Judas Priest

heavy metal

Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are considered a significant influence within the heavy metal genre. The band has been associated with the new wave of British heavy metal movement and has influenced various metal subgenres, including speed metal, thrash metal, and power metal, as well as aspects of the hard rock and glam metal scenes of the 1980s. Despite producing innovative music in the latter half of the 1970s, Judas Priest initially experienced limited commercial success until the release of their sixth studio album, British Steel, in 1980, which brought them broader recognition. During the 1970s, the band's core members consisted of bassist Ian Hill, lead singer Rob Halford, and guitarists Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing, with a rotating lineup of drummers, including Les Binks, who played on multiple albums. Dave Holland became the drummer in 1979 and remained with the band for ten years. Following Holland's departure, Scott Travis assumed the role of drummer. Halford left the band in 1992, and after a four-year hiatus, the band returned in 1996 with Tim Ripper Owens as lead vocalist. Owens recorded two albums with the band before Halford returned in 2003. Downing left Judas Priest in 2011 and was replaced by Richie Faulkner. The current lineup includes Hill, Tipton, Travis, Halford, and Faulkner, although Tipton has limited his touring activities since 2018 due to Parkinson's disease, w...