Judas Priest
 Led by Tim Brooke-Taylor look-alike and gay biker dress-alike
Rob Halford, Judas Priest were never taken as seriously as other
metal bands, partly because Halford was a weedy (and later,
balding) vocalist, and possibly because they were no Deep
Purple or Led Zeppelin.
Sin After Sin from 1977 offered thinnish production and
a vague sense of Stonehenge (as demonstrated on Sinner and Last
Rose Of Summer).
The oddly weedy Stained Glass (1978)
wasn't a patch on the same years Killing Machine, which saw
the biker formula kick in (Hell Bent For Leather and Running
Wild) along with better production, stronger riffs and louder
vocals.
This was quickly followed by 1979s Unleashed In The East,
the obligatory Japanese live album, which is loudest of all.
In December 1986 Judas Priest and CBS Records were
unsuccessfully sued by the family of two teenagers who shot
themselves, claiming their sons had been driven to it after
spending six months listening to the album Stained Class.
2001's Demolition could have been much worse, though
times have certainly moved faster than a band led by 50-year olds
could keep pace with. While Tim "Ripper" Owens did a
passable Rob Halford facsimile, their nods to grunge (One on
One and Cyberface) sounded forced and much of their
all-out metal would not have made it onto Screaming For
Vengeance.
Still, Close To You was a terrific ballad, Metal
Messiah lived up to it's title, and Glenn Tipton and KK
Downing's twin guitar assault on the fiery Bloodsucker was
as raucous as ever.
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