Biography
In 2019, the British Rockers Judas Priest celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Group, which opened the new sides of the style of Hevi-Metal and influenced the work of many famous teams. As a gift to students, musicians are preparing a release of the new album "Definitely" and arrange a festive show in dozens of world cities. An additional surprise will be a joint concert with a former vocalist Black Sabbath, great and terrible Ozzy Osbourne, which will be held in Helsinki in 2020.The history of creation and composition
The first page in the history of the creation of the Judas Priest group wrote British musicians Kenneth Downing and Yen Hill. Familiar since childhood, guys started joint creativity after the tragic death of Virtos Moto Jimmy Hendrix and the compositions chose the compositions included in the albums "Axis: Bold As Love" and "Electric Ladyland" as a reference.
The team, to which a beginner drummer John Ellis joined, since the end of the 1960s began to rehearse songs in the building of the former school in Birmingham and shared the room with an already popular Slade team.
One day the game of guitarists and drummers heard an experienced vocalist Alan Atkins, who had recently left the group, which performed in local clubs and at parties. By using the name "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest", borrowed from the composition of the American Bob Dilan, the singer joined the trio and wrote several original melodies performed at the concert in 1971.
This performance in the presence of 70 people was the first step to popularity and provided musicians on constant work in Birmingham clubs and restaurants. At first, concerts did not bring revenue to participants forced to live on unemployment benefits and funds received at day work.
The first musician who could not withstood the tense schedule was John Ellis, and it was from him that the constant change of drummers began annually and returned to Judas Priest. In different years, Alan Moore, Chris Kampbell, John Hinch, Leslie Binx, Dave Holland, and Simon Phillips, and only with the arrival of Scott Trevis stopped the permutation, and the rhythm section was able to sound in full force.
Another unstable position in the team was the vocal, which turned out to be in the hands of Robert Halford after, because of the problems with finance, Alan Atkins broke up with buddies and in 1973 left Judas Priest. The new participant who had previously worked in the Hiroshima group had fallen in the soul of Hill and Downo, and for 19 years his voice sounded at every concert, accompanied by a bright and dynamic show.
In 1990-1992, the Group found itself in the center of events that caused a new change of the main composition. It all started with the fact that Halford, leaving the scene on the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Motorcycle, crashed into the lift and received serious damage. Having cured, he, together with other participants, fell on the bench of the defendants accused of incitement to suicide juvenile children.
The case, open at the request of the parents of young drug addicts and psychopaths, fell apart, and the name of the musicians cleared, but the loss of reputation affected creativity and led to the fall in the moral spirit.
Psychological tension came to the limit when Rob said he wants to work on the side, and then return and continue recording and touring the team. Musicians agreed, and the singer began implementing the FIGHT project. When the album was ready for recording, the studio, who had a contract with the Judas Priest, refused to cooperate with Rob, and he, metered at all and all left his comrades without explaining the reasons.
The 10-year-old separation, during which the "god of metal" replaced the American Tim Owens, allowed the group and vocalist to realize the mistakes perfectly, and in the early 2000s, all team members reunited.
The return of Halford became the last stage of the formation of a new composition, where, besides him, the bassist Jen Hill is played, Dr. Trevis, Gytarist Richie Falkner and Multi-instrumentist Glenn Titon.
Music
Unlike many foreign teams of the 1970s, professional career Judas Priest began with touring speeches in London's institutions, Manchester and Liverpool. Until 1974, the Group did not have a contract with a record studio and did not think about creating a full-fledged album. Only unexpected attention from the GULL label allowed the 1st record to appear, where materials were used by the producer Roger Ban and honed under his watchful leadership.After the release of the album "Rocka Rolla", which contained the compositions in the style of blues, hard rock and psychedelic music, artists changed the direction and emphasized on guitar parties and melodies characteristic of the emergence of hevi-metal.
The "SAD WINGS OF DESTINY" record, released in 1976, determined the main features of an unfamiliar genre and in a short time received the Golden Certificate of RIAA. In addition, the Judas Priest appeared fans, providing the sale of tickets for concerts, and the commercial success of the album helped partially reimburse the personal costs of musicians invested in creativity in previous years.
In addition, competently organized tours, held in the cities of Great Britain and the United States, brought international fame to musicians and by the time of recording of the 3rd and 4th studio records provided the CBS support group and a contract with a large COLUMBIA RECORDS company.
Repeating the success of the previous plate, "Sin After Sin" and "Stained Class" was sold by large circulations, and the "Exciter" and "Beyond The Realms of Death" composition was forever entered the history of AIDS and Tresh Metal and became the best vocal works of Rob Halford . The genre belonging to a heavy musical style forced the participants to work on the image, and later in stage costumes they preferred black, leather and metal accessories.
These views reflected on the cover of the album "Killing Machine", published in the United States and the UK in 1978 and reprinted in 2001. However, the brutal photograph of a person in a helmet and dark glasses diverged with the internal content, and the record as a result was at the 128th place Billboard in the unexpected and offensive category "Pop".
This happened due to the commercial orientation of the new record, which the musicians tried to reduce the shooting of video clips on the "Rock Forever" composition, Before Dawn, "Take On The World" and "Killing Machine". From this point on, the image of Roba was supplemented with a leather whip and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle provided by the famous American corporation as part of a long-term advertising contract.
In subsequent albums released in 1980-1981, the musicians returned to Hevi-Metal and became one of the leaders of this direction in British music and culture. The British Steel plate took place in the middle of the Classic Rock magazine rating, and the Breaking The Law and Metal Gods singles were on the 12th line of British charts.
True, the public-oriented disk "Point of Entry", the public did not appreciate the public, and it still remains the most controversial project in the work of the Judas Priest. The musicians did not share this opinion and with enthusiasm performed new songs on foreign tour. During the concerts, they used wireless technical binding distracted viewers from incomprehensible material.
Since then, the group began paying close attention to the external design of speeches, and for the tour in support of the eighth studio album "Screaming for Vengeance" artists made special scenery of giant sizes. This affected the perception and provided the record high ratings and sales. The "You'Ve Got Another Thing Comin '" composition was particularly successful, later included in the list of "40 Greatest Metal Songs".
Combining new hits with tourists and joint speeches with English-speaking musicians Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen, Iron Maiden and Scorpions, Judas Priest have been released 4 studio albums for 6 years. In the sadly memorable disc of this period, despite the Glam-rock ballad "Blood Red Skies" and a Caver-version of the famous song Chuck Berry, became RAM IT DOWN, released in 1988. A positive feedback of critics received the Painkiller plate, which was engaged in 2 million copies around the world and received the Riaa gold certificate in America.
Then, in the works of Judas Priest, a break occurs with the search for a new vocalist, and the following entries saw the light only in 1997. However, the songs with the albums "Jugulator" and "Demolition" lacked something, despite the fact that they became soundtracks for films and nominated at Grammy in 1999.
In search of the reason, the musicians took up their own creativity and decided that for a successful continuation of the career they would have to return the "metal god" Halford. In 2003, the group managed to achieve his consent, and the public learned about the reunification of the Judas Priest.
The new stage of the career team began with world tour in support of the new album "Angel of Retribution", and then engaged in creating a concept plate dedicated to the well-known predictor of Michel de Nostradamus. Fasciating the project, the musicians closed in the studio and came out from there only to participate in the event VH1 Rock Honors.
As a result, in mid-June 2008, Judas Priest presented the Nostradamus project and announced the date of the full-scale world tour. By playing these concerts, the participants of the group decided that it was not able to continue concert activities, and announced the final show called Epitaph.
It did not mean that the group would no longer compose music and record new albums. The age musicians had forces to work in the studio and the creation of the "Redeemer of Souls" and "FirePower" records.
Judas Priest now
Contrary to statements on the completion of concert activities, in 2018, Judas Priest again went on stage and organized a tour in support of the Album "FirePower".
This experience inhaled new forces in the musicians, and in 2019 the group spoke in North America on the same platform with the peers from the Uriah Heep team, and at the beginning of the 2020, a joint tour with Ozzy Osborne, former vocalist Black Sabbath is scheduled.
In addition, the band members finished recording new songs and the fall of the "Definitely" album.
Discography
- 1974 - "Rocka Rolla"
- 1976 - "SAD WINGS OF DESTINY"
- 1977 - "Sin After Sin"
- 1978 - "Killing Machine"
- 1980 - "British Steel"
- 1982 - "Screaming for Vengeance"
- 1984 - "Defenders of the Faith"
- 1988 - "RAM IT DOWN"
- 1990 - "Painkiller"
- 2005 - "Angel of Retribution"
- 2008 - "Nostradamus"
- 2014 - "Redeemer of Souls"
- 2018 - "FirePower"
- 2019 - "Definitely"
Clips
- "Breaking the LAW"
- "PainKiller"
- "ELECTRIC EYE"
- "TURBO LOVER"
- "A Touch of Evil"
- "FREEWHEEL BURNING"
- "Love Bites"
- "Revolution"
- "Johnny B. Goode"
- "You don't have to be old to be wise"