Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal movement, and are cited as a formative influence on various heavy metal subgenres, including speed metal, thrash metal, power metal, and the hard rock/glam metal scene of the 1980s. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in the latter half of the 1970s, the band had struggled with poor record production and a lack of major commercial success until 1980, when their sixth studio album British Steel brought them notable mainstream attention.
Screaming for Vengeance is the eighth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 1 July 1982 by Columbia Records. Considered the band's commercial breakthrough in North America, it has been certified double platinum in the United States and platinum in Canada. Screaming for Vengeance spawned the hit "You've Got Another Thing Comin'", which became one of the band's signature songs and a perennial radio favourite.
Turbo is the tenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released in the UK on 7 April 1986 by Columbia Records. The album is notable for the band's change to a commercial glam metal sound, that had them using synthesizers for the first time.
Point of Entry is the seventh studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 27 February 1981 by Columbia Records. Following the commercial success of their previous album British Steel (1980), Priest pursued a more radio-friendly direction on Point of Entry. Following the conclusion of the British Steel Tour, the band began work on their next project. By this time, the band possessed sufficient funds to fly all their equipment to the state-of-the-art Ibiza Studios in Spain. This gave Point of Entry a louder, stronger, more "live" sound than previous Judas Priest albums.
Killing Machine is the fifth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released in November 1978 by Columbia Records. The album pushed the band towards a more commercial style while still featuring the dark lyrical themes of their previous albums. At about the same time, the band members adopted their now-famous "leather-and-studs" fashion image, inspired by Rob Halford's interest in leather culture. It is the band's last studio album to feature drummer Les Binks.
Unleashed in the East is the first live album by the English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released in September 1979 on Columbia Records. It was recorded live over two nights in Tokyo during their Hell Bent for Leather Tour in February 1979. Upon release Unleashed became the band's best-selling album up to that point, reaching the US Top 100 and the UK Top Ten, eventually the album became one of the five Judas Priest albums to gain a RIAA platinum certification. It is the first Priest album to be produced by Tom Allom who would remain at the helm for the next decade for the band, and the last release to feature drummer Les Binks.
Ram It Down is the eleventh studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 13 May 1988 by Columbia Records. It was the band's last album to feature longtime drummer Dave Holland, and was promoted in Europe and North America with the Mercenaries of Metal Tour.
British Steel is the sixth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 11 April 1980 by Columbia Records. It was the band's first album to feature Dave Holland on drums.
Priest...Live! is the second live album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, recorded at The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia on 15 June 1986 and the Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas on 27 June 1986, and released in the UK on 1 June 1987.
Jugulator is the thirteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was released in Japan on 16 October 1997 and the rest of the world on 28 October 1997. It was their first studio album since Painkiller in 1990 and the first of two studio albums the band recorded without Rob Halford and with American lead vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens. Jugulator is the only Judas Priest album that has never been released on any major digital media website, due to SPV falling under and going bankrupt around 2009.
"Breaking the Law" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, originally released on their 1980 album British Steel. The song is one of the band's better known singles, and is readily recognised by its opening guitar riff.
"You've Got Another Thing Comin'" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was originally released on their 1982 album Screaming for Vengeance and released as a single later that year. In May 2006, VH1 ranked it fifth on their list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs. It became one of Judas Priest's signature songs along with "Electric Eye" and "Breaking the Law", and a staple of the band's live performances. "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" was first performed on the opening concert of the Vengeance World Tour at the Stabler Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on 26 August 1982 and had been played a total of 673 times through the 2012 Epitaph Tour.
"Living After Midnight" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was originally featured on their 1980 album British Steel, which was their first gold album in the United States selling more than 500,000 copies. The song speaks to the hedonistic, rebellious spirit of the late 1970s and early 1980s, and is among the band's most popular songs.
"Painkiller" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released in 1990; it was later released as a single on Columbia Records. It is off the band's twelfth album of the same name as the opening track. The lyrics tell the story of the Painkiller, the character featured on the cover of the album, who is a cyborg superhero who saves mankind from destruction.
"A Touch of Evil" is a song by the English heavy metal band Judas Priest, from their 1990 album Painkiller. The record was released as the second single from the album via Columbia Records label.
"Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" is a song by the English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was originally released on their 1984 studio album, Defenders of the Faith, and issued as a single later that year.
"Victim of Changes" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, featured on their 1976 studio album Sad Wings of Destiny. Adrien Begrand, writing for PopMatters, claimed the song changed the course of metal history. Vocalist Rob Halford's performance is considered one of his finest ever. The guitar work is noted as well; Bob Gendron praised the song's "landslide riffs" in the Chicago Tribune. The song has come to be regarded as one of the band's classics, and Martin Popoff listed it at No. 17 in his "Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time".
A Touch of Evil: Live is the fifth live album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was released in the UK on 13 July 2009 and in the US on 14 July via Sony and Epic.
Battle Cry is the sixth live album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 25 March 2016. It was recorded at the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany on 1 August 2015 during their Redeemer of Souls Tour. The album was released as both a standalone title and a bundled package containing the DVD version.
Firepower is the eighteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. Released in 2018, it was the band's first studio album since 1988's Ram It Down to be produced by Tom Allom and the first one with Andy Sneap as co-producer. The album sold around 49,000 copies in the United States within its first week of release, debuting at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the band's highest-charting album in the US. The album also reached No. 5 in the UK, making it their first top-ten album in the UK since British Steel. Music videos were made for "Lightning Strike", "Spectre" and "No Surrender". A lyric video was made for "Never the Heroes". The record also produced three singles.
