Review by Val Tapia
Photos by Fred Kuhlman
Promoter: Live Nation (https://www.livenation.com/ )
Venue: Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre (https://www.facebook.com/TalkingStickResortAmphitheatre/ )
Date: Wednesday October 22nd, 2025
The most admirable thing I can say about Judas Priest is their unwavering desire to keep on going. I would say the same about Alice Cooper as well. Despite trends and age, both still have the creative urge to keep releasing new music. Something that, unfortunately, many veteran musical acts aren’t doing.
At the same time, both Judas Priest and Alice Cooper continue to give good value onstage in exchange for the fans’ hard-earned money. Given that, it’s no wonder that the two of them teaming up for a co-headline tour had rock fans everywhere grinning from ear-to-ear.
Their show in Phoenix at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre on Wednesday. October 22nd was no exception. It was also a homecoming for both Priest lead singer Rob Halford and “Coop” himself, both longtime Valley residents.
Widely considered to be the second most important heavy metal band (immediately after Black Sabbath) of all time, Judas Priest kicked off their 75-minute, 14-song set with “All Guns Blazing”, followed by “Hell Patrol” (from 1990’s Painkiller) to thunderous applause from roughly 8000 hard rock and metal fans in attendance. In fact, there were no less than five songs played from that particular album.
I can remember the years when “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” would be saved to end the main set. It’s a song that has to be played, however, there are plenty of other Judas Priest songs that completely bury it. Still, it’s absolutely fair to say it remains JP’s “trademark” song to this day.
As far as visuals onstage, Priest kept things to a minimum overall. With classic songs like “Freewheel Burning”, “Breaking The Law” and “A Touch Of Evil”, respectively, there’s no need for visuals when the music clearly does the talking.
There were only two new songs, “Gates Of Hell” and “Giants In The Sky”, played from Priest’s latest album, 2024’s Invincible Shield. The latter of the two was a cool tribute to several legends in the rock world who are sadly no longer with us.
Video images of artists like Freddie Mercury, Ronnie James Dio, Eddie Van Halen, Lemmy Kilmister, and of course, Ozzy Osbourne graced the screens on the sides of the stage as well as onstage. It was really moving seeing all of the incredible talent that has impacted the music world over the last five decades.
Closing out the main set with “Painkiller”, Judas Priest showed why people still flock to see them every time they’re in town. Despite several lineup changes over the years, they still continue to grow as musicians. And that’s a good thing.
I suppose a Judas Priest show isn’t complete without “Hell Bent For Leather”. However, it’s notable to see how many people start heading for the exits when “Living After Midnight” concluded their set! A glaring omission like “Victim Of Changes” was disappointing, but I understand the limitations of a co-headline tour. In spite of that, Judas Priest is still a great live band, and I’m glad they’re still here doing what they do best.
Before Alice Cooper took the stage at 7:40 p.m. sharp, there was another classy tribute to another rock great– this time for former (and original) KISS guitarist Ace Frehley. It was great to hear a total of six songs during intermission that consisted of three KISS songs and three Frehley solo songs. Needless to say, everyone went crazy in the crowd. Personally speaking, this one hurt big time, considering that Frehley had just passed away the week before on October 16th.
Unfortunately, the person who created the video graphics of Frehley misspelled his last name as… “Frehlehy”. In short order, that was just plain embarrassing! Be that as it may, I’m sure Ace would’ve laughed it off with his famous (or infamous) cackle. But I digress.
What can I say about Alice Cooper that hasn’t been said before? The original Cooper band’s influence was and is enormous to this day. Kicking off with a snippet of “Hello Hooray” that, surprisingly, segued into “Who Do You Think We Are” (from 1981’s Special Forces).
To my ears, it sounded like something that The Cars would’ve recorded (or perhaps would’ve *rejected*?) early in their career. It was Cooper’s foray into new wave music, which wasn’t very well received by his fan base at that point. That said, perhaps time has been a bit kinder to it than what some may remember.
“Spark In The Dark” and “No More Mr. Nice Guy” were played back-to-back. To his credit, Cooper (and Judas Priest to a lesser extent) found a pretty decent balance of hits and obscure songs to perform. Mind you, that doesn’t happen very often with co-headline tours because of the 75 or 80-minute time limit. Rightly or wrongly, most co-headliners stick with the “hits” in this scenario. It’s good to see that Priest and Coop decided to tweak things a little more, musically speaking.
Interestingly, Cooper played a solid mix of songs that spanned the 70s, 80s and 90s. “House of Fire” (from 1989’s Trash) was a surprising addition for some I suppose. However, it obviously pales in comparison to “Eighteen” (from 1971’s Love It To Death), one of the greatest rock singles of the 70s. That’s one that Cooper never seems to get tired of playing. More importantly, he’s still convincing at singing the lyrics… at 77 years of age. Talk about “timeless”!
Cooper always seem to find a way to incorporate visuals, even as a co-headliner. Yes, you get the guillotine and the “beheading” of Alice, but there’s an element of humor along with the “horror”. But make no mistake: even with Alice Cooper, the visuals would be nothing if the music wasn’t strong on its own.
In my opinion, the showstopper of the night arguably had to be “The Ballad Of Dwight Fry”. Seeing Alice Cooper in a mock straitjacket along with his facial expressions on the screens while singing this song (about a man suffering from mental illness) was the strongest visual in his set. Or at least, the most “memorable…” to my eyes and ears anyway.
The set closer “School’s Out” received an update, if you will, by including a snippet of the Pink Floyd classic “Another Brick In The Wall”. Not to be outdone, Alice Cooper also brought out old friend and original Cooper band guitarist Michael Bruce for the biggest hit of their career. Yes, during the first half of the 70s, Alice Cooper was the name of the band. Just a friendly reminder my good readers.
As for openers Corrosion of Conformity, they weren’t too bad. They played a brief 30-minute, 7-song set. Songs like set opener “Bottom Feeder”, as well as “Seven Days” and “Vote With A Bullet” received a relatively good reaction. I’ve been reading online comments claiming that COC wasn’t a good choice to open this tour, but they definitely held their own in Phoenix. They also gave a shoutout to Ace Frehley by dedicating their song “Albatross” to his memory. R.I.P. Mr. Frehley.
The final verdict? As a whole, I’ll give this tour four out of five stars. A good time was had by all. Or at least… by most.
Special Note: Sadly, this tour was completed on October 26th. Both Alice Cooper and Rob Halford instead will be hosting 2 Rock and Roll camps here in Phoenix in November. They are a 4-day event where you can learn from and perform with some of todays biggest stars. Alice Cooper and his wife is also be hosting his annual “Alice Cooper’s Proof In The Pudding” concert/auction on November 15th. This event helps raise money for their Solid Rock Teen Centers here in the greater Phoenix area. This origination is designed to provide a Safe Place for teens to learn and participate in different musical and dance studies. Alice and Sheryl have been putting on this wonderful event for the past 20+ years.
Judas Priest
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2025, All Rights Reserved
Alice Cooper
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2025, All Rights Reserved
Corrosion of Conformity
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2025, All Rights Reserved
Judas Priest Setlist:
All Guns Blazing
Hell Patrol
You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’
Freewheel Burning
Breaking the Law
A Touch of Evil
Night Crawler
Solar Angels
Gates of Hell
Electric Eye
Giants in the Sky
Painkiller
Encore:
Hell Bent for Leather
Living After Midnight
Alice Cooper Setlist:
Hello, Hooray
Who Do You Think We Are
Spark in the Dark
No More Mr. Nice Guy
House of Fire
I’m Eighteen
Muscle of Love
Feed My Frankenstein
Dirty Diamonds
Caught in a Dream
Hey Stoopid
Dangerous Tonight
Poison
Guitar Solo (Nita Strauss)
Brutal Planet
Ballad of Dwight Fry
Cold Ethyl
Only Women Bleed
Second Coming (Band only)
Going Home (Band only)
School’s Out
(With Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2” snippet and band introductions)
I’m Always Chasing Rainbows (Harry Carroll song)
Corrosion of Conformity Setlist:
Bottom Feeder (El que come abajo)
King of the Rotten
Seven Days
Vote With a Bullet
Who’s Got the Fire
Albatross (Dedicated to Ace Frehley)
Clean My Wounds
