Band Photo: Judas Priest
Formed: 1967
From:
Birmingham,
United Kingdom
Last Known Status: Active
Latest Judas Priest News
VH-1 To Air Remastered Behind The Music Episodes
VH1 has updated some of their previous "Behind The Music" episodes, including Metallica's for a new run on VH1 Classic starting Saturday, February 6. The shows pick up where the original "Behind The Music" left off with new interviews, live footage, and video clips that update the stories. You can check out Metallica's feature at 10 PM EST on February 6 with repeats several times as listed below.
02/06/2010 10:00 P Saturday
02/07/2010 11:00 P Sunday
02/08/2010 01:30 P Monday
02/08/2010 08:00 P Monday
02/08/2010 01:30 A Monday
02/09/2010 12:00 P Tuesday
02/09/2010 07:00 P Tuesday
02/09/2010 12:00 A Tuesday
02/11/2010 11:00 A Thursday
02/11/2010 10:00 P Thursday
02/11/2010 02:00 A Thursday
02/12/2010 07:00 P Friday
02/16/2010 07:00 P Tuesday
02/19/2010 06:00 P Friday
02/20/2010 02:00 P Saturday
Other artists getting the "remastered" treatment include Genesis, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Judas Priest, and John Lennon.
Column
The Rockstar Ramblings: Grammy Edition
Thoughts while watching the Grammy’s and wondering if Lady Gaga’s performance was influenced by Poison’s first album Look What The Cat Dragged In…
Congratulations to Rob Halford and Judas Priest for their Grammy win. Anyone else disappointed Halford wasn’t draped in leather when he accepted the award?...
Speaking of leather, despite matching leather jackets and pants it is difficult to listen to Bon Jovi and not think, so are these guys Country for good?...
Should Anthony Kiedis every leave Red Hot Chile Peppers I believe Taboo from Black Eyed Peas could probably make a seamless transition…
No surprise here when Slash (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver) jointed T-Pain, Jamie Foxx and friends on stage. We are months away from a press release stating Slash is the fourth Jonas brother…
All dressed up and only the Grammy’s to attend, Alice Cooper presented the Grammy for best rock album. There should be a rule that Cooper can only dress as stage “Alice” or be wearing a golf polo shirt…
Watching Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) accepting a Grammy solidified him as the only rocker with a head three times the size of his body…
Non Grammy Thoughts of the week…
Steven Tyler is threatening to sue Aerosmith in an attempt to block the band from hiring a new lead singer. Leaked rumors indicate that Billy Idol has been approached by the band. Two questions: 1. Does Idol get to play Rebel Yell with the band? 2. Generally speaking, does the band feel they have to replace Tyler with someone the exact same age?...
D.J. Ashba (Guns N’ Rosses, Sixx A.M.) was recently kicked out of a Canadian hotel for smoking cigarettes. In an interview this week Ashba went on to say he was shocked by the attitude and anger expressed from “An old woman with Tina Turner like hair”. D.J., it is Canada, eleven months out of the year it is winter. It is cold. These are angry people. Step away from the hotel, and button up, it is going to be okay…
The line-up for Slash’s new album officially includes Fergie (Black Eyed Peas), Ozzy Osbourne, Adam Levine (Maroon 5), Kid Rock, and many others. Given the wide range of talent I have to wonder why Slash neglected to give this up and comer I keep hearing about named Billy Idol a shot…
Finally, VH1 has a reality show titled Rock N Roll Fantasy Camp in production. The cast includes many rock and pop stars including Lemmy, Ace Frehley (Kiss), and of course, Bret Michaels. Anyone interested? Episodes to include segments on picking out bandanas, writing multiple hooks with the word “party”, and learning how to use the word “Awesome” as a noun, verb, adjective, and adverb – all in the same sentence…
Headline News
Judas Priest And AC/DC Win Grammy Awards
Two of the biggest names in hard rock and heavy metal walked away with Grammy awards last night as British metal legends Judas Priest picked up the award for Best Metal Performance, beating Lamb Of God, Megadeth, Ministry and Slayer, with their song "Dissident Aggressor," taken from their live album, "A Touch Of Evil: Live." Australian based hard rockers AC/DC also scooped the prize for Best Hard Rock Performance for their song "War Machine," which appears on their most recent studio album, "Black Ice" and the forthcoming "Iron Man 2" soundtrack. They were able to beat Metallica, Alice In Chains, Nickelback and Linkin Park in their category.
My Chemical Romance Questions Judas Priest?
Many heavy metal fans have been given yet another reason to hate My Chemical recently after the bands lead singer made a statement that many have seen as disrespectful to the British heavy metal legends Judas Priest. Fans and members of the media believe that MCR lead singer Gerard Way questioned Judas Priest's claim to the heavy metal genre. In a recent interview with Spinner.com, he said about the band's forthcoming new album:
"Judas Priest is considered metal, but it’s great rock n roll. (New MCR songs have) nothing to do with that era of metal, the hair rock, but then having everything to do with like the birth of power-anthem metal."
UPDATE: It seems the quote was taken out of context somewhat, and the band it discussing Priest's influence on them. You can read some more here.
Headline News
Metal Nominees For The Grammys Announced
The 52nd Grammy Awards will be held on January 31st of next year at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles. The nominees have been revealed for the Best Hard Rock Performance and Best Metal Performance categories. The nominees are:
Best Hard Rock Performance:
AC/DC - "War Machine"
Alice In Chains - "Check My Brain"
Linkin Park - "What I've Done"
Metallica - "The Unforgiven III"
Nickelback - "Burn It To The Ground"
Best Metal Performance:
Judas Priest - "Dissident Aggressor"
Lamb Of God - "Set To Fail"
Megadeth - "Head Crusher"
Ministry - "Señor Peligro"
Slayer - "Hate Worldwide'"
Column
Sunday Old School: Judas Priest
To some people, the Midlands born five-piece Judas Priest were the first heavy metal band, being as they were the first band to actually embrace the term "heavy metal." Whether you agree or not, they are certainly one of the most important bands in the history of metal. No other band has had the longevity of Judas Priest and arguably no other band has had the heart and passion that Priest have had with them since 1969. The band first consisted of guitarist KK Downing, bass player Ian Hill, lead vocalist Al Atkins and drummer John Ellis and went on to support the likes of Thin Lizzy, Budgie and Trapeze under this lineup. Eventually, Hill brought in his girlfriend's brother Rob Halford to replace Atkins and Ellis was replaced with John Hinch. The band once again toured supporting Budgie and developed such a following that they were able to headline shows in other countries such as Norway and Germany. Once the band signed to Gull Records, the label suggested they add another musician and the band chose guitarist Glen Tipton to become one of the pioneers of the twin guitar sound along with bands like Wishbone Ash. After the recording of their first album, "Rocka Rolla," the band would use a series of session drummers for their next albums, "Sad Wings Of Destiny" and "Sin After Sin" and settled on drummer Les Binks after touring in support of the latter record.
The band went on to record "Stained Class" and "Killing Machine" (known in North America as "Hell Bent For Leather") with Les Binks before he left the band and was replaced with drummer Dave Holland, who would stay with the band for their next six studio albums and one live record. The band struck gold in 1980 when they released "British Steel," which is considered one of, if not the greatest, heavy metal album of all time. The album contained the hit singles, "Breaking The Law," "Living After Midnight" and "United" and helped the band to achieve worldwide rock stardom. The band would continue their success with a series of critically acclaimed albums such as "Point Of Entry," "Screaming For Vengeance" and "Defenders Of The Faith." Their next album, "Turbo" was met with mixed reviews due to its use of synthesisers and the record after that, "Ram It Down" was considered to be a small step up from "Turbo," though the band's popularity began to wane at this point. However, after replacing Dave Holland with former Racer X drummer Scott Travis, the band reclaimed their spot at the top of the heavy metal pile with the outstanding, "Painkiller."
Despite the success of the album, frontman Rob Halford would leave the band after a dispute with the band's record label and formed the band Fight, before going to form the industrial metal outfit 2wo and the heavy metal band Halford. Judas Priest themselves took a long break before recruiting vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens, who was previously the lead singer of a Judas Priest tribute band. With Owens, the band released the albums "Jugulator" and "Demolition" which were met with mixed reviews. In 2003, Rob Halford returned to the band and Owens replaced Matt Barlow as the lead vocalist of American power metal band Iced Earth. With Halford back on board, the band recorded the critically acclaimed "Angel Of Retribution" album and toured the world extensively before releasing the ambitious, 2-CD concept album, "Nostradamus" in 2008. Without a doubt, Judas Priest are as creative, passionate and dedicated today as they were fourty years ago and they've shown no signs of stopping this trend. All hail the Metal Gods! More...
Hail! To Play In Lebanon
Hail!, the band comprised of Andreas Kisser from Sepultura, Ripper Owens from Judas Priest, David Ellefson formerly of Megadeth, and newly announced sticks man Paul Bostaph from Slayer, will be the first metal band to play live in Lebanon. On November 20th, Hail! will play the historic concert at Hektic Hall in the capitol city of Beirut.
“Breaking ground on an international level is what HAIL! is all about,” explained manager Mark “Abba” Abbattista, “when we first started discussing the idea of HAIL! we wondered how far we could actually push the reality of a dream. Anybody can come up with a good idea, but to create a model that no one else has ever before conceived and then to execute that plan to the level that we have makes our chests swell with pride.”
David Ellefson added “This truly is a monumental occasion - to do something for the first time ever is a rare and special opportunity. I can’t believe that it was 25 years ago, but remember how astounding it was when Iron Maiden went behind the iron curtain and played in the eastern bloc? I relate it to that and I am thrilled to be a part of something that has this kind of historic significance.” More...
Metal Legends Discuss "Brutal Legend" Video Game
In a new video posted at GameTrailers.com, Motorhead frontman Lemmy, Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford and heavy metal mainstay Ozzy Osbourne discuss the forthcoming new video game, "Brutal Legend" which all three have lent their voices to. You can check out the video below. The game is in stores now and also features the voice acting talents of Jack Black, Tim Curry and Lita Ford. More...
Austrian Death Machine Posts Teaser Online
As I Lay Dying frontman Tim Lambesis and California frontman Ahhnold are back for round two with the release of AUSTRIAN DEATH MACHINE’s "Double Brutal," the follow up to 2008’s highly successful release, "Total Brutal." This two-disc set features one disc of all new heavy tracks in the tradition of all of Ahhnold’s greatest cinematic moments and a second disc of cover songs including songs originally performed by METALLICA, MEGADETH, MISFITS, JUDAS PRIEST and more, with cover art once again being tackled by Ed Repka (MEGADETH, DEATH, NOFX, NUCLEAR ASSAULT, etc), and is set for a North American release on September 29, 2009. The album also features guest performances by BUZ MCGRATH (UNEARTH), ANDREW TAPLEY (THE HUMAN ABSTRACT), JAMES GERICKE (DEATH BY STEREO), MARK MACDONAL (MERCURY SWITCH), ROCKY GRAY (LIVING SACRIFICE), RUSTY COOLEY and more.
A new audio clip featuring sneak peeks at tracks taken from Double Brutal is currently available on Austrian Death Machine's MySpace page.
“Sometimes being stereotypically metal is fitting. I'm not trying to break new ground; I just want to break people's necks... and have fun doing it,” comments AUSTRIAN DEATH MACHINE creator Tim Lambesis.
Here is the complete "Double Brutal" track listing: More...
Judas Priest Announces Japanese Tour Dates
Judas Priest has announced the following Japanese tour dates:
10/14 - Kobe Kokusai Kaikan (Kobe International House) - Kobe
10/15 - Aichi Geijyutsu Gekijyo (Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater) - Nagoya
10/17-18 - Loud Park Festival - Tokoyo More...
