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Judas Priest

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Judas Priest
File:Judas priest 2004.jpg
Background information
Years active1970 - present
MembersRob Halford
K.K. Downing
Glenn Tipton
Ian Hill
Scott Travis

Judas Priest is an influential heavy metal band formed in 1969 in Birmingham, England by K.K. Downing and Ian Hill. The band's classic line-up consists of vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, and bassist Ian Hill. They epitomize the classic heavy metal genre, particularly the NWOBHM ("New Wave of British Heavy Metal") movement, and have influenced hundreds of musicians and bands. Their popularity and influence earned them the nickname "The Metal Gods".

Musical style and influences

One of the progenitors of heavy metal, Judas Priest are best known for their twin-lead-guitar sound and the complex guitar duets of K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton; and for Rob Halford's high-pitched, screaming lead vocals. However, the band's biggest musical innovation is the dual "rhythm guitar", i.e. the accompaniment, or riff, which plays an essential role in all hard rock genres and especially in heavy metal.

Although Wishbone Ash, the Scorpions and others had used similar "dual guitars" prior to Judas Priest, arguably none had played dual rhythm consistently as an integral part of their music. Dual rhythm consists of two guitarists playing the same repeated part ("riff") simultaneously and consistently, with only brief variations. Since Judas Priest introduced this new style of rhythm guitar with their first release Rocka Rolla, it has become a standard feature of heavy metal. Another important aspect of their style is inserting very melodic solos, or "lead breaks" — between fast riffs (e.g. "The Sentinel", "Electric Eye", "Hellrider").

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

The band played faster than most rock groups at the time and brought a more "metallic" sound to their guitars. The songs varied from extremely 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 truly groundbreaking for their sheer ferocity and speed; others, like "Dissident Aggressor", "Sinner" and "Tyrant", were incredibly heavy for their day, and even today are considered classic metal landmarks.

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 songs. The following release, British Steel, 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 (1981), is harder to define — the sound was very "raw" (minimal sound manipulation) and the songs were somewhat moody, and paced at a slower than usual tempo. As guitarist Glen 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 (1982) — which contained the popular radio hit "You've Got Another Thing Coming" — and Defenders of the Faith (1984) once again set high standards in intensity and production, and continued to influence the sonic shape of heavy metal. Turbo (1986) found the group introducing a "synth-guitar" sound to their metal template.

Ram It Down (1988), which was originally to be part of a two album set with the Turbo album, inexplicibly garnered little attention, even though it contained many popular songs, mostly heavier than the Turbo material.

Painkiller (1990) dropped all the synth, over-production and commercial tendencies. A straightforward, extremely fast and heavy album, it became an all-time heavy metal classic and has been considered Judas Priest's greatest album.

Judas Priest's latest release, Angel of Retribution (2005) 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.

Influence on the genre

Judas Priest have influenced countless musicians in three musical generations, in sound, technique, and image. Many bands including Anthrax, Iron Maiden, Accept, Metallica, Megadeth, Manowar, Mercyful Fate, Venom, Slayer, Dokken, Helloween, Stratovarius, Iced Earth, Poison, Napalm Death, Dream Theater and Pantera cite Judas Priest as an influence.

History

File:Judas Priest Sin After Sin Photo.jpg
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. Their friendship drew closer in their early teens as they shared similar musical interests (Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Yardbirds) and both started to learn playing an instrument.

In 1970 a fairly well known local ensemble named Judas Priest (after Bob Dylan's song The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest) 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 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 who suggested her brother, Robert Halford as singer. Halford was admitted in 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 - Flying Hat Band's Glenn Tipton. 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 of "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.

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.

British Steel was a breakthrough album, with its revolutionary dark, heavy yet hook-laden approach. It showcased the newcomer's excellent timekeeping and power.

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.

Subliminal message trial

In 1990, the band was involved in a civil action that alleged they were responsible for the suicide attempts in 1985 of two Nevada boys, James Vance and Ray Belknap. (Belknap died instantly by shooting himself in the face with a sawn-off shotgun; Vance also shot himself but survived, severely disfiguring his face in the attempt. He died approximately three years later due to the effect of his painkillers.) 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. 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. The ambiguity of the alleged message was also taken into question. To quote Rob Halford, "Well...do what? Mow the lawn? Have a drink?"trial article

In a television interview, Judas Priest members 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". The trial was covered in the 1992 documentary "Dream Deceivers: The Story Behind James Vance Vs. Judas Priest."

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.

Hard times

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 as Judas Priest's 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. Perhaps not entirely coincidentally, the film (starring Mark Wahlberg) was a critical and commercial flop.

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 power metal band Iced Earth to record the album The Glorious Burden, which was released in 2004.

Induction

Judas Priest, KISS, Queen, and Def Leppard are scheduled to be the inaugural inductees into the "VH1 Rock Honors." The ceremony will take place May 25, 2006 in Las Vegas, and will air on VH1 May 31. 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."

Miscellaneous

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. 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 alleged crimes.

On February 3, 2006, a new concert taped in Budokan, Japan, called "Rising in the East," debuted on the VH1 Classics channel, showcasing a shaven-headed, bearded Halford and 3 decades of metal standards.

Members

Current members

Former members

See also

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