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Musical Style And
Influences of Judas Priest
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 accompaniment, 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 (with the exception
of Wishbone Ash, who pioneered the sound). Dual rhythm
consists of two guitarists playing the same exact melody
(riff) simultaneously. 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 Changes", "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. And all of them used dual lead guitar
attack. 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), "Turbo" (1986) 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.
Influence on the genre
Judas Priest have influenced countless musicians in three
musical generations, both in sound, technique and image,
and are still active. Judas Priest have influenced all
genres of Heavy metal music. Many bands including Iron
Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, Children Of Bodom, Dokken,
Helloween, Stratovarius, Poison, Napalm Death, Dream Theater
and Pantera cite Judas Priest as an influence.
Judas Priest 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 entered 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 previous
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 vehemently 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 immediately embarked
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.
Subliminal message trial
In 1990, the band was involved in a civil action that
alleged they were responsible for the suicide attempts
in 1985 of two Nevada boys (James Vance and Ray Belknap)(Belknap
died instantly by shooting himself in the face with a
sawed off shotgun, Vance also shot at himself, only severely
disfiguring his face in the attempt and died three years
after the incident). The plaintiffs alleged a subliminal
message of "do it" had been included in the
song "Better by You Better Than Me" (from the
Stained Class album) which triggered the suicide attempt.
The suit was eventually dismissed on its merits, as the
band had pointed out that if you were to play any song
backwards and tell someone there was a message, it'll
sound as though there actually is. In a television interview,
Judas Priest members commented that if they wanted to
insert subliminal commands in their music, killing their
fans would be counterproductive, and they would prefer
to insert the command "Buy more of our records."
On August 15, 2002 PETA sent the band's
management a request to stop wearing leather onstage,
as the production of leatherwear involves cruelty to animals.
Judas Priest responded that they wear artificial leather,
but PETA still protested that this could encourage listeners
to wear real leather.
Judas Priest Statistics
Genres: Heavy metal, Hard rock, Classic metal
Origin: Birmingham, United Kingdom
Status: Active
Time: 1969 till present
Label: Sony Music
Judas Priest Members
Current band members
Rob Halford - vocals (1973-1993, 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)
Judas Priest Former band members
Tim 'Ripper' Owens - vocals (1996 - 2003)
Alan Atkins - vocals (1967-1973) - note that the band
Judas Priest in which Atkins sang between '67 and '69
was a different band.
Dave Holland - drums (1979-1989)
Les Binks - drums (1977-1979)
Simon Phillips - drums (1977)
John Hinch - drums (1973-1975)
Chris 'Congo' Campbell - drums (1972-1973)
Alan 'Skip' Moore - drums (1971-1973, 1975-1977)
John Ellis - drums (1969-1971)
Judas Priest Discography
Rocka Rolla - 1974
Sad Wings of Destiny - 1976
Sin After Sin - 1977
Stained Class - 1978
Hell Bent for Leather - 1979 (released as Killing Machine
in the UK)
Unleashed in the East - 1979 (Live in Japan 1979)
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
Jugulator - 1997
Live Meltdown - 1998 (Live 1998)
Genocide - (compilation) 2000
Demolition - 2001
Live in London - 2002 (Live album and DVD)
Electric Eye - 2003 (Live DVD)
Angel of Retribution - 2005
Collaborations with other musicians
Ken Downing and Ian Hill did not record or perform outside
Judas Priest.
Glenn Tipton:
Was in the Flying Hat Band before joining Judas Priest.
They recorded one album which the record company refused
to release. The other musicians in the band were Peter
"Mars" Cowling (bass) and Steve Palmer (drums).
Played a guitar solo on Samantha Fox's song "Spirit
Of America" from her 1988 album "Just One Night".
Released a solo album entitled "Baptizm Of Fire"
in 1996, in collaboration with musicians Cozy Powell,
Robert Trujillo, Brooks Wackerman, Don Airey, and Billy
Sheehan among others.
Rob Halford:
Recorded backing vocals on Krokus' "Russian Winter"
from the 1983 album "Headhunter".
Appeared at a concert with Skid Row and performed Judas
Priest's "Delivering The Goods" in 1991.
Recorded backing vocals on Ugly Kid Joe's "Goddamn'
Devil" on their 1991 album "America's Least
Wanted".
Appeared at the 1992 Black Sabbath reunion concert, replacing
Ronnie James Dio.
Formed the group "Fight" , released two albums,
"War Of Words" (03/22/1993) and "Small
Deadly Space" (03/22/1995). An EP was released based
upon the War of Words disc, entitled "Mutations"
(03/22/1994).
Formed the group "Two", released a single album
with this project.
Formed "Halford" in 1999 and released two studio
albums "Resurrection" and "Crucible",
and "Live: Resurrection".
Performed with Sum 41 and Tommy Lee at MTV's 20th birthday
party.
In 1989 Judas Priest experimented with famous pop producers
Stock Aitken and Waterman, and recorded three tracks.
Fans were furious, as they believed the Judas Priest wanted
to release pop albums. The tracks were never released,
and are believed to be in Judas Priest's possession.
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