Discovering Metal: Judas Priest

“Let’s go break that Law!”

Following the big three early metal bands (Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple), Judas Priest is the next most important metal band to come out of the U.K. They started in the early to mid-1970’s and had a very blues oriented sound and style. Only a few years later, they shed off the blues sound and became the first band to be classified as metal. They inspired the leather and studs look and had songs that represented that refined metal sound. If you listen to some of their earlier songs, like from Sad Wings of Destiny, and then a song from their album Painkiller, you would note a distinct difference because their later works are heavier.

Judas Priest is still one of the biggest bands in metal. In their US shows, they fill large theaters. What keeps drawing fans to their shows during their tours is that they still give a great live performance. Each of the musicians are still at the top of their game, and Rob Halford still screams gloriously. They also continue to record new music, which in this day and age is something their peers are forgoing and resting on their past laurels. 

When talking about Judas Priest, most people cite their duel guitar attack and Halford’s vocals. While these attributes certainly made them stand out from the crowd back in the day, for me what really sets Judas Priest apart from other heavy metal bands is that they have good songs which are true to the Heavy Metal genre. Their epics like “Screaming for Vengeance” to their anthems like “Living After Midnight” made them stand out from other bands sonically. For me, it was the character of the band that made them so likable. Because they are the “Metal Gods”, they wave the flag of metal and they wear that label as a badge of honor. That is something every metalhead can get behind.

Top 10 favorite songs:

1) “Victim of Changes”

2) “Painkiller”

3) “Rapid Fire

4) “Beyond the Realms of Death”

5) “Metal Meltdown”

6) “Hell Bent for Leather”

7) “The Rage”

8) “Halls of Valhalla”

9) “Blood Red Skies”

10) “Screaming for Vengeance”

No, I’m not going to have “Breaking the law”, “You’ve Got another thing Comin”, or “Living after Midnight” on my list because they are over played and everybody knows those songs.

From left to right: Ian Hill, Scott Travis, Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton

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