History Music / JudasPriest

Judas Priest is a Music/HeavyMetal band that got its current lineup in Birmingham, England, in 1969. The original Judas Priest split up in 1968, and lead singer Al Atkins approached KK Downing, Ian Hill, and John Ellis to become their singer. Atkins and their subsequent drummer Alan Moore (not [[AlanMoore that one]]) left in 1974. Ian Hill's girlfriend suggested her brother, Rob Halford, could fill Atkins's departure.

** "Lochness" almost sounds like a GeorgeLucasThrowback to the very earliest metal of IronButterfly or DeepPurple.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: A 6 or 7, usually, with some of ''Jugulator'' crossing into 8 territory. ''Point of Entry'' and ''Turbo'' would both be 4 or 5. That said, it should be noted that albums like "Sin After Sin" and "British Steel" might seem fairly average today (only in terms of weight, of course), but were heavy beyond heavy when released.

* GrowingTheBeard: They started recording in 1974, but it wasn't until their second album (''Sad Wings of Destiny'', 1976) that they developed a metal sound, and it wasn't until their fourth album (''Stained Class'', 1978) that they progressed to speed metal.

* Rob Halford: Lead vocals, [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome harmonica]]

* StrawFeminist: The video for "Locked In" features a tribe of evil (but [[HotAmazon sexy]]) warrior women who imprison and torture men. (The song is about a {{Tsundere}}.)

* ThisIsSPARTA:
--> ''"HE! IS! THE! PAINKILLER! THIS! IS! THE! PAINKILLER!"''
--> ''"LIVING! After MIDNIGHT! ROCKING! To the DAWN! LOVING! 'Til the MORNING! Then I'm GONE! I'm GONE!"''
--> ''"HERE! COMES! THE REVOLUTION! TIME! FOR! RETRIBUTION!"''
--> ''"ROCK HARD! RIDE FREE!"''
And so on, ad infinitum.

* TropeCodifier: The band is largely responsible for the modern style of heavy metal. [[YourMileageMayVary Depending on your definition of "heavy metal"]], they may also count as the TropeMaker or even the UrExample.

* MadeOfIron: During a 1991 Judas Priest concert, Rob Halford collided with a drum riser while riding his motorcycle onstage, falling off the bike and breaking his nose. After regaining consciousness he performed the remainder of the concert despite the fact that he would have been in excruciating pain at the time. He did not go to the hospital until after the show.

* EpicRiff: "The Ripper" and "Breaking the Law".

* PatrioticFervor: "Red, White And Blue," a song they recorded but never released except on a remastered version of one of their old albums. (Ingeniously, although the song refers to Britain's Union Jack, it could also represent the flag of the United States of America, France, Cuba, or various other countries.)

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: A 6 or 7, usually, with some of ''Jugulator'' crossing into 8 territory. ''Point of Entry'' and ''Turbo'' would both be 4 or 5.

* InTheStyleOf: Their hard rock cover of Joan Baez' ''Diamonds and Rust''. Averted live sometimes: they've played it in a more folky, acoustic fashion in concert before.

* MadeOfIron: During a 1991 Judas Priest concert, Rob Halford collided with a drum riser while riding his motorcycle onstage, falling off the bike and breaking his nose. After regaining consciousness performed the remainder of the concert despite the fact that he would have been in excruciating pain at the time. He did not go to the hospital until after the show.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: A 7, usually, with some of ''Painkiller'' crossing into 8 territory. ''Point of Entry'' and ''Turbo'' would both be 6.

** It's a lot of fun to try to explain every song in the context of Halford's homosexuality. Case in point, "Turbo Lover", from the eponymous album. It's a song describing well... Gay sex.

So I might as well begin to put some action in my life''

''[[caption-width-right:300:We're gonna rock ya 'til your [[HeavyMetal Metal]] hunger's fed...]]''

Judas Priest is a HeavyMetal band that got its current lineup in Birmingham, England, in 1969. The original Judas Priest split up in 1968, and lead singer Al Atkins approached KK Downing, Ian Hill, and John Ellis to become their singer. Atkins and their subsequent drummer Alan Moore (not [[AlanMoore that one]]) left in 1974. Ian Hill's girlfriend suggested her brother, Rob Halford, could fill Atkins's departure.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Tim Owens was thought to be using a backing track of Rob's voice by members of the band when they heard his demo tape.

* IncrediblyLongNote: In ''Painkiller''.

On the 20th of April 2011 the band announced K. K. Downing had left. While this was a shock the band will go ahead with the tour and continue working with new guitarist Ritchie Faulkner, who has previously worked with Lauren Harris, daughter of [[IronMaiden Steve Harris]].