Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
When the profile pictures on Priest‘s social media accounts were changed in October 2025, there was a bit of confusion: In the brand new pictures, the band looked much the same as in recent years, even though a big reboot is on the horizon, which had already been announced in February 2025 and musically introduced in June 2025 with the release of “Chaos EP” (The corresponding EP review can be read here). Fortunately, the explanation did not take long to arrive: “As a goodbye celebration to the third incarnation of Priest, which has come to an end, we present to you ‘Live in Hollywood’ – a beautifully wrapped time capsule of this part in the history of Priest.” So the new profile pictures turned out to be the artwork for “Live In Hollywood”, Priest‘s live album, whose potential release had already been subtly teased a year earlier and then fallen into oblivion in the course of the mysterious reboot. Even so, the concert recorded for “Live In Hollywood” had generated quite some publicity at the time: Due to the raging wildfires in Los Angeles in January 2025, the show originally scheduled for 8 January 2025 at the legendary “Whisky A Go Go” had to be cancelled at short notice, but was eventually rescheduled for 27 January 2025, including the planned feature with Julien-K frontman Ryan Shuck. The result, the live album “Live In Hollywood”, saw the light of day shortly before Christmas, on 19 December 2025, via Blue Nine Records.
Right from the opener, the purely instrumental intro, we learn something: It actually has a title (“Supremacy (Intro)“), was originally composed by Jeroen Tel and is featured in the strategy video game “Supremacy: Your Will Be Done” (released as “Overlord” in the United States). It is no secret that I discovered Priest in December 2023 when they performed as main support for the masters of death glam, Deathstars, in Sweden’s capital Stockholm, and I was completely captivated right from the established opening sequence of “Supremacy (Intro)“, “The Pit” and “Neuromancer“. Accordingly, “Live In Hollywood” is truly a gift for anyone who has seen and loved the third incarnation of Priest live, as well as clear proof for everyone else that behind the masked trio there are not just musicians, but true entertainers. During track four, “Blacklisted“, keyboardist Salt delivers his first keytar solo, while the chorus is enriched by a haunting layer of sound absent from its studio version.
On track five, we hear the previously mentioned collaboration with Ryan Shuck, now revealed to be on “Just A Game“. You can hear how much fun Ryan Shuck and Priest vocalist Mercury are having during the performance, yet it’s obvious that a visual release of “Live In Hollywood” on DVD or Blu-ray would have been useful to actually see what’s happening on stage. This is especially true for programmer and keyboardist Sulfur, who often acts as the animator of the audience at Priest‘s shows. To be fair, though: During the crowdfunding campaign to finance this live album, a €10 contribution got you a link to a video of the show, so a corresponding release might still follow. It wouldn’t be the band’s first live release of this kind: Back in 2021, the Swedish dark 80s style synth-pop band put out the VHS “Live At Doom 2021”, which was strictly limited to 50 hand-numbered copies worldwide and contained “the only live show from Priest 2.0″. Considering how much DVD and Blu-ray sales have dropped thanks to video streaming services, such a strictly limited edition – even in the charming VHS format – makes perfect sense.
Before track six, Mercury wonders how the performance of “Just A Game” could possibly be topped – and answers that question with “Demon’s Call“. Having never quite warmed up to “Just A Game“, but being all the more fond of most of the other songs on Priest‘s current fourth studio album “Dark Pulse” (The corresponding album review can be read here), including “Demon’s Call“, I’d say: Mission accomplished. The same applies to the following “Burning Love“, where Salt once again gets to shine with a keytar solo.
Far from winding down, the popular “The Cross” keeps the show going, and it puts a big smile on one’s face when you suddenly hear a female fan singing the line “I have to carry the cross”. This is yet another strength of Priest: Their interactions with the audience. This is probably the moment when I fully realise that the release of the live album makes sense not only because of the imminent reboot or to immortalise aspects such as the opening sequence of “Supremacy (Intro)“, “The Pit” and “Neuromancer“; it also serves as a long-overdue calling card for Priest‘s live prowess. And let’s not forget the following “Obey“, which picks up live where the studio version ends, thanks to Salt’s signature live keytar solo.
After “Obey“, the tracklist changes depending on whether you are holding the vinyl or the CD edition in your hands. Before the concluding “Vaudeville“, CD owners get “History In Black“, “which is not on the vinyl edition”, with the crowd once again getting their turn at the mic. The choice to release “Vaudeville” as the first (and so far only) single from “Live In Hollywood” was nothing short of wise, as the energy at “Whisky A Go Go” hits its peak during the final number.
As someone who is generally sceptical about live releases (as the name suggests, live experiences are meant to be experienced live, and capturing the actual atmosphere audiovisually is often impossible), I am pleasantly surprised. Despite the expected occasional shout-outs to the local crowd, the recordings effortlessly transport you back to concerts you may have seen with Mercury 3.0 and company in other cities. Furthermore, with the exception of “Blacklisted” (“Body Machine”), the tracklist consists exclusively of songs from their albums “New Flesh” and “Dark Pulse” as well as their EP “Obey”, all of which rank among Priest‘s strongest releases. Produced and mixed by Amir Derakh (Julien-K, Orgy, Dead By Sunrise) and co-produced by Simon Söderberg (who, like Mercury and Salt, was once part of the Swedish rock heavyweights Ghost), “Live In Hollywood” also impresses with its cover artwork, designed by visual artist Greta Helling. Following the brightly coloured cover design of “Chaos EP”, it once again embraces Priest‘s darker visual aesthetic. We should not forget, though, that “Live In Hollywood” is something of a farewell gift. Whether the band will continue with colourful artwork, and what the reboot as a whole will look like, we will find out very soon, with their next US tour already scheduled for April 2026. But even if Priest were to move too far away from their 80s-tinged synth-pop in favour of “90’s Big Beat”, we now have a live album to return to.
Tracklist:
01 Supremacy (Intro)
02 The Pit
03 Neuromancer
04 Blacklisted
05 Just A Game (feat. Ryan Shuck of Julien-K)
06 Demon’s Call
07 Burning Love
08 The Cross
09 Obey
10 History In Black (CD Only)
11 Vaudeville
