The group has tapped fellow rock vets Queensryche to hold down the tour's opening slot.

Judas Priest--Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing, bassist Ian Hill and drummer Scott Travis--is touring behind its latest album, "Angel of Retribution," which surfaced in early March. The set is the group's first with Halford at the mic since 1990's "Painkiller."

Halford bailed in the early '90s, and turned his attention to a number of solo projects. Meanwhile, Priest forged ahead with Halford's replacement, Ripper Owens, who previously was the lead singer in a Judas Priest cover band; the 2001 feature film "Rock Star," starring Mark Wahlberg, was loosely based on Owens' rise to fame.

In 2003, Halford collaborated with the other band members on the group's box set, "Metalogy." The collaboration led to Halford's reinstatement, and the band announced an amicable split with Owens.

The reunited group toured the U.S. last year as part of the annual Ozzfest outing.

Judas Priest emerged from the working-class steel town of Birmingham, England, and became one of the world's biggest rock bands in the '80s. Among the group's best-known tracks are "Breaking the Law," "You've Got Another Thing Comin'," and "Living After Midnight.

Seattle-based prog-rockers Queensryche released their most recent set, "Tribe," in 2003. Later this year, the group plans to issue "Operation:Mindcrime II," a follow-up to its critically acclaimed, 1988 concept album.