Judas Priest

and Anthrax

l Where: E Center, West Valley City.

l When: Wednesday.

l The bottom line: Two classic metal lineups add up to one loud and entertaining night.

WEST VALLEY CITY - Anyone within five miles of the E Center on Wednesday probably heard the deluge of classic metal riffs, courtesy of Judas Priest and Anthrax.

The combination of two old-school, hard-rock lineups reunited made for one long, loud evening, and any metal fan had to be thrilled with the sight of Rob Halford singing again for Judas Priest and Joey Belladonna back on the mike for Anthrax.

Halford famously came out of the closet since leaving Judas Priest in 1992, but his sexuality clearly was of little concern to the rambunctious few thousand fans on hand to hear one of metal's pioneering British groups.

Judas Priest opened with "Electric Eye,” and the second song, “Metal Gods,” featured Halford's first paint-pealing shriek of the night. The singer got increasingly animated as the show progressed through “Riding on the Wind” and “A Touch of Evil,” rising and disappearing on a series of elevators and platforms lining the stage.

Songs from the newly reunited band's comeback album, “Angel of Retribution,” dotted the set, and provided some of its strongest material. “Judas Rising” featured some epic riffing from guitarist Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing, and “Revolution” had a hook eerily similar to Jane's Addiction's “Coming Down the Mountain.”

“Breaking the Law” and “I'm a Rocker” led into a mid-show acoustic interlude on “Diamonds and Rust.” Then Judas Priest closed its set in a flurry of driving beats and guitar solos on songs like “Turbo Lover” and “Hellrider.”

Energetic encores including “Living After Midnight” and “You've Got Another Thing Comin' ” showed that the veterans of more than 30 years on the metal scene still have plenty of kick.

Anthrax's nine-song set brought the band's most popular lineup back together this year for its 20th anniversary, and the songs sounded great. The most-dated part of the band's set was singer Belladonna's inane between-song banter. At least when guitarist Scott Ian took the mike to chide the fans for sitting down, it sounded unrehearsed.

Belladonna's voice was warmly welcomed on Anthrax's classic thrash-metal songs, though. The opening “Among the Living” was an aural assault. The band's cover of Joe Jackson's “Got the Time” gave bassist Frank Bello a chance to almost simultaneously race around the stage, pluck his bass strings and pump his fist at the crowd.

By the end of their second song, Anthrax had the crowd on its feet and raging, just in time for a raucous “Caught in a Mosh,” “Madhouse” and the massive sing-along of “Anti-Social.”

Anthrax closed with the epic “Indians” and “I'm the Man,” featuring Ian, Bello and guitarist Dan Spitz trading verses on one of the earliest rap-rock songs ever. The finale of “I Am the Law” concluded a worthy 55-minute opening set.