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Judas Priest

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Judas Priest is an immensely influential heavy metal band formed in 1969 in Birmingham, England. Often called just Priest, the band's classic line-up consists of vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, and Ian Hill on bass guitar.

File:Judas priest 2004.jpg
Judas Priest

One of the originators of heavy metal, and one of the few pure, or classic heavy metal bands, Judas Priest are best known for their two-lead-guitar sound and are particularly noted for the complex guitar duets of K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford's high-pitched screams, and lead vocals. However, the band's biggest musical innovation is the dual 'rhythm guitar', i.e. the accompainment, which plays an essential role in all hard rock genres and especially in heavy metal. Although Wishbone Ash, Thin Lizzy and the Scorpions have had two guitarists each and to some extent did play harmonies and dual leads, none had played dual rhythm consistently as an integral part of thier music. Dual Rhythm consists in two guitarists playing the same exact melody simultanously. There may be minor differences in sound, tone, tenacity, and an occasional deviation from the melody for a very short period. 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.

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 were three early Judas Priest albums; Sad Wings Of Destiny (1976), Sin After Sin(1977), and Stained Class(1978).

Judas Priest's 1980 album British Steel was perhaps the first heavy metal album to be recorded in a concise format with radio-friendly songs with pop hooks, pioneering an approach used by others (Quiet Riot, Dokken, Iron Maiden, Twisted Sister, Accept, Def Leppard) to taste commercial success. Overall, the band has sold in excess of 35 million albums globally.

Halford left the band in the 1990s and was replaced by Tim 'Ripper' Owens, who was plucked from obscurity having previously sung in a Judas Priest tribute band. These events were the inspiration for the film Rock Star, although Owens did not actually participate in the production of the movie.

Judas Priest have released fifteen studio albums to date, the first being Rocka Rolla in 1974 and the latest being Angel of Retribution in 2005.

After approximately twelve years apart, Judas Priest and original lead vocalist Rob Halford announced in July 2003 that they were reunited, with a very successful live concert tour having taken place in 2004. The reunited Judas Priest also co-headlined the Ozzfest in 2004, being named as the "premier act" by almost all U.S. media covering the event. Judas Priest and 'Ripper' Owens parted amicably. 'Ripper' is now the singer of Iced Earth. A new studio album, named Angel of Retribution was released on March 1st, 2005 (U.S)(on Sony Music/Epic Records) and a global tour in support of the album is currently underway.

Statistics

Current band members

Rob Halford - vocals (1973-1991, and from 2003 onwards)

Glenn Tipton - guitars (1974 - present)

K.K. Downing - guitars (1969 - present)

Ian Hill - bass guitars (1969 - present)

Scott Travis - drums (1989 - present)

Former band members

Tim 'Ripper' Owens - vocals (1996 - 2003)

Alan Atkins - vocals (1967-1973)

Dave Holland - drums (1979-1989)

Les Binks - drums (1977-1979)

Simon Phillips - drums (1977)

John Hinch - drums (1973-1975)

Chris 'Congo' Campbell - drums (1972-1973)

Alan 'Skip' Moore - drums (1971-1973, 1975-1977)

John Ellis - drums (1969-1971)

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). The plaintiffs alleged a subliminal message of "do it" had been included in the song "Better by You Better Than Me" (from the Stained Class album) which 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. 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."

Discography

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