Judas Priest - The Serpent and the King

Okay, this one is on us. When it came to our attention that we had never featured Judas Priest in the hallowed Rock Song of the Week line-up before, a few tears were shed in the office. It’s unacceptable, honestly and for that, we’re sorry. Some changes to personnel have been made as a result. We haven’t fired anyone, just cut off a few bits of the people that were already here as punishment. It’s amazing how much of a cost-saving measure only needing one sleeve on your uniforms is.

To the music, then. The legends from Birmingham, England defined every scene that was lucky enough to have a part of them, from the heavy metal faithful to the leather and spikes of the glam metal scene. Barring some hiatuses, ridiculous controversies in the early 90s and having more members than the Roman Legion, Priest have continued to be an unstoppable metal force throughout their existence and that has, remarkably, carried on all the way to today. Try to think of another metal band with this sort of longevity, let alone this consistency. And that’s including 2008s Nostradamus, as well. 

Now, be warned, the video is genuinely, almost unbelievably rubbish - a bunch of wiggly, AI-generated fantasy prompts whose highlights include swords with two handles and more than one face with the wrong number of features – but The Serpent and the King is anything but. As close to anything classic that they’ve released, it’s frankly incredible what Judas Priest are still capable of putting out for a band who have been knocking around for over half a century. And Halford’s vocals at age 73? Whoever brokered that deal got the wrong end it, because he’s still one of the best in the game on his day. All this adds up to a track that will light a fire under your Friday that will last you until at least next week. Just remember to come back for a top-up, we’ll see you right.