Judas Priest @ SECC, 19 July

Half an hour of Queensrÿche’s lumpen prog-metal is enough to dampen the spirits of the most lagered-up rocker, and the atmosphere in the SECC isn’t helped by a relatively thin crowd. Although the Washingtonians put in an assured performance, their sluggish, turgid sound has dated badly, illustrating many of the traits that give 80s metal a (generally unfair) reputation for humourlessness.

Judas Priest, on the other hand, can never be accused of taking themselves too seriously. Now supposedly on their last-ever global tour, the band draw on four decades of experience to produce an absurdly camp, overblown spectacle – or, as Rob Halford cheerily puts it, “two and a half HOURS of HEAVY FUCKING METAL!” This entails a medieval dungeon-themed stage set, lasers, plumes of fire, myriad costume changes, and, at one point, Halford riding on stage on a motorbike. Clearly the Priest aren’t scaling back the touring due to a lack of enthusiasm.

The setlist doesn’t disappoint either, running through crowd-pleasers ranging across the band’s career. Victim of Changes goes down particularly well, with Halford’s vocals still reaching the high notes over riffs that remain fresh. Judas Priest have fine-tuned a brand of hard rock that, for all its silliness, has a weirdly enduring quality. Although guitarist Glenn Tipton recently suggested that new material is in the offing, they will be sorely missed from the world stage. [Sam Wiseman]