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Take On The World The Rise of Judas Priest
"Isn't it ironic? I could never get into S&M. We're about more than Madonna."
- Rob Halford, 2004
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Heavy Metal music is not far off middle-age. The genre is now an incredible 30 years old (give or take a year or so), and during that lengthy period so many bands have made their mark that it is always difficult to claim that anyone has been seminal to the style and development of the whole genre. But that's what I'm going to claim for Judas Pri ...read more
Take On The World The Rise of Judas Priest
"Isn't it ironic? I could never get into S&M. We're about more than Madonna."
- Rob Halford, 2004
------------------
Heavy Metal music is not far off middle-age. The genre is now an incredible 30 years old (give or take a year or so), and during that lengthy period so many bands have made their mark that it is always difficult to claim that anyone has been seminal to the style and development of the whole genre. But that's what I'm going to claim for Judas Priest.
Malcolm Dome, Kerrang!, 1994
Judas Priest is:
Rob Halford - Vocals (1974-1991 2003-Present)
KK. Downing - Lead Guitar (1969-Present)
Glenn Tipton - Lead Guitar (1974-Preseent)
Ian Hill - Bass Guitar (1969 -Present)
Scott Travis - Drums and Percussion (1989-Present)
Past Members include:
Alan Atkins - Vocals (1969-1973)
Tim 'Ripper' Owens - Vocals (1996 - 2003)
John Ellis - Drums (1969-1971)
Alan 'Skip' Moore - Drums (1971-1974, 1975-1977)
Chris 'Congo' Campbell - Drums (1972-1973)
John Hinch - Drums (1974-1975)
Simon Phillips - Drums (1977)
Les Binks - Drums (1977-1979)
Dave Holland - Drums (1979-1989)
Discography:
Rocka Rolla - 1974
Sad Wings of Destiny - 1976
Sin After Sin - 1977
Stained Class - 1978
Killing Machine - 1978 (released as Hell Bent for Leather in the US)
Unleashed in the East - 1979 (Live)
British Steel - 1980
Point of Entry - 1981
Screaming for Vengeance - 1982
Defenders of the Faith - 1984
Turbo - 1985
Priest...Live! - 1987 (Live 1986)
Ram It Down - 1988
Painkiller - 1990
Living After Midnight 1994 (Best Of)
Jugulator - 1997
Live Meltdown - 1998 (Live 1998)
Demolition - 2001
Live in London - 2002 (Live album and DVD)
Electric Eye - 2003 (Live DVD)
Angel of Retribution - 2005
Leather Rebels
" But it was all about finding an image that identified with the power of the music. You couldn't put on a tutu and play Judas Priest songs."
- Rob Halford, 2004
Heavy Metal music has always been about power. It's been about this ever since it started, and it will until it dies in the fires of hell. And many have risen to the dizzy heights of this genre, only to fall again. But one band has consistently proved themselves to be the kings, nay, gods of this genre, and that band is Judas Priest. Don't believe me? Ask any of the members of Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Children of Bodom, Helloween, Stratovarius, Poison, Napalm Death, Dream Theater, Running Wild, Death and Pantera about their influences, and they'll cite Judas Priest as one of them.
In fact, Priest have inspired three entire musical generations. They co-created Heavy Metal (along with Deep Purple and Black Sabbath), they pioneered Speed Metal (which in turn progressed to Thrash, which began Extreme metal, Progressive Metal and Power Metal). In addition, Judas Priest's onstage wardrobe began the obsession with brutal, outlandish costumes seen in Hair Metal, Black Metal etc.
Born in October '51, Kenneth Downing met Ian Hill (born Jan, '51) at their local kindergarten, and the two were soon fast friends. This friendship continued all through primary and high school, and was strengthened when the two began to learn guitar (Kenneth on lead and Hill on bass). At the age of 18, the two met Al Atkins, the frontman of local band The Judas Priests, (named after the Bob Dylan song (The Ballad Of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest). Although the band had recently broken up, Al asked the two young men if they wished to reform the band. They agreed, and after a slight amendment of the name, Judas Priest was born. Along with drummer John Ellis, the trio toured all of the UK, supporting acts such as Budgie and Thin Lizzy. In the early '70s, with Alan Moore as their drummer, Judas Priest toured Germany and Norway, sometime even headlining events. However, continual bickering with their management lead Alan and Al to quit the band in '74, leaving Kenneth (who had acquired the stage name of K.K from a Swedish fan) and Ian without a singer or drummer.
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[Fun Fact]The movie Spinal Tap depicts the band as forever losing drummers in one fashion or another. This is actually poking fun at Judas Priest, who were known for their fickle attitude to drummers (they have had far more than I have listed).
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Ian Hill's girlfriend of the time suggested her brother, a young man by the name of Rob Halford. Rob brought with him drummer John Hinch, from his old band Hiroshima. Aided by Rob's powerful falsetto, the band were ready to record their first album. However, their record label suggesting hiring on another member. Reluctant to include a keyboardist, they settled on a second guitarist; Flying Hat Band's Glenn Tipton.
And so was Rocka Rolla born, albeit with terrible production (a product of fights with the producers). In addition, two of the bands most popular songs were cut from the album, and Caviar and Meths was reduced to a pale shade of it's former, 8 minute long live self. Despite this, the album was hailed as a great example of Hard Rock at it's finest.
The band followed this up with two years of frenetic touring, then returned to the studio to record their second album, with former drummer Alan Moore returned. Sad Wings Of Destiny entered the world in late '76, and showed the first signs of Heavy Metal. It was also even better received than Rocka Rolla, and so bolstered the band further.
Hot Rockin
It was at this time that Rob started wearing his trademark leather biker clothing. After seeing the fan response, KK and Glenn bowed down to Rob's urgings, and also started to dress in leather jackets. Ian Hill conceded the point by wearing leather pants. This image quickly became the band's most famous attribute, and no doubt bolstered their success.
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[Fun Fact]PETA has often petitioned Judas Priest to stop wearing leather, despite the band switching to faux leather in the late 80s. Judas Priest has always responded with a fairly blunt no.
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The band quickly released three albums over the period of two years. Sin After Sin and Stained Class were welcomed with open arms, and continued the same vein of Sad Wings Of Destiny. Killing Machine/Hellbent For Leather (it was renamed for the US) showed a more frenetic Judas Priest, and displayed the first truly Heavy Metal tracks, such as Running Wild. « hide |
Similar Bands: Iron Maiden, Machine Men, Accept, Scorpions, Iced Earth
Contributors: Mikesn, rattlehead42147, FR33L0RD, pate, morrissey, Alex101, Riva, manuscriptreplica,
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