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. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in the latter half of the 1970s, the band struggled with indifferent record production and a lack of major commercial success until 1980, when their sixth studio album British Steel brought them notable mainstream attention.
Kerry Ray King is an American musician, best known for being the co-lead guitarist and songwriter of thrash metal band Slayer. He co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981 and was one of two members to stay with the band for its 38-year existence, along with Tom Araya. After Slayer's disbandment in 2019, King went on to pursue a solo career, with his debut album From Hell I Rise due in May 2024.
Robert John Arthur Halford is an English singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. He has been noted for his powerful and wide ranging operatic vocal style and trademark leather-and-studs image, both of which have become iconic in heavy metal. He has also been involved with several side projects, including Fight, Two, and Halford.
Kenneth Keith Downing Jr. is an English guitarist and a founding member of the heavy metal bands Judas Priest and KK's Priest.
Stained Class is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 10 February 1978 by Columbia Records. It is the first of three Judas Priest albums recorded with drummer Les Binks, as well as the first to feature the band's now well-known logo in the artwork. Musically, Stained Class is considered the album on which the band honed many of the elements of their hard-edged signature sound, dispensing with most of the progressive and blues rock overtones and softer ballads of previous efforts. The album features such notable tracks as "Exciter", considered an early precursor to speed metal and thrash metal, a cover version of "Better by You, Better than Me" by Spooky Tooth, which became the subject of an infamous civil suit in 1990 which alleged the song subliminally influenced two teenaged boys to make a suicide pact and “Beyond the Realms of Death” which is considered one of the band’s greatest songs by many fans and frequently included in the band’s live setlist.
Vincent Paul Abbott was an American musician best known for being the drummer and co-founder of the heavy metal band Pantera. He also co-founded Damageplan in 2003 with his younger brother, 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott, and was a member of Hellyeah for 12 years from 2006 until his death in 2018.
Townsquare Media, Inc. is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting with the acquisition of the MOG Music Network. As of 2019, Townsquare was the third-largest AM–FM operator in the country, owning over 321 radio stations in 67 markets.
Alter Bridge is an American rock band from Orlando, Florida. The band was formed in 2004 by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Myles Kennedy, lead guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips. After their former band Creed became inactive in 2003, Tremonti and Phillips formed a new band with former bandmate Marshall and new member Kennedy; Alter Bridge was formally unveiled in January 2004, months before Creed's official breakup in June.
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.
Halestorm is an American rock band from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Elizabeth "Lzzy" Hale, drummer Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger, and bassist Josh Smith.
Elizabeth Mae "Lzzy" Hale IV, is an American musician. She serves as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of hard rock band Halestorm, which she co-founded with her brother Arejay Hale in 1997.
"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.
"Turbo Lover" is a single by heavy metal band Judas Priest from their album Turbo. Unlike the album, most of the reception for this song has been positive, and it is considered a Judas Priest classic.
Jeremy Spencer Heyde is an American musician, best known as the former drummer of heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch. He is currently the lead singer of the groove/death metal band Semi-Rotted.
Richard Ian Faulkner is an English musician most known as one of the lead guitarists for the heavy metal band Judas Priest since 2011, replacing original member K. K. Downing. Faulkner has also performed with Lauren Harris, Christopher Lee, Voodoo Six, Deeds, and Ace Mafia.
Babymetal is a Japanese kawaii metal band consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as "Su-metal", Moa Kikuchi as "Moametal" and Momoko Okazaki as "Momometal". The band is produced by Kobametal from the Amuse talent agency. Their vocals are backed by heavy metal instrumentation, performed by a group of session musicians known as the "Kami Band" at performances.
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.
Jinjer ( "ginger") is a Ukrainian metalcore band from Donetsk, formed in 2008. None of the founding members remain with the band. The current lineup considers 2009 as its official year of formation, with the arrival of singer Tatiana Shmayluk and guitarist Roman Ibramkhalilov. The band has since added bassist Eugene Abdukhanov and drummer Vladislav Ulasevich. Their most recent album, Wallflowers, was released in August 2021.
