Why Judas Priest Belongs in the Rock Hall

Can millions of metal fans be wrong?

Formed in 1969 in hardscrabble Birmingham, England in the wake of their local brethren Black Sabbath, Judas Priest is an iconic heavy metal act overdue for a Rock Hall nomination. With the 2016 induction of Deep Purple—up to that point, a glaring omission in Cleveland—the Hall's stage now would appear to be primed for singer Rob Halford to roar in on his famous Harley.

Ian Hill, Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford, K.K. Downing, Dave Holland

Eligible since 1999, the metal gods have been overlooked by the institution for nearly two decades now. They're far from alone, yet another entry in a "snub club" that includes fellow high-profile New Wave of British Heavy Metal stalwarts as Iron Maiden and Motörhead. However, Judas Priest seems to have earned a special spot slightly north of these other acts—a stratosphere where a screaming metal eagle descends, and the "Electric Eye" sees everything you do.

Are they Rock Hall-worthy? Judas Priest appears to nail the requirements, and then some. The criteria for "Performer" induction into the Rock Hall, besides having a record out 25 years prior, is effectively two-pronged: musical excellence and influence. Even a non-metalhead would agree that Judas Priest meets and exceeds those standards. This is a household-name band with a powerful body of work and legions of stylistic progeny, including Maiden, Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Soundgarden, and Avenged Sevenfold. Priest's two-guitar assault and leather-and-spikes aesthetic has copied by so many other acts, the whole thing is almost taken for granted.

Hell Bent for Leather

What makes Judas Priest a cut above? Well, there's that voice. Yeah, that voice. The Halford shriek, perhaps the utmost wail in the raging hellscape of heavy metal. But it goes beyond that banshee cry; Halford's pipes are remarkably versatile. His sturdy voice drives the bluesy, groove-oriented tune "Rocka Rolla" from Priest's 1974 debut, channels pain and regret on Sad Wings of Destiny's "Dreamer Deceiver" (Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" simply could not exist without this song's influence, whether Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield realize it or not), and is the revving engine of the 1982 hit single "You've Got Another Thing Comin'," Priest's defiant 1982 hit single. The latter is a crossover smash, yet belongs to Priest fans first—it's the "Born to Run" of metal ("it's a case of do or die...") and a battle hymn of the oppressed, sung with devil horns raised. And maybe while sporting a zebra-striped t-shirt.

Further elevating Priest's status as a Rock Hall-worthy act is their impressive body of work—17 studio LPs and six live releases, with 45 million albums sold. In any career of this length, there will be ups and downs, naturally. There are superb high points (Stained Class, British Steel, Screaming for Vengeance), slight misfires (Turbo, with its synthesizers, the concept record Nostradamus), and outings with a replacement singer (Jugulator, with Tim "Ripper" Owens). There's more chrome than rust, though—this is a catalog boiling over with jagged, fist-pumping anthems that infiltrated arenas, radio, and MTV to a genre-perpetuating degree. And the legendary Priest (currently Halford, bassist Ian Hill, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, and longtime drummer Scott Travis) are at it to this day, with the 2014 release of the well-reviewed Redeemer of Souls. They remain globe-trotting metal ambassadors, delivering favorites like "Breakin' the Law," "Living After Midnight," and "Hell Bent for Leather" on stages night after night.

2014's Redeemer of Souls

Priest has forged an impactful collection of songs over their 43 years. At the deep cut level, even the most seasoned Priest fan can rummage through this discography and rediscover dozens of gems that have lost nothing with time, and actually sound even better than they remember. Among these, the free-falling, shuddering "Tyrant" from Sad Wings of Destiny; 1977's "Dissident Aggressor," where Halford's skyward falsetto and grinding guitars combine to create a dark undertow; Stained Class' rocking, cosmic "Better By You, Better Than Me" (a Spooky Tooth cover); "The Sentinel," a chilling Defenders of the Faith track flecked by cathedral bells and boasting one of Halford's best vocal performances; and "Painkiller," a 1990 pulverizer where any doubts about Priest's thrash/speed metal credibility were laid to waste.

Judas Priest's sterling credentials for nomination and induction into the Rock Hall are self-evident at this point. Just ask their fans. Unquestionable musical excellence and significant influence? It's all here... wrapped in leather, and screaming for vengeance.

'Left of the Dial' Acts Left Behind by Rock Hall

In 2004, Rhino Records released Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the 80s Underground, a four-CD compendium of artists featured on 1980s college radio. "College rock" is the label often slapped on this music, but that's just a rubric floating above such genres as punk, post-punk, goth, synth-pop, folk-rock, and whatever it is the Hoodoo Gurus do.

Rhino Records' Left of the Dial

Left of the Dial was an ambitious if slightly imperfect collection, but it almost had to be flawed; this was music forged by fringe types, for fringe types. Still, it's a useful reference point to weigh against the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's degree of recognition (or lack thereof) where these important artists and genres are concerned. Here are some telling numbers regarding this box set:

82 acts
3 inducted (R.E.M., The Pretenders, Red Hot Chili Peppers)
6 nominated (The Cure, the Replacements, Depeche Mode, the Smiths, Bad Brains, Jane's Addiction)

That leaves a whopping 73 acts in the lurch, many with decent odds of a Rock Hall nomination (Pixies, Kate Bush, Joy Division, the Pogues), others longer shots (Dinosaur Jr., Bauhaus, Minor Threat) and others, well, don't hold your breath (Ultravox, Throbbing Gristle, or Lyres, anyone?). But that's not a qualitative judgment, as the majority of the artists on Left of the Dial are, at minimum, notable, and at maximum, iconic. And every last one could trigger an acute nostalgia response for Gen Xers that tuned in to a college radio station in the Reagan era.

Siouxsie and the Banshees

To contemplate the presumably tumultuous groupthink that occurred at Rhino when piecing together this 4-disc package is to see a parallel in the Rock Hall Nomination Committee meetings that come up with 15 or 19 nominees annually. So many options, so little clarity. (Ever try to order a pizza with more than 3 people? It's like that.) 

It's unsurprising that 73 out of 82 acts on a box set meant to highlight groundbreaking, generationally-significant musical artists have been completely snubbed by the Rock Hall. To be sure, not all of them belong in that museum on Lake Erie, but there's little question that some of them do. So what's the matter here?

It may be as simple as this: The freaks and geeks making a racket on Left of the Dial represent the outsiders, and the Rock Hall, at this point, has no time for the edgy, the cultish, the Lux Interiors, the rabid underdogs that should be thrown a bone. They might nominate the Smiths, the Replacements, and Bad Brains, but inducting them is quite another story. These acts, as influential and musically excellent as they may be, represent risk. And the Rock Hall, like any growing business, is intentionally risk-averse as its aggressive monetization agenda plods on, from its "Long Live Rock" sloganeering to its museum's structural improvements (a new cafe! a new theater!) to its annual, Klipsch-sponsored HBO telecasts of induction ceremonies. Indeed, with its run of populist-leaning inductees in recent years (Steve Miller, Journey, etc.) the Rock Hall nomination/induction dynamic feels akin to a jock stuffing the kid wearing an Echo & the Bunnymen t-shirt into a locker.

The Smiths

The Rock Hall brass might counter this argument by saying "Hey, we've inducted R.E.M." or "We just nominated Depeche Mode and Bad Brains!" Those are facts, but the perpetual exclusion of massively impactful "college rock" acts from actual induction such as Kraftwerk, the Smiths, and even the nearly-mainstream group the Cure points to a calcified, baby boomer-centric voting body, not to mention a tacit refusal to occasionally call the "screw it, get them in this year" audibles that you just know get called behind closed doors when it's time to choose the inductees. 

In essence, the Rock Hall is doing a disservice to a wide swath of Generation X—adults whose formative years would have been unbearable without that Smiths, Hüsker Dü, Cramps, or Siouxsie and the Banshees cassette in their Walkman. Isn't that what music is all about? And where is the harm in honoring that in Cleveland, at least some of the time? It could even be considered as outreach to a targeted demographic.

Will all these Left of the Dial musical heroes continue to be left behind? For many, "...It says nothing to me about my life" is a Smiths lyric that undoubtedly applies to the Rock Hall.

The Top 10 Rock Hall Induction Ceremony Quotes

You need the right speakers. With the 32nd annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony happening this Friday at Brooklyn's Barclays Center—and with the surprise development of David Letterman now inducting Pearl Jam, subbing for a sick Neil Young—it's time to recall standout induction speaker/inductee comments from ceremonies past. 

Heartfelt, cutting, and often hilarious—and in the spirit of the old Letterman show—here are the Top 10 quotes in Rock Hall induction history:

Hurry it up: Paul McCartney and  Ringo Starr

10.  "After the things I've sat through tonight!" - A clearly exasperated Ringo Starr, reacting to Paul McCartney pointing at his watch to move Starr's speech along. It was over five hours into the ceremony. (2015)

9. "Blah, blah, blah..." (with varying inflection, for three comically sustained, performance art-like minutes) - Alex Lifeson at Rush's induction (2013)

8.  "He's taught us a lot as a band, about dignity and commitment, and playing in the moment. And when I hear the speeches, inducting Janis Joplin and Frank Zappa... I'm just really glad he's still here." - Eddie Vedder, inducting Neil Young (1995)

7. "We have a love/hate relationship—he loves me and I hate him." - Jeff Beck, inducting Rod Stewart (1994)

6. “They say that I have no hits, and that I'm difficult to work with. And they say that like it's a bad thing.” - Tom Waits (2011)

Jay-Z inducting Grandmaster Flash

5.  "What Chuck Berry did for the electric guitar, Flash did for the turntable." - Jay-Z, inducting Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (2007)

4.  "Tonight we're all on our best behavior... and we're being rewarded for 25 years of bad behavior." - Mick Jagger at the Rolling Stones' induction (1989)

3.  "Now, the question is, are we rock and roll? And I say you goddamn right we rock and roll. Rock and roll is not an instrument, rock and roll is not even a style of music. Rock and roll is a spirit... Rock and roll is not conforming to the people who came before you, but creating your own path in music and in life. That is rock and roll, and that is us." - Ice Cube at N.W.A.'s induction (2016)

Mike Love at the podium in 1988

2.  "We did about 180 performances last year...I'd like to see the Mop Tops match that! I'd like to see Mick Jagger get out on this stage and do 'I Get Around' versus 'Jumpin' Jack Flash,' any day now... And I'd like to see some people kick out the jams, and I challenge the Boss to get up on stage and jam... I wanna see Billy Joel, see if he can still tickle ivories. I know Mick Jagger won't be here tonight, he's gonna have to stay in England. But I'd like to see us in the Coliseum and he at Wembley Stadium because he's always been chickenshit to get on stage with the Beach Boys." - Mike Love at the Beach Boys' induction (1988)

1. "I wanna thank Mike Love for not mentioning me..." - Bob Dylan (1988)