Best of Budapest & Hungary

Judas Priest is one of the forefathers of heavy metal, tirelessly storming the biggest stages even after nearly 60 years. The legendary band is touring Europe this summer with their Faithkeepers tour, and on September 1, the band will roll into Budapest to rock Budapest Arena once again with their rock anthems.

    There are few heavy metal bands that have managed to scale the heights that Judas Priest have during their 50+ year career. Their presence and influence remains at an all­-time high as evidenced by 2018's 'Firepower' being the highest ­charting album of their career, a 2010 Grammy Award win for 'Best Metal Performance', plus being a 2006 VH1 Rock Honors recipient and a 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.

    Judas Priest originally formed in 1969 in Birmingham, England (an area that many feel birthed heavy metal). Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, KK Downing and Ian Hill would be the nucleus of musicians (along with several different drummers over the years) that would go on to change the face of heavy metal. After a 'feeling out' period of a couple of albums, 1974's 'Rocka Rolla' and 1976's 'Sad Wings of Destiny' this line­-up truly hit their stride. The result was a quartet of albums that separated Priest from the rest of the hard rock pack ­- 1977's 'Sin After Sin', 1978's 'Stained Class' and 'Hell Bent for Leather', and 1979's 'Unleashed in the East', which spawned such metal anthems as 'Sinner', 'Diamonds and Rust', 'Hell Bent for Leather', and 'The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)'. Also, Priest were one of the first metal bands to exclusively wear leather and studs – a look that began during this era and would eventually be embraced by metal heads throughout the world. 

   It could be said that Priest simply owned the '80s as they were second to none as far as pure metal goes, releasing such all-­time classic albums as 1980's 'British Steel', 1981's 'Point of Entry', 1982's 'Screaming for Vengeance', and 1984's 'Defenders of the Faith'. Once more, these titles spawned countless enduring metal anthems including 'Breaking the Law', 'Living After Midnight', 'Heading Out to the Highway', and 'You've Got Another Thing Coming'. The '80s were also a decade where Priest became a global arena headliner, offering show­-stopping sets at some of the world's biggest festivals, including the first­-ever Monsters of Rock Festival at Donington Park (1980) in the United Kingdom, the US Festival (1983) in the United States and Live Aid (1985) in the United States. 

    Their success never faded: so far, they have released 19 highly successful albums, survived lineup changes, celebrated anniversaries and toured the world several times. Judas Priest have proved countless times that they are one of the most powerful forces in the metal scene. In 2020 the band celebrated their 50^th Anniversary, but due to the pandemic and Richie’s health issues the tour was rescheduled in 2022. Judas Priest also brought their anniversary tour to Budapest, where they rocked the Budapest Arena.

    Also in 2022, Priest band members Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill and Scott Travis were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – where they were inducted by legendary shock rocker Alice Cooper.

    Judas Priest's 19^th studio album, Invincible Shield, was issued on March 8, 2024 and the band remain one of metal's top concert attractions, as evidenced by their world tour in support of Invincible Shield, which sold out all over the UK and Europe, and was so successful in North America that the band toured twice in that year - once in the spring and again in the fall.

    Priest continued to storm their way across the globe in 2025 – rocking the masses in South America and then taking their Shield of Pain tour across Europe and finishing with two shows in the UK – including The O2 Arena in London - having announced a joint headline US tour with Alice Cooper set for the fall last year. 2025 also saw Priest receive their fifth Grammy Nomination 'Best Metal Performance' for the song 'Crown of Horns.'

    Over 50 years since their inception, Judas Priest are still spreading their special brand of heavy metal throughout the world – with no end in sight! And now, with their Faithkeepers tour we once again have a chance to enjoy their rock anthems on September 1^st at Budapest Arena.

    Tickets will first be available to registered Live Nation members on March 17 from 10 AM, while general on-sale starts on March 18 at 10 AM.