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)
Spectre
Judas Priest Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A villain with no morals
Above the law and reckless
Mutating day by day
Invisible in silence
Conspiring to get power
This man will stop at nothing
To always get his way
Like a thief in the night
With the blade held tight
Trapped inside the mind
Of the spectre
When you're mind in a vice
He twists and turns with terror
Keeps building up the pressure
Until you're feeling numb
Like a thief in the night
With the blade held tight
Trapped inside the mind
Of the spectre
Trapped inside the mind
Of the spectre
The spectre creeps behind you
Shrouded by his stealth
Ignore him at your peril
He kills to heal himself
In the blink of an eye
He marks you with precision
Corrupting all he touches
Salvation in your soul
Scourging you in silence
As he makes his incision
The venom's taking over
This tyrant takes his toll
Like a thief in the night
With the blade held tight
Trapped inside the mind
Of the spectre
You'll be frozen in fright
Like the glint of his knife
Trapped inside the mind
Of the spectre
The song "Spectre" by Judas Priest is a warning about the dangers of succumbing to our own fears and doubts. The "spectre" referred to in the lyrics represents a malevolent force that preys on our insecurities, slowly but surely eroding our sense of self and taking control of our minds. The song describes this spectre as a villain without morals who is above the law, mutating day by day and conspiring to gain more power. It warns that this spectre will stop at nothing to get its way and will not hesitate to turn its victims against each other.
The lyrics of the chorus paint a vivid picture of the spectre as a thief in the night, wielding a blade and trapping the listener inside their own mind. The spectre is described as a suffocating presence, twisting and turning with terror and building up pressure until the listener is left feeling numb. The song suggests that the spectre preys on our deepest fears and vulnerabilities, and that only by confronting and defeating it can we free ourselves from its grasp.
In conclusion, "Spectre" is a powerful and haunting exploration of the darkest corners of the human psyche, warning against the dangers of succumbing to fear and doubt and urging the listener to take control of their own mind.
Line by Line Meaning
In a league of his own
The spectre is unique and above others in his villainy
A villain with no morals
The spectre has no ethical code guiding his actions
Above the law and reckless
The spectre is not bound by legal limitations and behaves irresponsibly
Mutating day by day
The spectre is constantly changing and evolving
Invisible in silence
The spectre operates in secrecy
Conspiring to get power
The spectre is scheming to gain more control
This man will stop at nothing
The spectre is determined and relentless
To always get his way
The spectre always achieves his desired outcome
Like a thief in the night
The spectre strikes without warning or detection
With the blade held tight
The spectre wields a weapon with intent to harm
Trapped inside the mind
The spectre's influence is overwhelming and inescapable
Of the spectre
The spectre's power is all-encompassing
When you're mind in a vice
The spectre exerts mental pressure and control
He twists and turns with terror
The spectre inflicts fear and torment on his victim
Keeps building up the pressure
The spectre's power and control only intensifies
Until you're feeling numb
The spectre's influence eventually numbs the victim's emotions and senses
The spectre creeps behind you
The spectre is always lurking and waiting for an opportunity
Shrouded by his stealth
The spectre operates in secrecy and with cunning
Ignore him at your peril
The spectre is dangerous and requires attention and caution
He kills to heal himself
The spectre gains power through inflicting harm on others
In the blink of an eye
The spectre strikes quickly and decisively
He marks you with precision
The spectre's attacks are accurate and calculated
Corrupting all he touches
The spectre's evil spreads to those around him
Salvation in your soul
The spectre's ultimate goal is to damn and control his victim's soul
Scourging you in silence
The spectre's attacks are subtle and secretive
As he makes his incision
The spectre's actions are surgical and precise
The venom's taking over
The spectre's poison is infiltrating and taking control
This tyrant takes his toll
The spectre's domination extracts a heavy price
You'll be frozen in fright
The victim is paralyzed by fear
Like the glint of his knife
The spectre's weapon is a symbol of his malevolence
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING
Written by: GLENN RAYMOND TIPTON, RICHARD FAULKNER, ROBERT HALFORD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
khaki agjhj
In a league of his own
A villain with no morals
Above the law and reckless
Mutating day by day
Invisible and silence
Conspiring to get power
This man will stop at nothing
To always get his way
Like a thief in the night
With the blade held tight
Trapped inside the mind
Of the spectre
When you're mind in a vice
He twists and turns with terror
Keeps building up the pressure
Until you're feeling numb
Like a thief in the night
With the blade held tight
Trapped inside the mind
Of the spectre
Trapped inside the mind
Of the spectre
The spectre creeps behind you
Shrouded by his stealth
Ignore him at your peril
He kills to heal himself
In the blink of an eye
He marks you with precision
Corrupting all he touches
Salvation in your soul
Scourging you in silence
As he makes his incision
The venom's taking over
This tyrant takes his toll
Like a thief in the night
With the blade held tight
Trapped inside the mind
Of the spectre
You'll be frozen in fright
Like the glint of his knife
Trapped inside the mind
Of the spectre
Another settlement needs your help
In a league of his own
A villain with no morals
Above the law and reckless
Mutating day by day
Invisible and silence
Conspiring to get power
This man will stop at nothing
To always get his way
Like a thief in the night
With the blade held tight
Trapped inside the mind
Of the spectre
When you're mind in a vice
He twists and turns with terror
Keeps building up the pressure
Until you're feeling numb
Like a thief in the night
With the blade held tight
Trapped inside the mind
Of the spectre
Trapped inside the mind
Of the spectre
The spectre creeps behind you
Shrouded by his stealth
Ignore him at your peril
He kills to heal himself
In the blink of an eye
He marks you with precision
Corrupting all he touches
Salvation in your soul
Scourging you in silence
As he makes his incision
The venom's taking over
This tyrant takes his toll
Like a thief in the night
With the blade held tight
Trapped inside the mind
Of the spectre
You'll be frozen in fright
Like the glint of his knife
Trapped inside the mind
Of the spectre
thegatesofsleep
Most old bands that keep releasing albums fail miserably, but this is probably my favourite song by them. Unreal, they still have it!!!
David Knichal
This, No Surrender and Rising from Ruins could be on Defenders of the Faith or Screaming for Vengeance and feel no shame
myvidss
10th year of Parkinson's disease and still rockin hard. mad respect for the legend Glenn Tipton!!
GoGo Yubari
Take care of yourself.
Highscore 21
These guys saved Heavy Metal back in the early 80s. Legends
mrromantimothy
saved it? that's true though bands like Slayer we're right there with them as far as keeping metal alive, when you talk about Judas priest and metal, they wrote the blueprint for it
Echo of Dawn
@Rik Osborne yeah thats what makes classic metal different from modern metal bands. classic metal is about notes while modern metal is about speed and tones. they just playing 00000 with beefy tone and call it metal. the only time priest downtuning lower than Eb is during Jugulition era for matching Tim Ripper vocal notes
Rik Osborne
@Echo of Dawn So tired of bands thinking they need to downtune to sound "heavy". Priest never had any trouble sounding "heavy" in standard tuning!
Grungegazer
@Echo of Dawn yea I don't really like punk. I guess I prefer lyrics like alice in chains. More abstract self focused. Less Satan's and endless ranting on religions . Prefer death thrash ,sludge/doom and grunge. Not huge on brutal death or black metal grindcore,deathcore.nu metal. But I like a bit of everything. And if course heavy metal. Halford is heavy metal.
Luis Fernando
Judas Priest dando uma aula do bom e velho Heavy Metal... não paro de escutar esse Firepower... é foda demais!!