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)
in between
Judas Priest Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm an atheist with faith
Vent my anger with a smile
I'm polite or obscene
Either whisper or I scream
I'm not quite what I seem
I'm somewhere in between
I am calm or in a rage
I'm your friend or enemy
A pacifist or at war
I am rich but I am poor
I'm all extremes
I'm nowhere in between
Wide awake
Or in a dream
Nowhere in between
Like the pulse of a machine
I'm driven to extremes
I feel the turmoil boil in me
I'm neither healthy nor diseased
I am all extremes
But I'm still in between
Say right or say wrong
Outcast yet I belong
I'm high or I'm dry
Say I am weak yet I am strong
In between
In between
I am my alter ego
I am subconsciously
In depth but also shallow
Or somewhere in between
Oh I know I am
Always first in line or last
I swim with sharks or drown with rats
I'll defend as I attack
My world and yours are not the same
I am in a different lane
I am not where I seem
But I'm somewhere in between
I seek revenge
As I forgive
I die to live ah
Not afraid but scared to death
I don't fit in
In between all extremes
The lyrics of Judas Priest's song In Between highlight the struggle of being in a constant state of flux and not fitting into any particular mold. The singer describes himself as someone who can switch from being polite to obscene, calm to enraged, and a pacifist to someone at war. He juxtaposes the idea of being young in his old age and being rich but also poor. The chorus emphasizes his position of being nowhere in between, like the pulse of a machine driven to extremes.
The song also notes the paradoxical nature of the singer's thoughts and feelings. He can feel turmoil boiling within him despite being neither healthy nor diseased. Similarly, he is high or dry and weak but also strong. He mentions being his alter ego and subconsciously deep but also shallow. He recognizes that he is not where he seems but also not quite sure where exactly he falls.
Overall, the lyrics of In Between explore the complexities of human nature and the struggle to fit into any one particular mold. The singer accepts that he exists in the gray area and that his identity is in a constant state of flux.
Line by Line Meaning
I am love, I am hate
I embody both love and hate
I'm an atheist with faith
I don't believe in God but I still have faith in something
Vent my anger with a smile
I hide my anger behind a smile
I'm polite or obscene
I can be either extremely polite or extremely obscene
Either whisper or I scream
I can express myself in the form of a whisper or a scream
I'm not quite what I seem
I'm not exactly like what people think I am
I'm somewhere in between
I exist in a state between those extremes
I am young in my old age
Although I am old, I still possess some youthfulness
I am calm or in a rage
I can either be very calm or very angry
I'm your friend or enemy
I can act as your friend or your enemy
A pacifist or at war
I can either be a pacifist or be at war with others
I am rich but I am poor
Although I possess wealth, I still feel poor in some way
I'm all extremes
I embody all the extremes
I'm nowhere in between
I can't exist in a state between those extremes
Wide awake
I'm fully alert and conscious
Or in a dream
Or I'm in a state of unconsciousness
Nowhere in between
I can't exist in a state between those two states
Like the pulse of a machine
My state is mechanical, like the rhythm of a machine
I'm driven to extremes
I'm compelled to go to those extremes
I feel the turmoil boil in me
I feel an inner turmoil boiling inside me
I'm neither healthy nor diseased
I'm neither perfectly healthy nor entirely sick
Say right or say wrong
You can either say I'm right or I'm wrong
Outcast yet I belong
I can be an outcast yet still feel like I belong
I'm high or I'm dry
I can be in a state of ecstasy or in a state of desolation
Say I am weak yet I am strong
People might think I'm weak but I'm actually strong
In between
I exist in a state between those two opposites
I am my alter ego
I have a separate persona from my public persona
I am subconsciously
I have internal feelings that are not expressed in my external behavior
In depth but also shallow
Although I might have depth in certain areas, I might also be shallow in others
Or somewhere in between
I'm in a state between those two states
Oh I know I am
I have full awareness of who I am
Always first in line or last
I can either lead the pack or lag behind it
I swim with sharks or drown with rats
I can either take risks with the great or linger in mediocrity with the meek
I'll defend as I attack
I can either defend myself or begin to attack others
My world and yours are not the same
The way I perceive the world might be different from how you perceive it
I am in a different lane
I exist in a separate category from others, which could be good or bad
I am not where I seem
I'm not entirely what people perceive me to be
But I'm somewhere in between
However, I do exist in a state between those extremes
I seek revenge
I want to get even with someone or something
As I forgive
At the same time, I also forgive others
I die to live ah
Sometimes I must make sacrifices to survive
Not afraid but scared to death
I'm not afraid to try new things, but I'm also very anxious about those things
I don't fit in
I don't conform to society's norms and expectations
In between all extremes
Even though I possess all the extremes, I still exist in a state between those extremes
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GLENN RAYMOND TIPTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind