Sat Eye Candy: Judas Priest

Venerable leather enthusiasts and heavy metal founding fathers Judas Priest celebrate their 40th anniversary this year, and today is the birthday of guitarist Glenn Tipton, who with guitarist K.K. Downing, forms the fierce nucleus of Priest's original and massively influential sound. Speed, dexterity, and rugged invention are the hallmarks of the Tipton/Downing dyad. Theirs are the iron fists that pummel one bloody whilst Rob Halford snarls and soars, a gut stuck opera singer on a tear.

Without Priest there would be no Iron Maiden, no Megadeth, and a lot less quality heavy music overall (not to mention a very different iconic look for many bands). They remain an active, exciting touring entity and continue to push themselves creatively, putting out their first double studio album last year themed around Nostradamus. We raise a toast to Glenn Tipton, and then a second to the whole lot of them. Thanks for keeping music heavy, sirs!

There's really nowhere else we could begin except Priest's signature anthem presented in front of a seething arena mob.

"I'll be damned, here comes your ghost again." Thus begins one of the best songs in Judas Priest's gigantic catalog, "Diamonds And Rust." Always a touch more sensitive even amidst so much groin thunder, Priest excels at personal laments that speak to us, especially in our angst riddled youth (and those parts that remain with us throughout our lives). Here they are in Memphis on 1982's Screaming For Vengeance Tour.

After decades of slapping this one around, Priest now shares partial ownership of Fleetwood Mac's landmark "Green Manalishi (With The Two-Prong Crown)."

Here's one for aspiring guitarists out there. Glenn teaches us some basics for "Breaking The Law," "Victim of Changes," and "Hell Bent For Leather."

Rob broke out the baddest wizard robe for this 2008 Jimmy Kimmel performance of one of the standouts on their latest album.

There are few spectacles as guiltily satisfying as the start of a Priest concert. A primitive Transformer gives Halford a reach-around in this clip. Really.

Continue reading for more Priestly blessings...