cooper’s razor-sharp bandmates are no clowns. Fueled by three exceptional guitarists — Ryan Roxie, Tommy Henriksen, and “Hurricane” Nita Strauss (think Xena the Warrior Princess if she went blonde and traded in her sword for a six-string axe) — and a fierce rhythm section in bassist Chuck Garric and drummer Glen Sobel, 1970s hits like “I’m Eighteen” and “No More Mr. Nice Guy” sounded as vital today as they did five decades ago.
Changing into white tails and top hat, the Shock Rock pioneer — who released his latest album, The Revenge of Alice Cooper, in July — closed his 80-minute set with his biggest hit and 2015 Grammy Hall of Fame selection, “School’s Out.” Cleverly weaving in Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2” as he stabbed giant confetti-filled balloons, Cooper bid farewell with: “May all your lovely dreams become nightmares.”
The metal god ascends
Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford. (Photo by Donovan Roche/Times of San Diego)
On the way to the venue, this reviewer hoped Judas Priest would perform their recent charity cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Child” as a virtual duet with Ozzy Osbourne. When the track started playing right before the band came out, it seemed inevitable…but no such luck.
Instead, the Birmingham heavy metal legends launched into “All Guns Blazing” and “Hell Patrol,” two of five songs from their 1990 Painkiller album they’d perform tonight. Halford, clad in his signature leather and studs, reminded the crowd that Judas Priest always comes back (they last played here in 2018).
At 74, Halford’s voice remains astonishing. He can still pierce the heavens with his shrieking highs — as on “A Touch of Evil” and the set-closing “Painkiller” — and sustain lung-busting long notes, like he did twice during “Night Crawler.”
When not attacking the mic, Halford hyped his twin guitarists, Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap, praising them as they unleashed chunky riffs and fiery solos throughout the night, while longtime bassist Ian Hill and drummer Scott Travis anchored the sonic assault with a relentless, thumping drive.
Judas Priest’s production was simpler than Cooper’s, focusing instead on visuals from their 19th studio album, 2024’s Invincible Shield, and the band’s iconic trident cross, while a side curtain allowed Halford to periodically slip out for a breather during extended jams.
Their 75-minute, 15-song set leaned heavily on Painkiller but also featured classic hits, including multiple songs from 1982’s Screaming for Vengeance (crowd-pleasers “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” and “The Hellion” / “Electric Eye”) and 1980’s revered British Steel (“Breaking the Law” and the singalong encore-saver “Living After Midnight”).
Halford didn’t address the audience much, but about three-quarters through he thanked fans for 56 years of support. “This is us,” he said. “Our little heavy metal community.” The crowd roared.
A poignant tribute followed with “Giants in the Sky,” from their latest album, honoring fallen rock heroes like Ronnie James Dio, Lemmy Kilmister, Eddie Van Halen, and Chris Cornell —with Ozzy’s image drawing the loudest cheers. It wasn’t the hoped-for “War Child” duet, but it was a proper salute to rock’s beloved madman.
Riding into their encore, Halford made good on his trademark stunt and rolled out on his Harley-Davidson for the biker anthem “Hell Bent for Leather,” revving up his chrome beast and legion of metalheads before declaring, “Thanks for keeping the faith. We always come back. We are f&@king Judas Priest!”
Donovan Roche is a regular music and culture contributor to Times of San Diego.
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