The rock and metal community has lots of colors that are flown and some have been at the forefront of the battle to support it for years. Those bands include Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, KISS, Scorpions, Judas Priest and several others depending on your preferences. And for years those were the bands we all look for on tours and such. But could that guard be changing to the next generation? Scorpions announced their Farewell Tour this year and today Judas Priest has announced that 2011 starts the beginning of their Farewell Tour, which is rocking the rock and metal community as we speak.
First reactions I’m noticing from people online is “yeah, sure. It’s a PR move.” And I can’t blame those speculating about this announcement because we all know how KISS, a band I am a HUGE supporter of, announced a Farewell Tour 10-years ago and yet they have toured several times since. KISS even put out a new studio album this year (Sonic Boom) and they are already talking about doing another. So the argument can be made that Judas Priest might be doing the same thing.
But if you know them and followed them over the years you know that Judas Priest does what they say they are going to do. When they first announced that they were going to do a concept album everyone joked and said that it wouldn’t be because concept albums don’t usually work for rock and metal bands nowadays. Yet in the summer of 2008 they delivered with Nostradamus, which two years later is still a questionable album from them. So if they say that after 40-years of screaming for vengeance and making sure all those in the rock and metal community are united that Judas Priest is calling it quiets then I say believe it.
This rocker is anxiously awaiting the US dates as I’ll be hitting whatever the local destination is by hook or by crook. And I’m left wondering two things; who’ll be next of the guard to bid farewell and is the next generation after them ready to take the reigns?
