Take Five: Great Judas Priest Tracks

Formed in Birmingham, England in 1969, heavy metal heroes Judas Priest released their debut album, Rocka Rolla in September 1974. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the band’s debut, I’m taking a look at five award-winning tracks from this acclaimed, enduring and popular band.

Starting with the band’s third album, 1977’s Sin After Sin, every single Judas Priest album for the next 13 years – a ten-album run – went Gold (500,000 units sold) in the U.S. Two of those went Platinum (1,000,000 sold), and one, 1984’s Defenders of the Faith, went Double Platinum. Each of those releases fared well on the album charts in other countries as well. But album sales are just one measure of success. Judas Priest has been nominated for many awards, winning several of those. Here are five of the most notable, all from the 21st century.

“Revolution” from Angel of Retribution (2005)
Judas Priest’s 15th long player, Angel of Retribution featured the return – after a nearly 15-year absence – of beloved lead vocalist Rob Halford. The singer had left the group after 1990’s Painkiller. Halford’s return was greeted with enthusiasm by fans throughout the metal community. “Revolution” – not the Beatles song but an original written by Halford and guitarists Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing – was released as a single from the album. Angel of Retribution scored not one but two awards: Best Heavy Metal Album at the Metal Storm Awards, and Best Album at Metal Hammer’s Golden Gods Awards.

“Lost Love” from Nostradamus (2008)
2008’s Nostradamus marked a departure from Judas Priest’s customary approach. While most of the band’s albums were single discs, Nostradamus was an expansive double album, running more than 100 minutes. The album was also a conceptual work, a heavy metal suite of songs chronicling the prophecies of the 16th century prognosticator. The album received a mixed reception from longtime fans, but Nostradamus was nonetheless nominated in the Best Heavy Metal Album category at the Metal Storm Awards, losing out to Metallica’s Death Magnetic. “Lost Love” is among the album’s most popular tracks.

“Dissident Aggressor” from A Touch of Evil: Live (2009)
This song was the fourth Judas Priest song to receive a prestigious Grammy nomination. 1999’s “Bullet Train” and 2009’s “Nostradamus” were both nominated in the Best Metal Performance category, and “Visions” from 2009 received a Best Hard Rock Performance nomination. But the fourth time was the charm: in 2010 the Recording Academy bestowed its Best Metal Performance award to this live cut from A Touch of Evil: Live. The studio version of the song first appeared 33 years earlier, as the closing track on Sin After Sin.

“Halls of Valhalla” from Redeemer of Souls (2015)
Three singles would be released from Judas Priest’s 17th studio album Redeemers of Souls, but “Halls of Valhalla” was not one of them. Still, the song is a fan favorite, and it earned a nomination in Loudwire Music Awards’ Metal Song of the Year category. That award ultimately went instead to “Road of Resistance” by all-female Japanese trio Babymetal. Redeemer of Souls marked the recorded debut of guitarist Richie Faulkner as a member of Judas Priest, taking over from founding member K.K. Downing.

“Lightning Strike” from Firepower (2019)
Firepower was the 18th album from Judas Priest; soaring to the #5 spot on the Billboard 200 album chart, it would be the band’s highest-charting album in the U.S. At least four major rock publications (including Decibel, Loudwire, Revolver and Rolling Stone) named it among that year’s top metal albums. And Firepower won not one but two awards: Biggest Surprise at the Metal Storm Awards, and Best British Album at that year’s Planet Rock Awards. Three singles were released from the LP; “Lighting Strike” was the most popular.