Five Reasons Judas Priest Should Be in the Rock Hall of Fame

There are tons of Judas Priest fans lobbying for the Metal Gods to be inducted here. But this famed "rock" hall seems more determined to induct non-rock and metal acts into their halls. Here are five reasons why the good people at Ultimate Classic Rock believe that Judas Priest should be inducted

1. The rock hall needs more metal

-The rock hall and heavy metal have been at odds since 1986. The first actual metal act was Black Sabbath and they didn't get inducted until 2006. Metallica got in in 2009 and Deep Purple came close behind in 2016. It's been said it's long overdue that the Metal Gods are the next band that should be inducted

2. They are the true Metal Gods

-Some may ask "What does metal look like?" The people at Ultimate Classic Rock will tell you "Any picture of Judas Priest". Their studded leather, the hairstyles, the sometimes raw, aggressive sound- it's all the definition of metal. Starting with twin lead guitarists KK Downing and Glenn Tipton, they established the "twin lead guitar" or "double axe attack" pattern for bands to follow in years coming. And the fact that their 2018 album Firepower is as aggressive as its name suggests, this tells all that Judas Priest still have the fire within them to create great music

3. Their singer is the Metal God

-While Rob Halford is not the band's original vocalist, and he did leave the band for a point sometime in the 1990s, he has been the vocalist who had been with the band for years. He's still the voice and face of heavy metal as well as the band he fronts. He's considered to be as iconic as Mick Jagger, Robert Plant, Ozzy Osbourne, Ronnie James Dio, Bruce Dickinson and more. Rock 'n' Roll had leather before Halford joined Priest in 1973, but he took it to new extremes with his entirely studded leather clothing and drove out onto the stages on a Harley Davidson motorcycle. He's also tough enough to show that he can perform a show with an injury. While performing in Toronto one year, he crashed his bike into a drum riser and broke his nose. But he didn't let that stop him; he went out and rocked hard on stage. He's said to be the Pavarotti of metal because his voice, even in his 60s, can hit every octave

4. Resilience looks good on them

-Judas Priest have gone through numerous changes in lineup, numerous changes in appearance and even sound. They've gone through three vocalists and nine drummers, almost making them Spinal Tap-worthy. Nothing has stopped them - not former guitarist KK Downing's departure in 2011, not former guitarist Glenn Tipton's debilitating Parkinson's Disease diagnosis, not even Halford coming out as gay in 1998. Even Rob Halford coming out with his battle against cancer recently seemed to go easy, as if cancer can't touch him.

5. Songs, songs, songs!

-The list of successful songs they've written over the years is mind blowing. While they've done cover songs, like "The Green Manalishi" from Fleetwood Mac, "Diamonds and Rust" from Joan Baez and even "Johnny B. Goode" from Chuck Berry, the other songs they've written are popular with both Priest fans and non-Priest fans.