History Music / JudasPriest

[[caption-width-right:350:Judas Priest's current lineup. From left to right: Ian Hill, Scott Travis, Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton.]]

[[caption-width-right:300:Judas Priest's current lineup. From left to right: Ian Hill, Scott Travis, Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton.]]

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/judas_priest.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Judas Priest's 2003-2011 lineup. From left to right: Ian Hill, KK Downing, Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton and Scott Travis.]]

[[caption-width-right:300:Judas Priest in recent years. From left to right: Ian Hill, Richie Faulkner, Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton and Scott Travis.]]

* MotorMouth: Not as extreme as later speed-metal bands, but still impressive. The best example is probably 1979's "Delvering the Goods": "Well, we don't pull no punches. We aim where the crunches are bound to do most damage to your brain. If you're looking for it mellow, you're nothing more than yellow. Gonna do it again and again." That's 37 words spewed out in a mere 12 seconds, or over 3 words per second!

'''Judas Priest''' is a HeavyMetal band that got its original lineup in [[SweetHomeMidlands Birmingham, England]], in 1970. Taking their name from an ensemble also called Judas Priest which split up earlier that year, lead singer Al Atkins approached K.K. Downing, Ian Hill, and John Ellis to become their singer. Atkins and their subsequent drummer Alan Moore (not [[Creator/AlanMoore that one]]) left in 1974. Ian Hill's girlfriend suggested her brother, Rob Halford, could fill Atkins's departure.

* OminousLatinChanting: On ''Nostradamus'' Ominous Old French Chanting.
* PatrioticFervor: "Red, White And Blue," a song they recorded but never released except on a remastered version of British Steel. (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.) Slightly subverted in that the band's comments in the liner notes pointed out that it was slightly tongue-in-cheek.

* WhipItGood: In the intro of "Love You to Death" from ''Ram It Down''. Outro has Halford screaming in ecstasy while he is supposedly being whipped.

* FanNickname: The band are often called "Metal Gods" by fans, in reference to their song. Even though said song was about giant robots, the title for many fans reflects the band's genre and how they are revered.

* NamesTheSame: There's also a jazz upright-bass player named Dave Holland (who was in MilesDavis's band from 1968 to 1970).
** Also, former drummer Alan "Skip" Moore, who did ''not'' [[Creator/AlanMoore write comic books]].
* PromotedFanboy: Tim "Ripper" Owens.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The ''Painkiller'', ''Jugulator'' and ''Demolition'' albums.

* IncrediblyLongNote: In ''Painkiller'', "Tyrant" and a good few others.

** ''Turbo'', complete with synthesizers. [[BaseBreaker Many fans]] [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks did not appreciate the change]].

* RearrangeTheSong: Their CoverVersion of "Diamonds and Rust", a gentle FolkMusic ballad by Music/JoanBaez,is performed in their trademark HeavyMetal style.

* TropeCodifier: The band is largely responsible for the modern style of heavy metal. Depending on your definition of "heavy metal", they may also count as the TropeMaker or even the UrExample. They, along with IronMaiden, BlackSabbath, Music/{{Motorhead}}, Saxon, Music/{{Accept}} and a few others, are one of the most popular and influential bands to play the original style of metal.

* AmbitionIsEvil: Inverted with "You Got Another Thing Coming".

'''Judas Priest''' is a HeavyMetal band that got its original lineup in Birmingham, England, in 1970. Taking their name from an ensemble also called Judas Priest which split up earlier that year, lead singer Al Atkins approached K.K. Downing, Ian Hill, and John Ellis to become their singer. Atkins and their subsequent drummer Alan Moore (not [[Creator/AlanMoore that one]]) left in 1974. Ian Hill's girlfriend suggested her brother, Rob Halford, could fill Atkins's departure.

Halford and his fellow Hiroshima member, drummer John Hinch, joined Downing and Hill, and Judas Priest as we know them was formed with their debut single "Rocka Rolla" in August. JP kicked out Hinch after the ''Rocka Rolla'' album and went through five more drummers until they picked up Scott Travis in 1989 (previously of Racer X).

In 1990, America's MoralGuardians accused JP of SubliminalSeduction in the suicides of two teenage boys. Rob Halford responded by stating that the alleged message to "do it" didn't say what to do, and that subliminally provoking his audience to commit suicide would be counterproductive; the ideal subliminal message would have been "Buy more of our records." (And it's not as if it was even possible for it to be their fault anyway, since Spooky Tooth had written the song nearly ''ten years earlier''.) The case was, predictably, laughed out of court.

Halford left in 1992, and JP brought on Tim "Ripper" Owens in 1996 for ''Jugulator'' and ''Demolition''. Halford returned in 2003; in the interim, he had publicly come out as a homosexual after five years of rumors. The rest of the band had known the whole time.

Judas Priest have just completed work on their 17th studio album, which is called ''Redeemer of Souls''. It came out July 8, 2014 to positive reception.

'''Judas Priest''' is a HeavyMetal band that got its original lineup in Birmingham, England, in 1970. Taking their name from an ensemble also called Judas Priest which split up earlier that year, lead singer Al Atkins approached KK Downing, Ian Hill, and John Ellis to become their singer. Atkins and their subsequent drummer Alan Moore (not [[Creator/AlanMoore that one]]) left in 1974. Ian Hill's girlfriend suggested her brother, Rob Halford, could fill Atkins's departure.

Halford and his fellow Hiroshima member, drummer John Hinch, joined Downing and Hill, and Judas Priest as we know them was formed with their debut single "Rocka Rolla" in August. JP kicked out Hinch after the ''Rocka Rolla'' album and went through five more until they picked up Scott Travis in 1989 (previously of Racer X).

* PromotedFanboy: Tim "Ripper" Owens. Also a...

* KnifeNut: "The Sentinel" is about a guy who wears throwing knives strapped across his chest, and uses them to rapidly dispatch multiple armed enemies. "The Ripper" is about JackTheRipper.

Judas Priest is a HeavyMetal band that got its original lineup in Birmingham, England, in 1970. Taking their name from an ensemble also called Judas Priest which split up earlier that year, lead singer Al Atkins approached KK Downing, Ian Hill, and John Ellis to become their singer. Atkins and their subsequent drummer Alan Moore (not [[Creator/AlanMoore that one]]) left in 1974. Ian Hill's girlfriend suggested her brother, Rob Halford, could fill Atkins's departure.

* 1980 - ''British Steel''

* CoverVersion: They have covered "Diamonds and Rust" by Joan Baez, "Race With the Devil" by Gun, "Better by You, Better Than Me" by Spooky Tooth, "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)" by Fleetwood Mac and "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry.

* DarkIsNotEvil / GoodIsNotNice: " The Sentinel."

Judas Priest is a Music/HeavyMetal band that got its original lineup in Birmingham, England, in 1970. Taking their name from an ensemble also called Judas Priest which split up earlier that year, lead singer Al Atkins approached KK Downing, Ian Hill, and John Ellis to become their singer. Atkins and their subsequent drummer Alan Moore (not [[Creator/AlanMoore that one]]) left in 1974. Ian Hill's girlfriend suggested her brother, Rob Halford, could fill Atkins's departure.

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

!!Principal Members:

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

Halford left in 1991, and JP brought on Tim "Ripper" Owens in 1996 for ''Jugulator'' and ''Demolition''. Halford returned in 2003; in the interim, he had publicly come out as a homosexual after five years of rumors. The rest of the band had known the whole time.

!Current line-up
* Rob Halford: Lead vocals, [[MundaneMadeAwesome harmonica]]
* Glenn Tipton: Guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, backup vocals
* Ian Hill: Bass guitar, backup vocals
* Scott Travis: Drums, percussion
* Richie Faulkner: Guitar

!Former members
* Al Atkins: vocals (1970–1973)
* John Ellis: drums, percussion (1970–1971)
* Alan "[[StageNames Skip]]" Moore: drums, percussion (1971–1972, 1975–1976)
* Chris Campbell: drums, percussion (1972–1973)
* John Hinch: drums, percussion (1973–1975)
* Les Binks: drums, percussion (1977–1979)
* Dave Holland: drums, percussion (1979–1989)
* Tim "[[StageNames Ripper]]" Owens: vocals (1996–2003)
* K. K. Downing: rhythm and lead guitars (1969–2011)

!Studio Discography

* 1976 - ''Sad Wings of Destiny''
* 1977 - ''Sin After Sin'' (Simon Phillips performed drums and percussion in the studio)

* 1978 - ''Killing Machine'' (Released in America as ''Hell Bent for Leather'')

* 1981 - ''Point of Entry''
* 1982 - ''Screaming for Vengeance''
* 1984 - ''Defenders of the Faith''

* 1988 - ''Ram it Down''

* 2005 - ''Angel of Retribution''

* 2014 - ''Redeemer of Souls''

!Live discography
* 1979 - ''Unleashed in the East''

* 2003 - ''Live in London''
* 2009 - ''A Touch of Evil: Live''
* 2010 - ''[[MilestoneCelebration British Steel - 30th Anniversary - Live]]''

*** Likewise with the period with Al Atkins (and other early members). Not many know that they recorded several demo tapes with him, including tracks that didn't make it to albums. These have never leaked and only tracklists are known. It should be noted, however, that in both cases the splits were without the usual theatrics and grudge-bearing, and the revision of the band's catalogue was likely a marketing decision rather than grudge-bearing.

*** The same with the period with Al Atkins (and other early members). Not many know that they recorded several demo tapes with him, including tracks that didn't make it to albums. These have never leaked and only tracklists are known.

** Can a case for "Turbo Lover" be made here?
*** Not really. "Turbo Lover" is about having sex in a fast car, no matter which gender your partner is. Besides, why couldn't a gay man sing about banging girls, anyway?

** "The Ripper" is of course, terrifying in this context.

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