On Wednesday night in Evansville, the dark was deeper and the autumn leaves exuded an extra fetid perfume of death all as a gift to the metal gods preparing to perform.

Prior to the Priest, a humorously hedonistic band of four boys from L.A. gave the crowd some entertainment. Steel Panther was an apparition from the eighties sporting clownish make-up, a bottomless bag of sexual puns and pants so tight they would make jeggings jealous. Their pink and purple animal print guitars screamed like the fantastical beasts they were stripped from. Great riffs and guts laughs got the crowd warmed up for the savagery that was to follow.

Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" was cut short in mid-madness during break and the lights went out...

Hephaestus' own thunder resonated from the speakers with the beginning chords to "Battle Cry" as the giant banner baring the Priests' name dropped to the Ford Center floor. The show officially began with a particularly menacing "Dragonaut." Somewhere in "Metal Gods" or "Devil's Child" Rob Halford began a stilted but calculated walk like a titanium titan from back towards Travis' kit to front-and-center stage belting out loathsome lyrics like the day the Priest was born in its den of disgrace. As a metal fan of another age it was an eye-opening experience getting to witness such a cacophonous and masterful chapter in the Black Book of Metal. After all was said and done, and the monster hits like "Breakin' the Law" and "You Got Another Thing Coming" were played, the crowd filed out satisfied with one hell of a show.

As Steel Panther proclaims, "Death to All but Metal!" - Nick Durcholz

All photos taken by Nick Durcholz of farthingtonfauxtoe.

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