A Priest is what Judas really needed

Classes got the best of me this week, but they gave me some time to think about the metal I do know. Although I'm not well versed in entire discographies of bands like Slayer (nor do I really want to be), there is an album or two of which I'm fond of.

I'd like to start with Judas Priest, a band whom I believe has several associated misconceptions. Judas Priest formed in the late-60's in Birmingham, England. Initially having a blues-rock and psychedelic influence (Cream, The Yardbirds), even their name came from the Bob Dylan song "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest." They moved towards hard rock and eventually became precursors of heavy metal. They debuted Rocka Rolla in 1974, which included their first single (also "Rocka Rolla").

After a couple of studio albums, the band gained mainstream success with 1980's British Steel. "Breaking the Law" recieved heavy radio play, and the song "Metal Gods" gave Judas Priest and future metal acts a new title to go by. Even the album name and album art was as metal as you can get. The band quickly learned how to work the airwaves and released the radio-friendly Point of Entry in 1981 and Screaming for Vengence in 1982.

Screaming for Vengence was my first JP CD. I decided to listen after Rock Band released the entire album for download (the first to ever be done this way). "The Hellion/Electric Eye" were what I expected from an 80's metal band, and its signature sound is even featured in a Honda Odyssey commercial. The next song, "Riding on the Wind" had the same driving feel. "Bloodstone" was a little glam, but I thought, come on, it's the 80's. But when I reached "(Take These) Chains Off," I was like: When did Phil Collins come into play? The album is pretty short (10 songs), with about 1/3 of the songs being "real" metal, 1/3 being "pop" metal, and 1/3 being ballads (shocking, I know!).

It was releases like this that made Judas Priest the forerunners of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. This movement dominated the heavy metal scene from the early- to the mid-80's and saw the rise of acts like Motörhead, Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. But with the popularity of actual New Wave in the mid- to late-80's, mainstream metal died down, returning to the second-hand record stores.

The only other album I want to mention is the only other album I have by them: 1990's Painkiller. I have Rock Band 2 to thank for this (witness hand-cramping in the making). There are no ballads here, just 10 songs of face-melting thrash. To get an idea of what I mean, listen to "Metal Meltdown" or the title song. For some people, it's hard to believe a band from the 70's was still around in the 90's, but Judas Priest rocks on even to this day. They still tour and their 16th studio album, Nostradamus, was released in 2008.

I don't know Judas Priest much more than that, though there are some misconceptions I want to recap and/or introduce. Despite their name, they are not a Satanic band. Despite their genre, they have some pop-oriented hits (although Poison and Metallica are in a whole different league). And despite the the overt masculinity of the metal culture, there may be a different reason why some members of Judas Priest are comfortable being a "Leather Rebel"... It makes you wonder who those ballads are actually for...

"Prisoner of Your Eyes" by Judas Priest

In some magnetic trance,
Kelvin