THE congregation are gathered for the last sermon of the Priest’s UK tour. War Pigs blasts from the PA. The faithful sing every word of the Sabbath hymn. Then darkness...

Judas Priest arrive with Rapid Fire and columns of flame. The tempo for the service is set. Then homage is paid to Metal Gods, before we’re Heading Out to the Highway.

Priest give us chapter and verse on nearly 40 years of their rock parables. Pounding rhythm, chopping riffs from twin leads and Rob Halford’s unmatched range of vocals. How can he scream like that, in tune?

Halford stalks the stage, at times like a menacing orchestral conductor, then like a metal-clad super villain. New guy Richie Faulkner has slotted seemlessly into the retired KK role and works the crowd well stage-left, balancing Glenn Tipton on the right.

Priest put on an outstanding show, unleashing a vast amount of flame onstage, along with columns of dry ice, multiple lasers, the Harley Davidson, and the ever-changing stage backdrop.

But the music is the real star, with more than 20 tracks including Victim of Changes, Judas Rising, The Sentinel, Beyond the Realms of Death and Breaking the Law - where the crowd takes over lead vocals.

Priest have always been heavy, but dynamic, brutally riff-orientated, yet melodic. They still are. The Priest still screams from the pulpit... “Whisky woman don’t you know that you are drivin’ me insane...”