10 Greatest British Hard Rock Bands

There's no real set date as to when a genre is born. Even when talking about the beginnings of rock and roll, people still argue between Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley for the true father of rock and roll. Though Judas Priest may not get the mantle of the first heavy metal act, they certainly deserve the accolade of the truest metal act.

Throughout their career, Priest have crafted some of the most glorious hymns of doom, with Rob Halford's wail leading the entire congregation. Armed with the twin guitar attack of KK Downing and Glenn Tipton, every one of the band's songs hit you like a smack in the face, with riffs that could cut through any sound proofing equipment you had. As time went on, Priest were true revolutionaries when it came to heaviness, going from the stomp of British Steel to the raw aggression of Painkiller.

For as much as they've given to the metal world, it's still a shame that Priest don't get the credit they deserve as one of metal's earliest success stories. At a time when many bands were denying any parenthood over the metal genre, Priest claimed the genre as their own and took it to every corner of the globe.