Judas Priest

Meet Judas Priest

"Metal Gods"

Ian Hill (Bass)

Richie Faulkner

Replaced K. K. Downing

Rob Halford (Vocals)

Glenn Tipton (Guitar)

Scott Travis (Drums)

Replaced Dave Holland & Les Binks

Formed in Birmingham, England in 1969

Genre considered - Heavy Metal

Over 50 million albums sold

11 Top 30 albums in the UK

11 consecutive albums certified by the RIAA - Gold, Platinum, or higher

One of the greatest metal bands of all time

Considered a pioneer of the new wave of British heavy metal

Considered an influence on metal sub-genres, hard rock, and glam metal

Inaugural inductee into VH1 Rock Honors, 2006

5 Grammy Award Nominations

1 Grammy Award Win (Best Metal Performance, "Dissident Aggressor," 2010)

Kerrang! Awards 

Hall of Fame (2007)

Inspiration (2015)

7 Loudwire Music Award Nominations

1 Loudwire Music Award Win (Lemmy Lifetime Achievement Award, Rob Halford, 2017)

2 Metal Hammer Golden Gods Award Nominations

4 Metal Hammer Golden Gods Award Wins 

(Best Album/2005, Icons/2011, Best British Band/2018, Best Album/2024)

Sweden GAFFA Award Nomination 

(Best Foreign Band, 2019)

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 2022

via Award for Musical Excellence - not Performer category

Nominated in the Performer category in 2018, 2020, 2022

Greatest Metal Band of all time (by MTV, second to Black Sabbath)

Discography

Spanning 1974 to 2024

Tours

Spanning 1974 to a plan for 2026

Point of intrigue - Judas Priest has a large commercial base but has failed to achieve critical acclaim.  The Rolling Stone Album Guide passed on the band's albums early on.  Village Voice critic Robert Christgau refused critique altogether.  Christgau's Meltdown list consisted of artists he did not consider having any material worth listening to.  Judas Priest was on this list.

The history of Judas Priest, the revolving member door, album history, and overall background is extensive and exhaustive to write here.  Follow the link below.

(Wikipedia)

I am not familiar with Judas Priest beyond their name only.  I tend as far as Nirvana but forever stay close to jazz and rock genres.  If you are a fan, tell me why I should be.  A Set List task for the new year 2026.