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.
Defenders of the Faith is the ninth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 13 January 1984 in the US and on 20 January 1984 in the UK. The album was certified platinum by the RIAA, and spawned the singles "Freewheel Burning", "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll", and "Love Bites".
Turbo is the tenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 21 March 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. The album's name reflects its intended purpose as an accessible introduction to the band's music and the heavy metal genre in general. 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.
"Freewheel Burning" is a song by the English heavy metal band Judas Priest, appearing on their 1984 album Defenders of the Faith, and released as the first single off that album. The 12" version of the single contained an extended guitar intro that was omitted on the full-length release.
"The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" is a song written by Peter Green and recorded by Fleetwood Mac. It was released as a single in the UK in May 1970 and reached No. 10 on the British charts, a position it occupied for four consecutive weeks, and was the band's last UK top 10 hit until "Tusk" reached No. 6 in 1979. "The Green Manalishi" was the last song Green made with Fleetwood Mac before leaving the band.
James Leslie Binks is a Northern Irish heavy metal drummer. He was the drummer for Judas Priest from 1977 to 1979.
"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 "Breaking the Law", "Painkiller", ''Living After Midnight", "Electric Eyes" and "Turbo Lover" in addition to being 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.
"Heading Out to the Highway" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest from their 1981 album Point of Entry. It was released as a single later that year, and was the band's first single to reach the US Mainstream Rock chart, peaking at No. 10.
"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.
"Judas Rising" is a song by heavy metal band Judas Priest. It is the opening track on the band's 2005 album Angel of Retribution. The song is about the Judas Priest Messiah on the cover of the albums Sad Wings of Destiny, Painkiller and Angel of Retribution.. It was also included on the album's The Essential Judas Priest and A Touch of Evil: Live. According to former guitarist K.K. Downing the origins of the song existed already in the 80's but were first finished for the Angel of Retribution album.
"United" is the fifth track and last single to be released from the album British Steel by heavy metal group Judas Priest. The song was written very much in the same vein as "Take On the World" from Killing Machine and meant to be a crowd shout-along. It is the fifth track and final song on the first side on the LP version.
"Evening Star" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, originally released on their 1978 album Killing Machine, and released as a single in April 1979. Following the success of the previous single "Take on the World", it again charted in the UK but it only reached No. 53.
