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It still takes some time getting used to seeing Tim Owens fronting Judas Priest - I had to watch this a couple of times just to get into it. This show was recorded at the Brixton Academy in London in December 2001. The DVD contains the live show, as well as some backstage footage with short interviews with the band members. Setting it apart from other DVDs is some footage taped during the soundcheck, where we can hear a couple of songs that are not on the set-list, such as the classic "The Sentinel". Very well done. This is more interesting to watch than things such as the discography or biography, which are available on their web site anyway, so I won't even complain about them being omitted from the DVD. :) A minor thing worth mentionning is that the DVD case is not the usual boring case that DVDs usually come in, but rather a transparent plastic one that looks great. Also they included a small booklet with a few words about the band since Ripper joined, some band pictures, the list of albums recorded with Ripper, as well as the Demolition tour dates.

Overall I would describe the live show itself as less energetic than 1986's "Priest...Live!", mostly due to the set-list that includes a few slower songs. The filming and the sound are excellent, and the stage, while not as mindblowing as the ones they had in the 80s, has quite an impressive light set that makes up for the missing gadgets.

The performance varies from good to excellent. During about half the show, it seems like Tim Owens is not too comfortable and either doesn't move much or acts a bit mechanical (man, do something about that neck! :)). Even the guitarists are a bit stuck in place at times. Eventually the machine kicks in and the performance becomes very entertaining, to say the least. At first I found a bit annoying the way Ripper interpreted some of the classics, it takes a bit of getting used to. After all, the guys needs to take his place within the band, and adding his own intonations helps doing that (it's not always for the best, but anyway - that's pretty much up to personal taste.) I think it is a conservative estimate if I say the crowd is 120% into it. Every time Ripper points the microphone at the crowd, you can hear them sing very clearly, and just from the crowd shots, they were going nuts from beginning to end. I don't think anyone there fell asleep on their seat. :) Some highlights of the show are the performances during "Victim of Changes", "Diamonds and Rust", "Breaking the Law", "Living After Midnight" and "Hell Bent for Leather".

Overall I'm agreably surprised by this DVD, even though I would have liked to see some other songs on the set-list. The material from Demolition sounds slightly better live, although "Feed on Me" still sucks. :). In short, a must for any Priest fans.

Additional Information

Set-list

• Metal Gods
• Touch of Evil
• Blood Stained
• Victim of Changes
• One on One
• Running Wild
• Ripper
• Diamonds and Rust
• Feed on Me
• Burn in Hell
• Hell Is Home
• Breaking The Law
• Desert Plains
• Turbo Lover
• Painkiller
• Electric Eye
• United
• Living After Midnight
• Hell Bent For Leather