Judas Priest

Judas Priest is a heavy metal band formed in 1969 in Birmingham, England by Ken "KK" Downing and Ian Hill. The band's classic line-up consists of vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill on bass guitar, and Scott Travis on drums. They epitomize the classic heavy metal genre, particularly the NWOBHM ("New Wave of British Heavy Metal") movement, and have influenced hundreds of musicians and bands. Their popularity and influence earned them the nickname "The Metal Gods".

Musical style and influences

One of the progenitors of heavy metal, Judas Priest are best known for their twin-lead-guitar sound and the complex guitar duets of K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton; and for Rob Halford's high-pitched screams, and lead vocals. However, the band's biggest musical innovation is the dual 'rhythm guitar', i.e. the accompaniment, or riff, which plays an essential role in all hard rock genres and especially in heavy metal.

Related Topics:
Heavy metal - Lead - Guitar - K.K. Downing - Glenn Tipton - Rob Halford - Vocals - Hard rock

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Although Wishbone Ash and the Scorpions have had two guitarists each and to some extent did play harmonies and dual leads prior to Judas Priest, none had played dual rhythm consistently as an integral part of their music.

Related Topics:
Wishbone Ash - Scorpions

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Dual rhythm consists of two guitarists playing the same exact melody (riff) simultaneously, often on the same exact octave, which is slightly different from traditional harmonies. There may be minor differences in sound, tone, tenacity, and an occasional deviation from the melody for a very short period (like a short improvisation, or insert - just a few notes). Since Judas Priest introduced this new style of rhythm guitar with their first release "Rocka Rolla", it has become a standard feature of heavy metal. Another important aspect of their style is inserting very melodic solos, or "lead breaks" - between fast riffs (e.g. "The Sentinel", "Electric Eye", "Night Crawler", "Hellrider").

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Many people, including influential musicians and members of prominent hard rock and heavy metal bands, believe that the foundation for what would define "pure" heavy metal were three early Judas Priest albums; Sad Wings of Destiny (1976), Sin After Sin (1977), and Stained Class (1978).

Related Topics:
Hard rock - Sad Wings of Destiny - Sin After Sin - Stained Class

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The band played terribly faster than most rock groups at the time and brought a more "metallic" sound to their guitars. The songs varied from extremely simple and straightforward tunes (eg. - "The Ripper", "One For The Road", "Starbreaker") to fairly structured, changing from fast and loud to slower tempo and softer tunes in one song (e.g. "Victim Of Changes", "Run Of The Mill", "Beyond The Realms Of Death").

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Their 1978 album Killing Machine (retitled Hell Bent for Leather and released in 1979 in the USA) saw a slight change of direction towards shorter, more "poppy" or "Americanized" songs, especially lyrically. The following release, British Steel, took an even sharper turn in the same direction, and was perhaps the first heavy metal album to record radio-friendly songs with pop hooks, in a concise format, pioneering an approach used by many others (Quiet Riot, Dokken, Twisted Sister, Accept, Def Leppard) to later commercial success. All of them used dual lead guitar. However, Priest are perhaps the only one of these bands to retain a definite heavy metal sound, despite the commercial twist to it. Songs like "Living After Midnight" and "Breaking the Law" are excellent examples of this style.

Related Topics:
1978 - Killing Machine - Hell Bent for Leather - 1979 - British Steel - Quiet Riot - Dokken - Twisted Sister - Accept - Def Leppard

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Their next effort, Point of Entry (1981), is harder to define - the sound was very "raw" (minimal sound manipulation) and the songs were somewhat moody, and paced at a slower than usual tempo. Subsequent albums Screaming for Vengeance (1982)--which contained the popular radio hit "You've Got Another Thing Coming", and Defenders of the Faith (1984) once again set high standards in intensity and production, and continued to influence the sonic shape of heavy metal. Turbo (1986) found the group introducing a "synth-guitar" sound to their metal template (much to some fans' dismay), but Painkiller (1990) found them successfully exploring speed metal. Their latest release, Angel of Retribution (2005) also contributed to the current revival of classic heavy metal, after the fade of grunge, alternative, thrash, indie and other temporary trends. It contains songs in their classic style like "Judas Rising" and "Hellrider", as well as mid-tempo songs with clear and prominent drums and less prominent guitars ("Worth Fighting For", "Wheels Of Fire"), a ballad, and an over 12 minute epic - something they haven't done since their concerts in the early 70's.

Related Topics:
Point of Entry - 1981 - Screaming for Vengeance - 1982 - Defenders of the Faith - 1984 - Turbo - 1986 - Painkiller - 1990 - Speed metal - Angel of Retribution - 2005 - Drum

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Influence on the genre

Judas Priest have influenced countless musicians in three musical generations, both in sound, technique and image. Many bands including Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, Manowar, Mercyful Fate, Venom, Slayer, Children of Bodom, Dokken, Helloween, Eudoxis, Stratovarius, Iced Earth, Poison, Napalm Death, Dream Theater and Pantera cite Judas Priest as an influence.

Related Topics:
Iron Maiden - Metallica - Megadeth - Manowar - Mercyful Fate - Venom - Slayer - Children of Bodom - Dokken - Helloween - Eudoxis - Stratovarius - Iced Earth - Poison - Napalm Death - Dream Theater - Pantera - Judas Priest

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