• Show convenient version of this site
Skip to main content
DE
EN
DAYS LEFT
NewsletterWacken-Radio
W:O:A Wacken Open Air
  • Wacken Wednesday
  • News
    News
    All News
    Subscribe to our Newsletter
    Newsletter unsubscribe
    RSS Feed

    Main Shirt for 2022 available online in limited quantity!

    [Translate to Englisch:]

    Metal Battle 2022: 13 new acts for W:O:A!

    For last-minute visitors: Tickets available in the ticket exchange!

  • Program
    Music
    Bands
    Supporting program
    Spoken Word
    Action
    Party & Walking Acts
    Timetable
    Running Order Music
    Complete Running Order
  • Information
    Festival
    Festival ABC
    The areas
    Lockers
    App
    History
    Overnight
    Campground
    Camping plots and rental toilets - Bauer Uwes Garten
    Moshtel & Camperpark
    Residenz Evil
    Rental tents
    Journey
    Official travel partners
    Everything about your journey
    Guides
    Wacken for first timers
    The Village of Wacken
    W:O:A with a handicap
  • Tickets & Shop
    Camping
    Residenz Evil
    Rental tents
    Moshtel & Camperpark
    Camping plots and rental toilets
    W:O:A Tickets
    Ticketcenter
    Ticket market (buying and selling)
    Ticket FAQ
    Mailing List
    Ticket trading and black market
    Merchandise
    Merchandise
    Wacken Store & Outlet & Info Office
  • Media
    Pictures
    Wallpaper
    Gallery
    Webcams
    Video
    WackenTV
    Live At Wacken
    Magenta Musik 360
    Press
    Press contact
  • Community
    Online
    Forum
    Wacken Fanmail
    Wacken Stories
    Offline
    W:O:A Metal Battle
    Fanclub
    Civic engagement
    Wacken Foundation
    Strong against cancer

    W:O:A Metal Battle
    Join the battle & rock the festival!

  • Supporter

You are here:

  1. Start
  2. Program
  3. Bands
  4. Band

Judas Priest

Running Order

Stage: TBA

Day: TBA

Time: TBA

Biography

There are few heavy metal bands that have managed to scale the heights that Judas Priest have during their 50-year career. Their presence and influence remains at an all­-time high as evidenced by 2018's 'Firepower' being the highest ­charting album of their career, a 2010 Grammy Award win for 'Best Metal Performance', plus being a 2006 VH1 Rock Honors recipient and a 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination.

Poised now to celebrate that illustrious career as they enter their 50th year in the industry - 2020 will see the band embark on an epic 50th anniversary tour in celebration.

Judas Priest originally formed in 1969 in Birmingham, England (an area that many feel birthed heavy metal). Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing and Ian Hill would be the nucleus of musicians (along with several different drummers over the years) that would go on to change the face of heavy metal. After a 'feeling out' period of a couple of albums, 1974's 'Rocka Rolla' and 1976's 'Sad Wings of Destiny' this line-up truly hit their stride. The result was a quartet of albums that separated Priest from the rest of the hard rock pack - 1977's 'Sin After Sin', 1978's 'Stained Class' and 'Hell Bent for Leather', and 1979's 'Unleashed in the East', which spawned such metal anthems as 'Sinner', 'Diamonds and Rust', 'Hell Bent for Leather', and 'The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)'. Also, Priest were one of the first metal bands to exclusively wear leather and studs – a look that began during this era and would eventually be embraced by metal heads throughout the world. 

It could be said that Priest simply owned the '80s as they were second to none as far as pure metal goes, releasing such all-time classic albums as 1980's 'British Steel', 1981's 'Point of Entry', 1982's 'Screaming for Vengeance', and 1984's 'Defenders of the Faith'. Once more, these titles spawned countless enduring metal anthems including 'Breaking the Law', 'Living After Midnight', 'Heading Out to the Highway', and 'You've Got Another Thing Coming'. The '80s were also a decade where Priest became a global arena headliner, offering show-stopping sets at some of the world's biggest festivals, including the first-ever Monsters of Rock Festival at Donington Park (1980) in the United Kingdom, the US Festival (1983) in the United States and Live Aid (1985) in the United States. 

The remainder of the '80s saw Priest embrace more melodic hard rock sounds on 1986's 'Turbo' and 1988's 'Ram it Down' (in addition to their second live set, 1987's 'Priest...Live!') before releasing arguably the heaviest release of their entire career, 1990's 'Painkiller' (which saw the arrival of Scott Travis on drums). Judas Priest were special guests on the 2004 Ozzfest, appearing alongside Black Sabbath, before issuing 'Angel of Retribution' a year later. 

2008 saw the release of the double disc concept album, 'Nostradamus', which peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200, and a year later 'A Touch of Evil: Live' was issued (which led to the group's aforementioned Grammy Award win due to a killer rendition of the classic, 'Dissident Aggressor'). 

In 2009, Priest began a celebration of the 30-year anniversary of the release of their classic 'British Steel' album, which included a tour that saw the group perform the album in its entirety, and was followed up by an expanded double disc version of 'British Steel' in 2010, plus a DVD of their live show. 

By 2011, Downing announced that he was exiting the band. With a still burning desire to continue flying the flag of metal, Judas Priest decided to continue on, by enlisting newcomer Richie Faulkner on guitar. The move seemed to have reinvigorated the band, as evidenced by a show-stealing performance on the 'American Idol' TV program, that also served as Faulkner's debut performance with the band (also in 2011, as was the release of a new compilation 'The Chosen Few', which included Priest classics selected by some of metal's biggest names) and the 'Epitaph' concert DVD in 2013. 

Priest’s next studio effort would arrive in 2014, ‘Redeemer of Souls’, which resulted in the highest chart placement of Priest’s entire career in the U.S., when it scaled the charts to #6, and was supported by another strong tour. 

In 2017, Priest received a nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and got ready to unleash a new studio album, ‘Firepower’ (produced by Andy Sneap and Tom Allom).   The album received global success and critical acclaim and saw the band embark on the sold out JUDAS PRIEST – FIREPOWER 2018 World Tour.

2019 saw the band continue their touring onslaught which leads us nicely to 2020 when the world will celebrate this remarkable bands 50 YEARS OF HEAVY METAL!!

...

All Bands Running Order Music Complete Running Order Start

Back to Band List

WOA-Background: SECTION: How to Wacken

How to Wacken

Prepare
the Nights

Preparation & Stay

Your Road
to Wacken

All About
Your Journey

On the
Holy Grounds

All Areas,
All Stage

Merchandise
Online-Shop

Merchandising,
Tickets & more!

Tickets
for the W:O:A

Included Goods
and Services

First Time
at the W:O:A

Your Survival Guide
for your first visit

Powered by

Supported by

[Translate to Englisch:] Banner WOA 2021 Ausverkauft

Let's go to Wacken!

  • Subscribe to our Newsletter
  • Bands
  • Tickets & Shop
  • Wacken for first timers
  • Everything about your journey
  • Media

Stuff

  • Contact
  • Partner
  • Terms & Conditions 2022
  • Terms & Conditions Wacken Wednesday 2022
  • Imprint
  • Data Protection Regulation

© 2005...2022 by WOA Festival GmbH - Hosting by ICS MEDIA SERVICE