Judas Priest have unveiled a new preview from their upcoming documentary, “The Ballad Of Judas Priest,” with the clip premiering online through Rolling Stone. In the footage, frontman Rob Halford reflects on the band’s classic British Steel track “Breaking The Law” and the iconic music video that accompanied it. You can watch it down below.
The documentary was co-directed by filmmaker Sam Dunn (known for “Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey” and “Iron Maiden: Flight 666”) alongside Tom Morello, and is slated to premiere with its first screenings at the Berlin International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany over the coming week.
Since emerging in the 1970s, Judas Priest has been widely credited as one of the architects of heavy metal. The band has sold over 50 million records worldwide and released 19 studio albums. In 2022, they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Their 2024 release Invincible Shield made history by becoming the first heavy metal album issued by a band with studio releases spanning 50 years, and it earned a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance.
Reflecting on the documentary, the band said:
“We have lived and breathed metal for over five decades, and finally in this documentary we are summoning our congregation to officially witness our lives uncensored, in a never-before-seen way…the cassock comes off, revealing Priest in all its metal glory!”
Morello and Dunn elaborated on the scope of the project, stating:
“While some may know Judas Priest for their huge hits that have shaped the heavy metal genre, there is so much more to their story. Tracing their incredible 50-year journey, this film will capture how Judas Priest both defined the sound and look of metal, but also made it a more inclusive place along the way. We are grateful to the band for allowing us such intimate, unfiltered access to their lives and look forward to bringing this film to the metal masses around the world.”
