Judas Priest

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Judas Priest <tr style="text-align: center;"><td colspan="3">Image:Judas Priest Retribution 2005 Tour.jpg Judas Priest in 2005 </td></tr>
Background information <tr><td>Origin</td><td colspan="2">Birmingham, England</td></tr><tr><td>Genre(s)</td><td colspan="2">Heavy metal Speed metal</td></tr><tr><td>Years active</td><td colspan="2">1968 - present</td></tr><tr><td style="padding-right: 1em;">Label(s)</td><td colspan="2">Columbia Records</td></tr><tr><td textalign="top" style="padding-right: 1em;">Associated acts</td><td colspan="2">Trapeze Fight The Flying Hat Band</td></tr><tr><td>Website</td><td colspan="2">Official Site</td></tr><tr><th style="background: #b0c4de;" colspan="3">Members</th></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;" colspan="3">Rob Halford K.K. Downing Glenn Tipton Ian Hill Scott Travis</td></tr><tr><th style="background: #b0c4de;" colspan="3">Former members</th></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;" colspan="3">Simon Phillips Les Binks Chris Campbell John Hinch Dave Holland Alan Moore Alan Atkins Tim "Ripper" Owens John Ellis</td></tr>

Judas Priest are a heavy metal band formed in 1968 in the northwest midlands, near Birmingham, England. Originally formed by K.K. Downing and Ian Hill, Judas Priest's classic line-up consists of vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, and bassist Ian Hill. They have been cited as an influence on many heavy metal musicians and bands. Their popularity and status as one of the definitive heavy metal bands has earned them the nickname "Metal Gods."

1 Musical style and influences
- 1.1 Influence on the genre
2 History
3 Discography
4 Miscellaneous
5 References
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Musical style and influences

Judas Priest were one of the first bands to modernize the twin-lead-guitar sound, with the duo of K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton. They combined this sound with Rob Halford's high-pitched, melancholic and angry screaming lead vocals to create their own unique style of heavy-rock. They are cited often for their influence on heavy metal and the root sound of the guitar work in speed metal and thrash metal.

Another noted feature of the band is the dual "rhythm guitar", which plays an essential role in hard rock genres and especially in heavy metal.

Although Wishbone Ash had used similar "dual guitars" prior to Judas Priest, the band used their dual rhythm style consistently as an integral part of their music. Since Judas Priest started incorporating this new style of rhythm guitar on their first release, Rocka Rolla, it has become a standard feature of heavy metal.

Many people, including influential musicians and members of prominent hard rock and heavy metal bands, believe that among the foundations for what would define "pure" heavy metal were three early Judas Priest albums: Sad Wings of Destiny (1976), Sin After Sin (1977), and Stained Class (1978).

The band often played faster than most rock groups of the time and brought a more "metallic" sound to the guitars. The songs varied from simple and straightforward tunes (e.g., "The Ripper", "Starbreaker") to fairly structured material, changing from fast and loud to slower tempo and softer tunes in one song (e.g., "Victim Of Changes", "Run Of The Mill", "Beyond The Realms Of Death"). Some songs, such as 1978's "Exciter", were groundbreaking for their sheer ferocity and speed; others, like "Dissident Aggressor", "Sinner" and "Tyrant", were heavy for their day, and even today are considered classic metal tracks.

Their 1978 album Killing Machine (retitled Hell Bent for Leather and released in 1979 in the USA) saw a slight change of direction towards shorter, poppier, more American-influenced songs. The following release, British Steel , (April 14, 1980), took an even sharper turn in the same direction and was perhaps the first heavy metal album to record radio-friendly songs with pop hooks, in a concise format.

The band's next effort, Point of Entry (February 26, 1981), is harder to define — the sound was very "raw" (i.e. minimal sound manipulation) and the songs were somewhat moody, and paced at a slower than usual tempo. As guitarist Glenn Tipton later admitted, Point of Entry had the tough task of living up to the standards set by its predecessor, and failed to do so. Subsequent albums Screaming for Vengeance (July 17, 1982) — which contained the popular radio hit "You've Got Another Thing Coming" — and Defenders of the Faith (January 4, 1984) once again set high standards in intensity and production, and continued to influence the sonic shape of heavy metal. Turbo (April 15, 1986) found the group introducing a "synth-guitar" sound to their metal template. Turbo remains as Judas Priest's best-selling record.

Ram It Down (1988), which was originally to be part of a two album set with the Turbo album^{[citation needed]}, garnered little commercial attention. The style was heavier than the material found on Turbo but still contained the synth elements of the previous release.

For Painkiller (1990) Judas Priest returned to a more straightforward heavy metal style with more technical and double-bass drumming from new member Scott Travis. This album represents one of the heaviest and most intense in the band's discography, with Halford's trademark high-pitched wail rising to an ear-splitting shriek on certain tracks, bordering on a atonal death-metal-like scream. Indeed, there is a "death metal version" of the title track available on the internet, by the Florida death metal band Death.

The Best of Judas Priest: Living After Midnight (1997) is a greatest hits album including hits such as "Electric Eye", "Turbo Lover", "Living After Midnight", "The Green Manalishi" and many other hits. It contains the hits from 1979 through 1990.

Judas Priest also released two albums with Tim 'Ripper' Owens following Rob Halford's departure. 'Jugulator (1997)' was given mixed reviews, although it contains the epic 'Cathedral Spires' which became one of Ripper's more popular songs. 'Demolition' (2001) was generally considered another disappointment, although it was another back to basics album, holding some memorable tracks.

Judas Priest's latest release, Angel of Retribution (2005) which was Rob Halford's first Judas Priest album since 1990, contributed to the current revival of classic heavy metal. It contains songs in the band's classic style, such as "Judas Rising" and "Hellrider", as well as mid-tempo songs with clear and prominent drums and less prominent guitars ("Worth Fighting For", "Wheels Of Fire"), a ballad, and an over 12 minute epic — something the band had not done since its concerts in the early 1970s.

Priest are currently writing a "Nostradamus Concept Album" to be released sometime in late 2006 or early 2007.

[edit] Influence on the genre

Judas Priest have influenced many Heavy metal musicians in three musical generations, in sound, technique, and image. Many bands including Iron Maiden, Anthrax, Accept, Metallica, Death, Megadeth, the Melvins, Manowar, Mercyful Fate, Venom, Slayer, Dokken, Helloween, Stratovarius, Iced Earth, Poison, Napalm Death, Primal Fear, Dream Theater, TNT (band) and Pantera cite Judas Priest as an influence.

[edit] History

Judas Priest, c. 1977. (l to r) Hill, Downing, Halford & Tipton

K.K. (Kenneth) Downing and Ian Hill knew each other almost since birth, as they lived nearby, attended the same nursery and school in West Bromwich, UK. Their friendship drew closer in their early teens as they shared similar musical interests (Jimi Hendrix, Cream, the Yardbirds) and both started to learn to play an instrument.

In 1968 a fairly well known local ensemble named Judas Priest (after Bob Dylan's song "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest" from the John Wesley Harding album) broke up and the band's singer, Alan Atkins, approached Downing and Hill who accepted him as their singer and adopted his former band's name.

With Downing in control, the band moved swiftly from their original bluesy tunes towards heavy rock and then what later would be defined as heavy metal. This trio, with various drummers, continued extensive touring of Birmingham and the surrounding areas, sometimes supporting Budgie, Thin Lizzy and Trapeze, until 1974. Financial difficulties and problems with their management, Tony Iommi's company, IMA, lead to Alan Atkins' and drummer Alan Moore's departures.

At the time, Ian Hill was dating a girl from nearby town Walsall who suggested her brother, Robert Halford, as singer. Halford (who previously worked as a stage manager at a local cinema) was admitted to the band, and brought with him drummer John Hinch from his previous band, Hiroshima. This line-up toured heavily in the UK, often supporting Budgie, and even headlining some shows in Norway and Germany.

Before the band entered the studio to record their first album, the record company suggested another musician should join them. Reluctant to add an organ or trumpet player, Downing settled on another guitarist called Glenn Tipton, from the Stafford-based Flying Hat Band. According to Judas Priest band members, there were some technical problems during recording, but the record company refused to address them, and their debut album Rocka Rolla suffered "horrible" sound quality. Management problems also prevailed; according to the band, producer Rodger Bain, (who was an established professional, having produced numerous albums for famous groups such as Black Sabbath) had too big a say in the production of the album.^{[citation needed]} He left out stage classics "Tyrant", "Genocide", and "The Ripper", and cut another, "Caviar And Meths", from a 10-minute song to a 2-minute instrumental.

**Judas Priest personnel**
(1973)	Rob Halford - vocals K.K. Downing - guitar Ian Hill - bass guitar John Hinch - drums
(1974)	Rob Halford - vocals K.K. Downing - guitar Glenn Tipton - guitar Ian Hill - bass guitar John Hinch - drums
(1975-1976)	Rob Halford - vocals K.K. Downing - guitar Glenn Tipton - guitar Ian Hill - bass guitar Alan Moore - drums
(1977)	Rob Halford - vocals K.K. Downing - guitar Glenn Tipton - guitar Ian Hill - bass guitar
(1977-1979)	Rob Halford - vocals K.K. Downing - guitar Glenn Tipton - guitar Ian Hill - bass guitar Les Binks - drums
(1979-1989)	Rob Halford - vocals K.K. Downing - guitar Glenn Tipton - guitar Ian Hill - bass guitar Dave Holland - drums
(1990-1992)	Rob Halford - vocals K.K. Downing - guitar Glenn Tipton - guitar Ian Hill - bass guitar Scott Travis - drums
(1992-1996)	K.K. Downing - guitar Glenn Tipton - guitar Ian Hill - bass guitar Scott Travis - drums
(1996-2003)	Tim 'Ripper' Owens - vocals K.K. Downing - guitar Glenn Tipton - guitar Ian Hill - bass guitar Scott Travis - drums
(2004-present)	Rob Halford - vocals K.K. Downing - guitar Glenn Tipton - guitar Ian Hill - bass guitar Scott Travis - drums

With their next album, the band gained some more experience and confidence, fully participating in the production, as well as choosing the producers. The result was Sad Wings of Destiny (1976). This album featured mostly old material, including the aforementioned stage favorites and an epic "Victim Of Changes" - a song combining "Whiskey Woman", a stage classic since the era of the first Judas Priest (Al Atkins' band) and "Red Light Lady" brought by Halford from his previous group, Hiroshima.

Three subsequent albums, Sin After Sin (1977), Stained Class, and Killing Machine (aka Hell Bent For Leather) (both 1978) further explored the possibilities of the heavy metal genre, employing such talented drummers as session player extraordinaire Simon Phillips and Les (James Leslie) Binks. Killing Machine marked a new turn in the creative direction Judas Priest was taking: the songs were shorter and had commercial appeal, yet were performed with a lot of metal punch. This emphasis on simple, albeit relentless and powerful beats that needed to be performed live with equal power led to Les Binks, a jazzy type of drummer, leaving, and Dave Holland (ex-Trapeze) becoming their new drummer.

With this line-up, Judas Priest recorded twelve studio and two concert albums to different degrees of critical and financial success. Overall, the band has sold in excess of 35 million albums globally.

[edit] Subliminal message trial

In summer 1990, the band was involved in a civil action that alleged they were responsible for the suicide attempts in 1985 of 20-year old James Vance and 19-year old Ray Belknap in Reno, Nevada, USA.<ref name="trial">Moore, Timothy. "Scientific Consensus and Expert Testimony: Lessons from the Judas Priest Trial", Skeptical Inquirer, November/December 1996. Retrieved on 2006-11-18.</ref> On December 23, 1985 Vance and Belknap after getting intoxicated the two went to a playground at a Lutheran church in Reno. Belknap put a 12 gauge shotgun under his chin shooting himself and died instantly and Vance followed, but he survived with severely disfigured his face. He died approximately three years later due to the effect of his painkillers.<ref>Cooper, Candy. "The Judas Priest Trial: 15 Years Later", Blabbermouth.net, July 1, 2005. Retrieved on 2006-11-18.</ref>

The boys' parents and their legal team alleged that a subliminal message of "do it" had been included in the song "Better By You, Better Than Me" (from the Stained Class album), and that the command triggered the suicide attempt.<ref name="trial" /> The suit was eventually dismissed on its merits, as the band had pointed out that if you were to play any song backwards and tell someone there was a message, it'll sound as though there actually is.<ref name="trial" /> One of the defense witnesses, Dr Timothy E. Moore, wrote an article for Skeptical Inquirer chronciling the trial.<ref name="trial" />

The trial was covered in the 1991 documentary Dream Deceivers: The Story Behind James Vance Vs. Judas Priest. In the documentary Halford commented that if they wanted to insert subliminal commands in their music, killing their fans would be counterproductive, and they would prefer to insert the command "Buy more of our records". Regarding the prosecution's assertations Halford pointed out that "do it" had no direct message, commenting "Well...do what? Mow the lawn? Have a cup of tea?"

In popular culture comedian Bill Hicks used a similar notion in one of his stand-up routines, asking "What musician wants his audience dead?" He further performed an apocryphal sketch in a British accent mimicking Judas Priest being "fucking sick of [their immense wealth, power, and fame]" and coming up with the subliminal message as a solution to their problems. Also comedian Denis Leary also commented on the trial on his album No Cure for Cancer, saying that heavy metal bands should put more subliminal messages in their records: "Kill the band, kill your parents, then kill yourself".

[edit] Halford leaves

After the end of their highly acclaimed and successful Painkiller tour in 1991, Halford left Judas Priest due to several years of internal tensions in the band. Rumors started to circulate as early as September of 1991, although Halford collaborated with the band in the release of a compilation album entitled Metal Works: '73-'93 to commemorate their 20th anniversary. He also appeared in a video by the same title, documenting their history. His departure from the band was officially announced later that year.

Tim "Ripper" Owens, who had previously sung in a Judas Priest tribute band British Steel, was hired in 1996 as Judas Priest's new singer. This line up released two albums, Jugulator and Demolition.

Owens' story of turning from fan to frontman was the inspiration for the film Rock Star, although Owens did not actually participate in the production of the movie. Because the film's content bore only a tangential resemblance to Owens's actual history with the band, Judas Priest later moved to disassociate themselves from the film. The film (starring Mark Wahlberg) was a critical and commercial flop.

[edit] Reunion

After almost twelve years apart, Judas Priest and original lead vocalist Rob Halford announced their reunion in July 2003. They immediately embarked on a live concert tour in 2004, and co-headlined the 2004 Ozzfest, being named as the "premier act" by almost all U.S. media coverage of the event. Both tours were extremely successful. A new studio album, Angel of Retribution, was released on 1 March, 2005 (U.S.) on Sony Music/Epic Records to critical and commercial success. A global tour in support of the album is currently underway. Judas Priest and "Ripper" Owens parted amicably. Owens joined as lead singer of American heavy metal band Iced Earth to record the album The Glorious Burden, which was released in 2004 by SPV Records.

[edit] Induction

Judas Priest, KISS, Queen, and Def Leppard were the inaugural inductees into the "VH1 Rock Honors." The ceremony took place May 25, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and first aired on May 31, 2006. Their presentation was preceded by the band Godsmack performing a medley of "Electric Eye"/"Victim Of Changes"/"Hell Bent For Leather", and Priest themselves played "Breaking The Law," "The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)" and "You've Got Another Thing Comin'," before which Halford rode a Harley onstage. On April 6, 2006, the Associated Press announced the event by saying "the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame looks to be getting some competition."

[edit] New album

In a June 2006 interview with MTV.com, frontman Rob Halford said about the group's upcoming concept album about the legendary 16th-century French prophet Nostradamus, "Nostradamus is all about metal, isn't he? He was an alchemist as well as a seer — a person of extraordinary talent. He had an amazing life that was full of trial and tribulation and joy and sorrow. He's a very human character and a world-famous individual. You can take his name and translate it into any language and everybody knows about him, and that's important because we're dealing with a worldwide audience."<ref>"Work On New Album Is 'Going Incredibly Well'", Blabbermouth.net, Sep. 12, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-18.</ref>

In addition to digging new lyrical ground for the band, the album will contain musical elements that might surprise their fans. "It's going to have a lot of depth," the singer explained. "There'll be a lot of symphonic elements. We might orchestrate it, without it being overblown. There may be a massive choir at parts and keyboards will be featured more prominently, whereas they've always been in the background before."

[edit] Discography

For more information, see the article about Judas Priest discography.

[edit] Miscellaneous

Judas Priest, along with Rick Derringer, opened for Led Zeppelin at Zeppelin's last concert in the United States on July 24, 1977.
The video documentary Heavy Metal Parking Lot was created by Jeff Krulik and John Heyn in 1986. It documents the heavy metal fans waiting on May 31 1986 for a Judas Priest concert (with special guests Dokken) at the Capital Centre (later renamed US Airways Arena), Maryland.
In 1998, Halford revealed his homosexuality in an interview on MTV. His sexuality was known to the rest of the band and came as little surprise to fans.
On August 15 2002 PETA sent the band's management a request to stop wearing leather onstage, as the production of leatherwear involves cruelty to animals. It was even reported that they asked the band to change the name of their Hell Bent for Leather album to Hell Bent for Pleather. Judas Priest responded that they wear artificial leather, but PETA still protested that this could encourage listeners to wear real leather.
In 2003, former drummer Dave Holland was accused of sexually abusing and attempting to rape a 17-year-old boy who was studying drums with Holland at the time. On January 23, 2004, Holland was found guilty of those charges and others, and on February 13, Holland was sentenced to eight years in British prison for those crimes.
On February 3, 2006, a new concert taped in Budokan, Japan, called "Rising in the East", debuted on VH1 Classic, showcasing a shaven-headed, bearded Halford and 3 decades of metal standards.
The PC and Xbox 360 video game, Prey and the PlayStation 2 console games Guitar Hero and RoadKill include "You've Got Another Thing Comin" on their soundtrack, as does Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which features the song on rock station V-Rock. In the prequel, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, V-Rock features the song "Electric Eye". RoadKill also includes "Headin' Out to the Highway," back-to-back with the aforementioned song on its classic rock pseudo-radio station.
The PlayStation 2 video game, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec features "Turbo Lover" as a song on the game's soundtrack. Its sequel Gran Turismo 4 features "Freewheel Burning".
"Beavis and Butt-head" often sing "Breaking the Law" song when they are doing various legal or illegal acts.