Back in 1997 - the dark ages of the Internet - I needed an excuse to put up a web page. After all, I was the only human being without one, right? So, I thought about putting photos of my dog playing croquet in a neighbor's pool or time delayed images of my old Super Beetle rotting away in LaJoie's junkyard in Norwalk, CT. Nah. Too creative for people. However, a tribute page to the world's greatest band of all time - Judas Priest - was long overdue...

I was introduced to the music of Judas Priest way back in 1982. It was the dawning of the MTV age (when eMpTyV actually paid attention to good music...) and metal ruled the airways. Until then, I wasn't much of a music fan. One day, this amazing video came on. Compared to today's stuff it wasn't much, but that didn't matter. It was just that the song absolutely rocked my world. "You've Got Another Thing Coming" was, all of a sudden, my favorite song. My tenth birthday was coming up and all I wanted were two tapes: Def Leppard's "Pyromania" (which is still a great album even though the band sucks) and Judas Priest's "Screaming for Vengeance." To make a long story short, I wore "Screaming for Vengeance" out in about a year. (Thank God for CDs!) I went through two or three cassettes! I couldn't get enough of that album! Thus began my worship of the greatest heavy metal band in the world.

I got so into music and eMpTyV, that I ended up jumping around the living room every afternoon with my mom's tennis racket playing air guitar. The time had come for guitar lessons! :) Unfortunately, my parents thought my sister and I were watching too much TV, so they canned the cable TV. Not cool. Soon thereafter, I got word that Priest was going to be playing on eMpTyV's Saturday Night Concert (remember the good ol' days?). I freaked! How was I going to see my first concert??? Luckily, I charmed a neighbor into taping it for me. (I was quite a studly being for a ten year-old. Those 40+ year-olds dug me. ;) Anyway, the night came and went. I ran to her house to get the tape. She warned me that when she had woken up that morning that the channel had apparently been changed. She wasn't sure when, but she did know that her cat had a knack for jumping on the TV all the time. I didn't care. I had to see this concert. I ran back home, popped the tape in and was engulfed in an amazing spectacle. There they were: Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill, KK Downing, and Dave Holland. My favorite band had faces! Sure enough, they started the show off with "The Hellion/Electric Eye." This ruled. For little more than an hour, I stared in awe at this band, creating absolutely kick-ass music, with all the lights and smoke, and at least 20,000 LUCKY fans going crazy. Rob knew how to handle that crowd.

Finally, the time had come for my favorite song: "You've Got Another Thing Coming." YES! YES! YES! I was the happiest damn kid around. But I was to realize soon why I hate cats to this day. Just as Glenn Tipton launched into his solo, a country and western movie came on!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! It was over. The damn cat had changed the cable box channel. The rest of the concert was gone. I almost had a freakin' seizure. Devastation set in. I think it took me a few weeks to get over that one....

To this day, I consider Judas Priest to be the ultimate band. I know there are many people my age who have "grown out of it," and come to "enjoy" today's music. The 80s music scene is a distant nightmare for many of them. I, however, consider the 80s to be one of the best periods in music. (OK, OK, there are MANY exceptions....but let's not make ourselves nauseus thinking about Poison and Tiffany...) The reason I am still a loyal Priest fan to this very day is because I can still never get enough of their music. How many bands have that effect on someone? Very few. Maybe that's why this band is still around after 30 years. I have every album (except "Turbo." Sorry, guys, but I can't stomach that one...) My collection contains more Priest CDs, limited edition vinyl, photos, press kits, posters, DVDs, live bootlegs and countless other things I've blown money on in the past 20 years.

Priest's music was/is by far the biggest influence on me musically. I wanted to be Glenn Tipton. Anyone can listen to this virtuoso play the solos to "Beyond the Realms of Death (listen - live in Barcelona)," "Painkiller (listen)," or "Electric Eye (listen)" and see what I mean. The energy and emotion in his playing is almost overwhelming. Eddie Van Halen and Jimi Hendrix are considerred by many to be THE BEST guitar players that have ever existed. Well, I'd say Glenn Tipton can rip those guys, and any others, to shreds. I am not discounting KK Downing, either. Just listen to him soar while playing "Sinner" or "Genocide" live. Without the tandem team of Downing/Tipton, the face of music would be worse off than it is today. I'd be crazy to leave out Ian Hill (bass) and Scott Travis (drummer with many invisible limbs). Talk about solid. Ian just lays that low-end down. He's like a rock. Scott....? Well, all you have to do is listen to "Painkiller" or "Jugulator" or see Priest live to find out just how amazing this guy is on drums. He has taken this band to a level that no other drummer would've been able to accomplish. Any band playing today would give anything to have the talent and appeal of Judas Priest. One live performance and you will see just how amazing this group of musicians is. Not to mention the longevity... For any metal band to say they haven't been influenced by the music of Judas Priest is almost certainly lying. Metal would have been dead a long time ago if not for them.

Of course, there isn't much I can say that hasn't been said already about the amazing voice of Rob Halford. His trademark howls and screams, his unique, sinister, and commanding voice... There is a reason Luciano Pavorotti considers him one of the greatest singers ever. I'd have to say he IS the greatest singer ever! As a loyal fan, I am sad to see Rob not succeed on his own. The music he created with Fight, 2wo, and Halford is some of the best metal ever produced. It's a crime he didn't get more attention. However, I think every Priest fan is happy to see Rob back in the band as of the summer of 2003. His "replacement," Tim Owens, was probably the only man who could fill Rob's shoes. He made two albums with Priest, but neither saw any real success. The chemistry that made Judas Priest a metal legend just wasn't there anymore.

I could go on and on with my melodramatic statements about how much I love this band. But that's not why you're here. This is my shrine to the greatest band in the world. I claim to have the largest collection of Judas Priest memorabilia in the world. I am showing it off (as I was told), but I think any Priest fan will enjoy and appreciate what I have to show. So follow the links to what you want to see and have fun. I have included all of the track listings with the tapes, CDs, videos, etc. along with additional commentary as to how I acquired something or how I feel about a particular item. I have to tell you now that nothing I show on this site is for sale. I am very interested, however, if you have some rare Priest item you are willing to sell for a reasonable price.

I will update this site as much as possible. I am also selling most of my collection, so if you want something, check out the FOR SALE page. So please visit often to see what's new!

I thank you for visiting the Judas Priest Shrine. Keep the faith, and defend it!

All material Copyright © Judas Priest Shrine 1997-2014 unless noted otherwise. NO material is allowed to be copied or used elsewhere without my written permission. DO NOT link images from this site to your site. If you want to use something, save it to your own web host and link from there.