While they take on disparate personas — Alice Cooper as the “Godfather of Shock Rock” and Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford as the “Metal God” — the pair are complementary co-headliners on their current Shield of Pain tour, and they proved it to an enthusiastic crowd on Oct. 18 at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre.
Following a short but electric opening set from Southern metal veterans Corrosion of Conformity, Cooper and his five-piece band took the stage first.
The master of macabre still reigns
Emerging from the shadows like a creature of the night, Cooper immediately set the macabre tone for the night with “Hello, Hooray” and “Who Do You Think We Are.” Dressed head to toe in black — from top hat and raccoon eyes to leather pants and boots — the spry 77-year-old prowled across the stage as if presiding over a carnival sideshow.
One of rock’s most theatrical showmen for more than 50 years, Cooper used numerous props to bring his sinister songs to life. He shook shrunken-head maracas during “Muscle of Love,” brandished a fencing sword on “Spark in the Dark,” and impaled a pesky paparazzo with his mic stand in “Hey Stoopid.”…