10 Best Hard Rock Bands Of The 1980s

Judas Priest has a reputation of becoming the first heavy metal band. While bands like Zeppelin and Sabbath always classified themselves as hard rock, Priest were always proud to fly the flag of metal wherever they went. However, some of the band's initial offerings left the public a bit cold. Once the band hit the late 70's, they had settled comfortably into their sound, but nothing could have prepared them for what was to come.

At the dawn of the decade, Priest released British Steel, which was one of the band's first commercial breakthroughs, with pop-metal like "Breaking the Law" and "Living After Midnight." Priest rode high on the success of this album, but went on to even greater heights with the sonic scorcher that was 1983's Screaming for Vengeance, where they demonstrated a masterclass on how to write classic headbangers.

The metal reckoning of the band marched on throughout the 80's, where the band hit with solid records and even yielding another classic album as the 90's were dawning with Painkiller. While they may have been brought up in the 70's, the 80's were when Judas Priest truly found their congregation.