In January 1984, Judas Priest unveiled their ninth album, Defenders Of The Faith; long since acknowledged as a heavy metal classic, but at the time, judged a relative failure.
Two years earlier, its predecessor, Screaming For Vengeance, had transformed the Brummie quintet into superstars, especially across the Atlantic where US audiences couldn’t get enough of their marauding, twin guitar-embellished anthems, voiced by the banshee-like Rob Halford, and a leather, studs, whips and chains image that – just like their music – would be copied and copied.
