Judas Priest to celebrate Painkiller’s 35th anniversary on 2025 European tour

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By ( Metal Hammer ) published

The Metal Gods will play across the continent on their Shield Of Pain run from June to July

Rob Halford onstage with Judas Priest in 2024
(Image credit: Chiaki Nozu/WireImage)

Judas Priest have announced a European tour for summer 2025, where they will celebrate the 35th anniversary of fan-favourite album Painkiller.

The Birmingham metal icons will play mainland Europe in June and July on the Shield Of Pain run. On social media, they’ve promised a “rare” and “unique” set featuring “beloved classics” from their 1990 album. The tour will also promote their new record Invincible Shield.

See dates below. Tickets are now on sale and can be bought via the Judas Priest website.

Judas Priest released Painkiller, their 12th album, to critical acclaim on September 14, 1990. It introduced speed metal touches to the band’s sound and was widely regarded as a return to form, following the more lacklustre Turbo (1986) and Ram It Down (1988) records. The lead single and title track went on to become a live mainstay.

Painkiller was the last Judas Priest album to feature lead singer Rob Halford for 15 years. The frontman left the band following the subsequent tour and was replaced by Tim “Ripper” Owens. Owens led Judas Priest through two album cycles before Halford returned in 2003. His first album with them post-comeback, Angel Of Retribution, came out in 2005.

Released in the spring, Invincible Shield broke a chart record for Judas Priest, reaching number two in the UK. The best they’d done previously was when 1980’s British Steel reached number four. The new album also received critical acclaim, with Metal Hammer’s Rich Hobson saying it “may well be the most defiantly, unrelentingly triumphant record of their career”.

In September, Halford said in an interview that Invincible Shield will not be the final Judas Priest album and that, 50 years on from debut album Rocka Rolla, the band still want to make new music. “I think that it’s inevitable there will be something else,” he told Audio Ink Radio. “When it will happen, I have no idea.”

Halford also recently expressed his love for pop music, championing Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, Madonna and others.

Judas Priest 2025 European tour dates:

Jun 14: Oslo Tjuvholmen Arena, Norway
Jun 17: Stuttgart Schleyerhalle, Germany
Jun 18: Hessentag Festival, Frankfurt, Germany
Jul 01: Ferrara Summer Festival, Italy
Jul 03: Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland
Jul 07: Lodz Atlas Arena, Poland
Jul 10: Rattvik Dalhalla, Sweden
Jul 13: Munich Olympiahalle, Germany
Jul 15: Carcassonne Festival De Carcassone, France
Jul 17: Sion Sous Les Etoiles, Switzerland
Jul 19: Luxembourg Rockhal, Luxembourg
Jul 20: Oberhausen Rudolf-Weber-Arena, Germany

Matt Mills
Matt Mills
Online Editor, Metal Hammer

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.