Judas Priest is an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham, Warwicksh… Read Full Bio ↴Judas Priest is an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham, Warwickshire in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in the latter half of the 1970s, the band had struggled with indifferent record production and a lack of major commercial success until 1980, when they rose to commercial success with the album British Steel.

The band's membership has seen much turnover, including a revolving cast of drummers in the 1970s and the departure of singer Rob Halford in 1992. Tim "Ripper" Owens, formerly of Winter's Bane, replaced Halford in 1996 and recorded two albums with Judas Priest, before Halford returned to the band in 2003. The current line-up consists of Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill and drummer Scott Travis. The band's best-selling album is 1982's Screaming for Vengeance, with their most commercially successful line-up featuring Ian Hill, Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, guitarist K. K. Downing, and drummer Dave Holland. Tipton and Hill are the only two members of the band to appear on every album.

Halford's operatic vocal style and the twin guitar sound of Downing and Tipton have been a major influence on heavy metal bands. Judas Priest's image of leather, spikes, and other taboo articles of clothing were widely influential during the glam metal era of the 1980s. The Guardian referred to British Steel as the record that defines heavy metal. Despite a decline in exposure during the mid-1990s, the band has once again seen a resurgence, including worldwide tours, being inaugural inductees into the VH1 Rock Honors in 2006, receiving a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2010, and having their songs featured in video games such as Guitar Hero and the Rock Band series. In 2022, Judas Priest were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judas_Priest

Studio albums
Rocka Rolla (1974)
Sad Wings of Destiny (1976)
Sin After Sin (1977)
Stained Class (1978)
Killing Machine (1978)
British Steel (1980)
Point of Entry (1981)
Screaming for Vengeance (1982)
Defenders of the Faith (1984)
Turbo (1986)
Ram It Down (1988)
Painkiller (1990)
Jugulator (1997)
Demolition (2001)
Angel of Retribution (2005)
Nostradamus (2008)
Redeemer of Souls (2014)
Firepower (2018)
Invincible Shield (2024)

Devil Digger
Judas Priest Lyrics

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I was cross-wired underground
Nothing seemed to fit
I was fried and memory bound
Then it came to me

Devil digger
Unforgiver

I was on a different plane
He said come to me
Laid his hands upon my brow
That's the last of me

Devil digger
Unbeliever

Don't be sorry
It's no disgrace
But never worry (unless)
You have no faith

See him coming
He has no face
You must stop running
You must have faith

Death's not final so were told
Words are so profound
Who the hell wants to get old
But ask in the final hours

Devil digger unbeliever
Devil digger unforgiver

See him coming
He has no face
You must stop running
You must have faith

I don't want to fade away
I don't want to fade away

I don't want to fade away
I don't want to fade away

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Devil Digger" by Judas Priest present the singer as a cross-wired and memory-bound individual who feels out of place until a mysterious man offers him a way out. The devil digger promises to free him from his troubled state and take him to a different plane. Despite his initial reluctance, the singer eventually gives in to the devil digger's insistence, and he puts his hands on his brow, setting him free from his past. However, this freedom appears to come at a cost, for the devil digger is an unforgiver and a disbeliever. The lyrics warn the listener to have faith and not to be afraid of death's finality, for it is from this state that one can escape from one's own obscurities.

The song could be interpreted in different ways, but the lyrics convey a sense of alienation and disconnection from reality. The singer seems to be struggling with memories that bind him to a past he cannot shake off, and he feels like nothing seems to fit. The devil digger promises him a way out, but his freedom does not come with ease. Instead, it requires he accepts his fate and stops running from it. The lyrics speak to the importance of embracing one's self and not fearing the unknown, even in the final moments of life.

Line by Line Meaning

I was cross-wired underground
I was feeling disconnected and confused.

Nothing seemed to fit
Life seemed out of order and disorganized.

I was fried and memory bound
I was overwhelmed and struggling to remember things.

Then it came to me
I had an epiphany.

Devil digger
The devil is like a miner digging for souls.

Unforgiver
He doesn't forgive those who fall into his temptation.

I was on a different plane
I was in a different state of mind.

He said come to me
The devil tempted me.

Laid his hands upon my brow
The devil had an influence over me.

That's the last of me
Once the devil gets a hold of you, there's no turning back.

Unbeliever
I didn't have faith in anything.