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You Got Another Thing Comin', Metal Gods, Breaking The Law: talk about an insane opening run. But then, when it comes to Judas Priest, you'd be hard-pressed to find any combination of hits that doesn't feel like an all-time great selection of heavy metal anthems. So who better to close out the final day of Bloodstock's 25th anniversary celebration?
"25 years of Bloodstock? 100 years of Judas fucking Priest!" Frontman Rob Halford declares to massive cheers.
Barely 20 miles up the road from where he grew up in Walsall, Bloodstock is as close to home territory for Halford as you can get without Priest doing a gig at Bescot Stadium and there's a clear sense of gratitude as Priest get a homecoming for the ages. Early on, Rob sports a leather jacket with the Black Country flag proudly displayed on the back, and their ties to the region seep through in little nods and easter eggs that pop up in the graphics.
And this setlist is an absolute beast. With a greatest hits to promote, it's not a massive surprise that Priest are cranking anthems out at industrial pace throughout the night - The Ripper, The Sentinel, Turbo Lover, Victim Of Changes. It's perhaps not as adventurous as what they broke out at Bloodstock 2021, but it's splitting hairs trying to figure out what you'd take out to round it out. Steeler for Exciter? Desert Plains for Judas Rising? Six of one, half a dozen of the other.
Far from slowing down in their winter years, Judas Priest seem to be picking up steam. Rob Halford confirms the band are working on new material - a delightful concept, considering just how fantastic their last two records were - and there's barely any pause in the set, even the encore - teeing a colossal finisher of Electric Eye, Hell Bent For Leather (complete with Harley ride-on, of course) and Living After Midnight - only taking a minute or two before the band charge back on.
In many ways, Priest are representative of what Bloodstock was all about in its early years - and still continues to be about now, even with the evolving roster of bands. This is, after all, a celebration of heavy metal in its entirety, a chance for bands who'd get relegated to the sidelines at more mainstream festivals to strut their stuff in front of an ardent and ever-enthusiastic audience.
With Priest covering much of their half-century-plus as one of heavy metal's most iconic bands, there's a real sense of celebration that makes it almost impossible not to grin like a loon and roar along to your heart's content.
Judas Priest setlist @ Bloodstock Open Air, 9/8/2026
- You've Got Another Thing Comin'
- Metal Gods
- Breaking The Law
- The Ripper
- The Sentinel
- Desert Plains
- Lightning Strike
- Turbo Lover
- Steeler
- Delivering The Goods
- Panic Attack
- Victim Of Changes
- Halls Of Valhalla
- Painkiller
- Electric Eye
- Hell Bent For Leather
- Living After Midnight
