Judas Priest

Few British bands have shaped heavy metal as widely as Judas Priest, the Birmingham outfit who began in 1969 and went on to sell more than 50 million albums. Critics regularly place them among the greatest metal acts of all time, and they are often credited as one of the pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal, with a sound that fed into speed, thrash and power metal as well as the hard rock and glam metal scenes of the 1980s.

After years without major success, the sixth studio album British Steel in 1980 brought them mainstream attention, and The Guardian called it the record that defines heavy metal. Dave Holland joined on drums in 1979 and left in 1989, after which Scott Travis took the seat. Rob Halford left in 1992 and after a four-year hiatus the band regrouped in 1996 with Tim "Ripper" Owens; Halford rejoined in 2003. Richie Faulkner replaced Downing in 2011. Glenn Tipton has limited his touring since 2018 because of Parkinson's disease, with Andy Sneap filling in for him. In 2022 the band entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.