Metal Mayhem: Metal Mayhem's Top 100 Bands of All-Time, 3: Judas Priest

3. Judas Priest

Judas Priest is a British heavy metal band that formed in 1969 by guitarist K. K. Downing,bassist Ian Hill, and drummer John Ellis. It wasn't until 1974 that the band settled on Rob Halford as lead vocalist due to the urging of Hill's girlfriend . . . Halford's sister. That same year, they added second guitarist Glenn Tipton establishing their unique double guitar sound and their classic lineup.

Priest is famous for their powerful double guitar attack, operatic vocal style, heavy theatrics, and S & M attire. Although originally a bluesy based rock band, they moved away from that style toward a more edgier, hard rock style. Their first few albums, Rocka Rolla, Sad Wings of Destiny, Stained Glass, and Killing Machine were all progressing to something, but were still in the mold of Black Sabbath style metal.

It wasn't until the late 1970's when the New Wave of British Metal-style of metal, that Judas Priest found their signature sound. While the band was groundbreaking as far as they were one of the first metal acts to drop the blues element from their sound, they were heavily influenced by bands like Iron Maiden (Maiden and Priest often inspired each other), Diamond Head, and Saxon. The result was Judas Priest first signature album, British Steel in 1980. This classic album featured such classics as "Breaking the Law," "Metal Gods," and "Living After Midnight." The next signature album came in 1982 with the release of Screaming for Vengeance which includes the classic "You've Got Another Thing Coming" and "Electric Eye." These two albums should be in any metal fans collection.

Over the years, Priest released a number of excellent, yet underrated albums like Turbo, Ram It Down, and Painkiller. However, Rob Halford left the band in May 1992 due to internal tensions within the band. Some have speculated that this had to do with Halford being a homosexual, but this has never been confirmed.

They replaced Halford with Priest cover singer Tim "Ripper" Owens in 1996 to very little fanfare or support. The Owens-led Priest released two relatively decent albums in Jugulator and Demolition, but fans clearly wanted Halford back.

In 2003, the band rehired Rob Halford, thus ending the Owens Era of the band. In 2005, Judas priest released their first concept album Angel of Retribution to rave reviews by fans and critics. In my opinion, an incredible album. In 2008, Judas Priest released their best album since Screaming for Vengeance with another concept album titled Nostradamus which featured many symphonic elements that the band had never used before. It is an incredible feat that a band that had been around as long as Priest could make such a dramatic departure and still be incredibly effective.

In 2010, the band announced plans to retire following their World Tour, but I doubt that will last as Halford has recently mentioned that the band is working on new material. However, founder K. K. Downing retired from the band in April 2011.

Anyway, here is some great Priest tunes!

Here is "The Ripper."