Defenders Of The Faith: The Story Of Judas Priest
by Neil Daniels

Great for reference, not for excitement

One of the biggest and most influential metal bands of all time, Judas Priest conquered the world in the 80s. They played massive stadiums, upset Tipper Gore, popularised leather biker caps and were thoroughly nice chaps, nearly all the time. Their biography should be fascinating. So, “rumours of an impending split” in the Priest camp and observations such as Jason McMaster’s (Dangerous Toys vocalist) that he “never saw Rob [Halford] near any other members of Priest… strange!” don’t really cut it. As with so many unauthorised books, Daniels was denied access to the central players and has had to rely upon outsider accounts, press quotes and guesswork. Though this is a thoroughly researched and well-written chronology of Priest’s career, it’s seriously lacking in anecdotes. It’s also disappointingly top-heavy, due to certain ex-members’ availability and willingness to talk. The early part of the book is far more detailed than later chapters, resulting in more pages about the Al Atkins line-up than the decade Tim “Ripper” Owens spent as frontman. Still, though many events are skimmed over, they’re all in there. Daniels even includes a letter from Dave Holland’s jail cell. An even-handed Priestopedia, lacking in colour but handy for reference.

3 stars 3 stars 3 stars

ISBN 9781846096907

Reviewed by Suzy West
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