JUDAS PRIEST Reschedules '50 Heavy Metal Years' European Tour For 2021

JUDAS PRIEST has announced the rescheduled dates for its "50 Heavy Metal Years" European tour. The trek, which was originally set to take place this spring and summer, has been postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe.

PRIEST singer Rob Halford recently said the tour celebrating the band's 50th anniversary will "be a great show; it's gonna be an amazing show. We've been working on production for over a year, putting together this incredible show for our PRIEST family and for anybody that wants to come and check out the PRIEST on our 50th anniversary… PRIEST has been working hard, as I say, for quite a while now, putting together a really, really spectacular 50th-anniversary show that we hope will give some kind of justice — if justice is the right word — to the legacy of PRIEST as we hurtle on."

2021 tour dates:

May 28 - Helsinki Ice Hall - Helsinki, Finland
May 30 - Tallinn Song Festival Grounds - Tallinn, Estonia
Jun. 02 - Mystic Festival - Gdańsk, Poland
Jun. 04 - Palace Of Sports - Kyiv, Ukraine
Jun. 07 - Megasport - Moscow, Russian Federation
Jun. 09 - Yubileynyy - Sankt-Peterburg, Russia
Jun. 12 - Dalhalla - Rättvik, Sweden
Jun. 13 - Saab Arena - Linköping, Sweden
Jun. 16 - DNB Arena - Stavanger, Norway
Jun. 17 - Copenhell - København, Denmark
Jun. 23 - Rockhal - Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
Jun. 24 - Schleyerhalle - Stuttgart, Germany
Jun. 26 - Rock The castle - Villafranca di Verona, Italy
Jun. 27 - König-Pilsener-Arena - Oberhausen, Germany
Jun. 28 - Zenith - Munich, Germany
Jul. 06 - Hallenstadion - Zürich, Switzerland
Jul. 07 - Jahrhunderthalle - Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Jul. 09 - Peissnitzinsel - Halle, Germany
Jul. 10 - Masters Of Rock Festival - Vizovice, Czech Republic
Jul. 12 - National Tennis Center - Bratislava III, Slovakia
Jul. 16 - Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex - Palaio Faliro, Greece
Jul. 18 - Midalidare rock - Mogilovo, Bulgaria
Jul. 20 - The Roman Arenas - Bucharest, Romania
Jul. 27 - Poppodium 013 - Tilburg, Netherlands
Aug. 11 - Bloodstock Open Air - Burton Upon Trent, United Kingdom

As of this writing, the U.S. leg of the "50 Heavy Metal Years" tour is still due to launch September 9 in Oxon Hill, Maryland and wrap up on October 17 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

JUDAS PRIEST members Halford, Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner recently commenced the official songwriting sessions for the band's follow-up to "Firepower" album. Released in March 2018, "Firepower" was the second LP to feature the 40-year-old Faulkner, who was selected to fill the void left by founding guitarist K.K. Downing following his exit in 2011.

"Firepower" entered the Billboard 200 chart at position No. 5, making it PRIEST's highest-charting album ever. "Redeemer Of Souls" debuted and peaked at No. 6, while 2008's "Nostradamus" landed at No. 11 and 2005's "Angel Of Retribution" came in at No. 13.

"Firepower" moved 49,000 equivalent album units in first week of release. Of that sum, 48,000 were in traditional album sales, just shy of the 54,000 copies sold by "Angel Of Retribution" in that album's first week. The "Firepower" chart position was bolstered by sales generated from a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer in association with the band's spring 2018 North American tour.

Across the pond, "Firepower" landed at position No. 5 on the U.K. album chart. It marked the band's highest ranking, and first time in the Top 10, since "British Steel" reached No. 4 in 1980. Elsewhere, "Firepower" also became PRIEST's first-ever No. 1 in Sweden.