Wolverhampton was treated to a mini rock festival of its own as Black Country heavy metal legends Judas Priest headed a three-band bill at Wolverhampton Civic Hall.

All three of the bands on the bill – Priest, Queensryche and Rival Sons – are appearing at London’s High Voltage rock festival on Saturday, so this was a chance for Midlands fans to get a taster just days ahead of that.

Californian-based Rival Sons opened with a short but well-received set full of blues rock muscle.
For Judas Priest fans it was a rare chance to see the “Metal Gods” in a more intimate venue than the arenas and festivals they normally play.

Priest’s Epitaph tour is not quite a farewell jaunt after four decades of metal mania but it is intended as the last major world tour the veteran rockers will undertake.

With the full Priest set crammed on to the Civic stage and lead singer Rob Halford prowling around in a bewildering  number of metallic costumes, Judas Priest showed they are as brutal, melodic and inventive as ever.

Guitarists Glenn Tipton and new boy Richie Faulkner have clearly bedded in well as a unit, Faulkner acquitting himself well as a hasty replacement for the recently-departed KK Downing.