35 Years Ago, Judas Priest was on trial for subliminal lyrics

35 years ago, British metal legends Judas Priest were called in to court to answer for subliminal lyrics supposedly put into their music.

The members of the band entered a Nevada court room on July 6, 1990, to answer for charges that claimed their music made two young men commit suicide. They removed their studded black leather and donned business suits as they entered the court room, along with their record label, ready to defend themselves against these accusations. It was all part of a civil suit, claiming that they manufactured and marketed a faulty product, committing intentional and reckless misconduct and negligence

During the opening day of arguments, attorney Kenneth McKennas stated "Judas Priest and CBS pander this stuff to alienated teenagers. The members of the chess club, the math and science majors don't listen to this stuff. It's the dropouts, the drug and alcohol abusers. So, our argument is you have a duty to be more cautious when you're dealing with a population susceptible to this stuff."

Lawyers brought up messages, some were overtly clear, while others were supposedly masked through backwards recording techniques, on albums of theirs, such as 1978's Stained Class. They argued that the victims, Raymond Belknap and James Vance, two teenagers from Sparks, Nevada, made a suicide pact and ended their lives on Dec. 23, 1985. According to Vance, before his 1988 death, that the evening started with alcohol, drugs and Judas Priest. He stated that the song "Beyond the Realms of Death" led the fronts to make an oath. The song features lyrics like "Keep the world with all its sin / It's not fit for living in", being sung by vocalist Rob Halford. Regarding the hidden messages, attorneys argued that they heard the words "do it" being said in the song "Better by You, Better Than Me."

Vance said "All of a sudden, we got a suicidal message. And we got tired of life." Later that night, Vance and Belknap shot themselves in the head in the playground of a nearby church with a 12 gauge shotgun. Belknap, who was only 18, died immediately. Vance, was was 20, however, survived. He destroyed most of his face, and had to undergo a series of painful reconstructive surgeries, before succumbing to a methadone overdose in 1988

In an earlier letter to his mother, Vance wrote "I believe that alcohol and heavy metal music such as Judas Priest led us to mesmerized." The Belknap family sued for $1.2 million while the Vance family asked for $5 million. Judas Priest pushed back hard against the allegations, just like when Ozzy Osbourne had the same types of charges filed against him. Judas Priest manager Bill Curbishley stated "I don't know what subliminals are, but I do know that there's nothing like that in this music. If we were going to do that, I'd be saying 'Buy seven copies', not telling a couple of screwed up kids to kill themselves."

The trial was front page news everywhere. It included mind blowing allegations, imagery. Rob Halford telling that lyrics he wrote he never took as "deep and meaningful." August 24, 1990 was welcome end to the tragedy. The Washoe County District Court dismissed the charges and the band was free to go.