Judas Priest was one of the most influential heavy metal bands of the 1970's, being named by MTV as the second most important band in heavy metal just behind Black Sabbath. Not only did they pioneer the music genre later known as New Wave of British Heavy Metal, they were also revolutionaries of the macho leather and chains look that is widely associated with the heavy metal music of the 1970's and 1980's.
Judas Priest Forms
The band was formed in Birmingham, England in 1971 by former classmates Kenneth Keith Downing (later to be referred to as KK Downing) and Ian Hill. Downing played guitar while Hill played the bass. They recruited Alan Atkins on vocals and John Ellis, who was soon replaced by Alan Moore, on drums. They performed numerous shows throughout 1971 and spent a solid year touring the UK.
Rob Halford Joins the Band
Managment problems in 1973 saw Atkins and Moore leave the band. They were replaced by Ian Hill's brother-in-law, singer Rob Halford, whose screaming four octave voice became a trademark of the band, and drummer John Hinch. They added a second guitarist, Glenn Tipton, creating a vicious duelling guitar sound and, the band complete, they signed a record deal.
Rocka Rolla to Killing Machine
The band's debut album was released in 1974 but Rocka Rolla didn't create many waves, either commercially or critically. Their second album, 1976's Sad Wings of Destiny, did little better although now it is regarded as a metal classic.
Their third album was Sin After Sin and they were becoming more and more popular with every album they made but it was 1978's Stained Class that established them as an international force in metal music. Along with Hell Bent For Leather (which was called Killing Machine in the UK) in 1979 they began the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal.
With the arrival of new drummer Dave Holland, 1979 saw the band release their first live album, Unleashed in the East and this was followed by two more studio albums, British Steel in 1980 and Point of Entry in 1981.
Screaming For Vengeance and the Early to Mid 1980's
The band had the most success during the 1980's and the 1982 album Screaming For Vengeance marked the height of their popularity, peaking at number 17 in America and selling over a million copies.
Defenders of the Faith and Turbo followed but by the middle 1980's metal tastes were changing and bands such as Metallica and other speed/thrash metal bands were growing in popularity.
1988's Ram It Down saw the band return to pure raw metal and by the end of the 1980's Judas Priest were one of the best selling live acts in heavy metal.
Rob Halford Leaves the Band
In 1989 Scott Travis replaced Dave Holland as drummer and he played on his first studio album, 1990's Painkiller.
In 1990, the band was hauled to court after two teenagers committed suicide. It was claimed that the song Better By You, Better Than Me contained hidden messages that incited the teenagers to shoot themselves. A judge ruled in the band's favour.
By the end of the 1980's there was a lot of tension in the band and Rob Halford left. He formed numerous solo projects including Fight, Two and the simpy named Halford. In 1998, he told the world that he was gay.
The Ripper Years
After Halford's departure he was replaced in 1991 by Tim "Ripper" Owens. Owens had been the singer with a Judas Priest tribute band and he jumped at the chance to sing with the band. The movie "Rock Star" starring Mark Wahlberg was based loosely on his story.
Two studio albums were released under this line up, 1997's Jugulator and 2001's Demolition, both to mixed reviews, as well as two live albums, '98 Live Meltdown and Live In London.
Rob Halford Returns
While collaborating on Metalogy, a career encompassing box set, in 2003, Halford returned to the band. Owens split from the band was amicable and he went on to front American heavy metal band Iced Earth.
The band made a triumphant comeback world tour in 2004 and their long awaited album Angel Of Retribution was released in 2005.
2008 saw the release of their double disc concept album, Nostradamus.
VH1 Rock Honours and Winning a Grammy
On 25th May 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada, along with Kiss, Queen and Def Leppard, Judas Priest were the inaugural inductees into VH1's Rock Honours. The show was aired on 31st May 2006.
A new live album featuring live tracks from both the 2005 and 2008 world tours was released on 24th July 2009 and the performance of Dissident Aggressor won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.
Sources
- Answers.com - Judas Priest - information from Answers.com
- The Guardian - interview with Rob Halford on 30th Anniversary of album, British Steel
- About.com - Heavy Metal
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