Judas Priest

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Judas Priest Hair Metal Band

We ain't gonna lie to you, when we heard Rob Halford was gay, songs like "Ram It Down," "Rock Hard, Ride Free," and "Turbo Lover" took on new meaning for us.  Moving on...Judas Priest was a heavy metal pioneer.  The band, from Birmingham, England, was formed way back in 1969, and is widely credited for introducing the world of heavy metal to motor cycles, leather, spikes, and maybe a whip or two.

The name "Judas Priest" came from a reference to the Bob Dylan song, "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest".  By 1974, the members of the band had somewhat stabilized, and Rocka Rolla became their first release.  It was the release of their 1980 album, British Steele, that began the band's journey into mainstream popularity (this is the album that includes the song "Breaking the Law"). 1982's Screaming for Vengeance was an even greater success in the states with songs like "You've Got Another Coming", "Take These Chains", and "Electric Eye."  Defenders of the Faith, released in 1984, was very similar to sound as their 1982 release.  In 1986, Judas Priest released the album Turbo, which was a bit of a change for the band as it contained synthesizers.  Nevertheless, the album did go platinum.

In 1990, Judas Priest was sued for wrongful death in the suicide of a Nevada teenager.  The claim was that subliminal messages in some of Judas Priest's lyrics had convinced the teenager to pull the trigger.  This lawsuit was eventually dismissed.  After the Painkiller album tour of 1991, Halford had left Judas Priest to form a new thrash metal band called "Fight".  Judas Priest tapped a new vocalist for several albums between 1996 and 2003, but Halford returned in 2003.  Since 2003, Judas Priest continued releasing new material and touring.

At the time of this writing, the Judas Priest Discography was as follows:

Listen for free or download any Judas Priest track for just 12 cents per song!

  • 1974: Rocka Rolla
  • 1976: Sad Wings of Destiny
  • 1977: Sin After Sin
  • 1978: Stained Class
  • 1978: Killing Machine/Hell Bent for Leather (US Title)
  • 1980: British Steel
  • 1981: Point of Entry
  • 1982: Screaming for Vengeance
  • 1984: Defenders of the Faith
  • 1986: Turbo
  • 1988: Ram It Down
  • 1990: Painkiller
  • 1997: Jugulator
  • 2001: Demolition
  • 2005: Angel of Retribution
  • 2008: Nostradamus