50+ Years of Heavy Metal: Alice Cooper & Judas Priest Rock Austin

Metalheads of all colors and creeds filled Austin, TX’s Germania Insurance Amphitheater at COTA this past Saturday, October 25, 2025, 

Leather-bound rock ‘n’ rollers Judas Priest walked out onto the stage to the late Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” as the crowd roared the opening words in harmony with the late singer Ozzy Osbourne. 

Known lovingly simply as “Priest” by heavy metal fans, the band is currently embarking on the “Shield of Pain” North American Tour, co-headlining with Alice Cooper and supported by Corrosion of Conformity. 

The metal icons thrilled the Live Music Capital of the World, even as the threat of thunder and downpour reverberated in the sky. 

While Judas Priest is touring its nineteenth studio album, 2024’s “Invincible Pain” – which debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, the highest position in the band’s discography to date – Alice Cooper is supporting his eighth studio album, 2025’s “The Revenge of Alice Cooper.” The shock rocker had reunited with former band members Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, and Neal Smith for the first time in 51 years to release the new record.

All three bands demonstrated why heavy metal is here to stay in the Lone Star State.

“You and us, we go way back, don’t we, Texas?” 74-year-old singer Rob Halford smirked. At 74, Halford still maintains the all-black, all-leather badassery that made him so identifiable. His singular voice still carries, even if the notes are held only slightly shorter. Lifetime fans were enthralled. 

“It just goes to show you how powerful Judas Priest still is as both a studio entity and a live act. The 13th time seeing them onstage is just as fresh and exciting as the first,” Jake Koehler, heavy metal fan and local Austin guitarist, said of the show.

“Alice Cooper proves that he is still the master of rock theater by going all out with a five-piece band, throwing out both new songs and classics with fury,” he added.

With no signs of slowing, Alice Cooper still haunts the stage with his signature camp style, surrounded by larger-than-life costumes, horror visuals, monsters and guillotines. While Alice Cooper’s voice has stayed just as gnarly, these days, his secret musical weapon is virtuoso metal guitarist Nita Strauss. 

Tonight was no exception. Alice Cooper, Strauss, and the band reflected the exuberant energy of the crowd throughout their 21-song set.

Texas has long been a favorite destination for heavy metal bands from around the world – Judas Priest’s first show in America was on the 1977 “Sin to Sin” U.S. Tour in Amarillo, TX, opening up for REO Speedwagon. Meanwhile, Austin’s sister city of San Antonio, TX, was one of the first major American cities to embrace heavy metal in its early days.

Many San Antonians journeyed for over 2 hours from the Heavy Metal Capital of the World to Austin, TX, to bear witness to the classic rock legends, as the only other Texas stop on the tour is tonight’s concert in Houston, TX. 

San Antonio musician Jose Angel Gomez brought his nephew to the show to see Judas Priest and Alice Cooper for the first time.

“They f****** kicked ass!” he exclaimed. “Judas Priest and Alice Cooper prove that age is nothing but a number, as they continue to make clear why they’re still the best at what they do.

Corrosion of Conformity held their own, proving why they deserve to be named-checked among other great bands of their era,” Gomez said of the American group, which formed in 1982.

Fellow metalhead Jake Koehler agrees, but wishes the opening band had extended its stage time past just 30 minutes.  

“COC’s set was a little on the short side,” he explained. “They were tight and solid and could have benefited from a couple of more songs to fill out the show.” 

Excitement indeed exhaled from the audience at the downbeat, as Corrosion of Conformity opened their set with the dark, sludgy guitar riff from the song “Bottom Feeder (El que como abajo).” 

All in all, there was some heavy drizzle for a few minutes between sets, but most of the worst of the storm only started to wander in while some fans slowly drifted toward the parking near the end of the show. 

As Alice Cooper closed the concert with an 8-minute rockin’ mashup of his hit “School’s Out” and Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2,”  my father, Tracy Joeseph Bogert, passionately bellowed, “That’s Heavy Metal!”