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. Alongside thier juniors, Iron Maiden, they epitomize the classic heavy metal genre, particularly the NWOBHM movement.


Musical style and influences

Judas PriestOne 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, or riff, 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 their music. Dual rhythm consists in two guitarists playing the same exact melody (riff) simultanously. There may be minor differences in sound, tone, tenacity, and an occasional deviation from the melody for a very short period (like a short improvisation, or insert - just a few notes). 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 unique style is often inserting very melodic solos, or "lead breaks" - amidst fast and brutal riffs (eg. - "Rock Hard Ride Free", "Night Crawler", "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 were three early Judas Priest albums; Sad Wings Of Destiny (1976), Sin After Sin(1977), and Stained Class(1978). The band played louder and 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 (eg. - "The Ripper", "One For The Road", "Starbreaker") to fairly structured, changing from fast and loud to slower tempo and softer tunes in one song (eg.- "Victim Of Cahnges", "Run Of The Mill", "Beyond The realms Of Death"). Their 1978 album "Killing Machine" (entitled "Hell Bent For Leather" and released in 1979 in the USA) saw a slight change of direction towards shorter, more "poppy" or "americanized" songs, especially lyrically. 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, pioneering an approach used by many others (Quiet Riot, Dokken, Twisted Sister, Accept, Def Leppard) to taste commercial success. However, Priest are perhaps one of the only bands who retain a definite heavy metal sound, with all the aggression and brutality despite the commercial twist to it.

Their next effort, Point of Entry was hard to define. The sound was very "raw" (minimal sound manipulation), the songs were at a slower than usual tempo. Subsequent albums, especially "Defenders of the Faith" (1984) and "Painkiller" (1990) set standards and influenced the shape of heavy metal. Their last release, "Angel of Retribution" (2005) also contributed to the current revival of heavy metal, after the fade of grunge, alternative, thrash, indie and other temporary trends.

Judas Priest have influenced countless musicians in three musical generations, both in sound, technique and image, and are still active.


History
K.K. (Kenneth Keith) Downing and Ian Hill knew each other since an early age, as they attended the same kindergarten and school. Their friendship drew closer in their early teens as they shared similar musical interests (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, going through various drummer changes, continued extensive touring of Birmingham and the surrounding areas, sometimes supporting Thin Lizzy, Trapeze until 1972. Fiscal difficulties and problems with thier management, Tony Iommi's company, IMA, lead to Alan Atkins' and drummer Alan Moore's departures.

At the time, Ian Hill was courtesing 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 enterd 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 down on a guitarist - Flying Hat Band's Glenn Tipton joined Judas Priest. According to the band, there were some technical malfunctions during recording but the record company refused to address those problems, 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 estblished professional, having produced numerous albums for famous groups such as Black Sabbath) had too big a say in the production of the album: he left out stage classics "Tyrant", "Genocide", "The Ripper" and "Caviar And Meths" - the latter being cut from an 8 minute song to a 2 minute instrumental.

With their next album the band had gained some more experience and confidence, fully participating in the production, as well as chosing the producers. The result was "Sad Wings Of Destiny"(1976), considered a cornerstone of heavy metal. This album featured mostly old material, including the aforementioned stage classics and an epic "Victim Of Changes" - a song combined of "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 pervious group Hiroshima. All these songs are now considered classics epitomizing the very essence of classic heavy metal.

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.

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 "The Ripper" Owens, who had previously sung in a Judas Priest tribute band, was hired as Judas Priest's singer. Owens' story of turning from fan to frontman were the inspiration for the film Rock Star, although Owens did not actually participate in the production of the movie.

This line up released two albums, "Jugulator" and "Demolition". Critics and fans alike accused Judas Priest of "selling out" - following the current trends of thrash metal and grunge. Although most bands receiving similar accusations do not neccessarily suffer lower sales, people look at Priest as setters of trends, not followers. The band vehemnetly denied following any trends, claiming that they were simply sounding up to date.

After approximately twelve years apart, Judas Priest and original lead vocalist Rob Halford announced their reunion in July 2003. They immediatly emabrked on a live concert tour in 2004, and co-headlined the Ozzfest in 2004, being named as the "premier act" by almost all U.S. media covering the event. Both tours were extremely successful. 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. Judas Priest and 'Ripper' Owens parted amicably, and Owens is now the singer of Iced Earth.

Statistics
Genres: Heavy metal, Hard rock, Classic metal
Origin: Birmingham, United Kingdom
Status: Active
Time: 1967 till present
Label: Sony Music

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)