Judas Priest

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Birmingham, England (1969 – present)

Judas Priest are pioneers of the Heavy Metal genre, and arguably created the “Metal” look. Priest were forerunners of the ‘New Wave of British Heavy Metal’ movement, laying the groundwork for the speed and thrash metal of the ’80s and ’90s.

The band was formed in Birmingham, England in 1969 by guitarist John Perry (who died shortly after and was replaced by Earnest Chataway), bassist Bruno Stapenhill, drummer John Partridge, and singer Alan Atkins.

In 1970, guitarist Kenneth ‘KK’ Downing and bassist Ian Hill joined, replacing Chataway and Stapenhill. Later, in 1972, Rob Halford and drummer John Hinch joined to replace Atkins and Partridge, respectively. A second guitarist, Glenn Tipton, was also added to the line-up in 1974 as compensation for their record company’s (Gull Records) suggestion to add a horn section to the first album, Rocka Rolla.

Downing and Tipton’s harmonised guitar lines were not particularly common at the time, but became a trademark for the group and would inspire other bands such as Metallica, Iron Maiden and Megadeth to do the same. It is now a standard feature of many heavy metal bands and appears in many of metal’s sub-genres.

The band featuring Halford, Downing, Tipton and Hill would go on to record 14 albums from 1974 through to 1990. Their second album, Sad Wings of Destiny (released in 1976), is considered one of the most influential metal albums along with Black Sabbath’s self-titled début.

Tagged as:

heavy metal, metal, nwobhm, hard rock, classic rock
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Top Albums

Painkiller
Judas Priest
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British Steel
Judas Priest
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Screaming for Vengeance
Judas Priest
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Angel of Retribution
Judas Priest
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Top Tracks

1	Breaking The Law full track	6,019
2	Painkiller full track	5,096
3	Living After Midnight full track	3,221
4	Electric Eye full track	2,617
5	You've Got Another Thing Comin' full track	2,451
6	A Touch Of Evil full track	1,838
7	Night Crawler full track	1,777
8	Hell Patrol full track	1,712
9	Turbo Lover full track	1,650
10	Metal Gods full track	1,612
11	Metal Meltdown full track	1,509
12	Leather Rebel full track	1,427
13	The Hellion full track	1,405
14	Hell Bent for Leather full track	1,401
15	All Guns Blazing full track	1,312

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maideninheaven wrote:
yesterday afternoon

Go to http://scene.blogsky.com/pages/poll/ and vote for the best 2009 metal album

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gokusou wrote:
yesterday afternoon

i love them <3 i can feel lots of energy when i listen to their music. xD

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tangerman wrote:
Thursday evening

The Sentinel!!

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darthcas wrote:
Thursday evening

very underrated, just 500,000 listeners, its not fair!

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Czajnik_69 wrote:
Thursday afternoon

Agree - I put British Steel and Screaming for Vengeance over Painkiller anytime

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glassbottle wrote:
Thursday morning

Painkiller Isn't as good as their 70's stuff. EARLY PRIEST IS FLAWLESS

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NYPClital wrote:
Thursday morning

apparently someone shot themselves after listening to on of their records...

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Jobrainstorm wrote:
Thursday morning

deemoniiizeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!

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budred wrote:
Wednesday afternoon

DemonByChoose: Some will disagree but Painkiller is probably the heaviest Priest song. If not my favorite it's definitely in the top three. Also, no offense, but that's Breaking the Law. You seem a little new to the Priest, happy listening, they're the best. Take care, Peace!

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DemonByChoose wrote:
Wednesday afternoon

I remember hearing Painkiller for the first time, after Turbo Lover and Bringing the Law it just blew my brains right in to the wall!

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MurderCapital wrote:
Tuesday evening

Better than gravity.

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SonoEpico wrote:
Tuesday morning

someone left the comment "they arent even british, theyre from england" soooooo yeah... total fail. anywho, i agree, Priest is definitely too early for NWOBHM. but no matter how many debates on it, or if they're better than Maiden, PRIEST IS STILL A FUCKING AMAZING BAND!! :)

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TucoRamirez666 wrote:
Tuesday morning

VICTIM OF CHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGEEEESSSSSSSS

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wonx92 wrote:
Tuesday morning

\m/__(>_<)__\m/

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alkimedon wrote:
Monday evening

judas lan bu

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alkimedon wrote:
Monday evening

ya bi siktirin gidin aq

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lulled wrote:
Monday evening

From desert plains, I'll bring you looooooooooooooooooooooo (...) oooooooove

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Fuhrer_ wrote:
Monday afternoon

Painkiller KURWA [3]

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pow_lee_nah wrote:
Monday afternoon

Painkiller KURWA [2]

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garynotrashcoug wrote:
Sunday evening

Priest, Maiden and Sabbath are the three godfathers of heavy metal. Whether you like one more than the other or all three or none of them, you must at least acknowledge their contributions. Let's just leave it at that.

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