I just watched the most interesting documentary about the Judas Priest suicide trial in the early 90s. It’s called “Dream Deceivers: The Story Behind James Vance vs. Judas Priest.” It tells the tale of two kids who listened to Stained Class and then decided to shoot themselves. One guy lived and filed a lawsuit based on the theory that “back-masking” on the album removed their free will. As an attorney, I found this film especially interesting because it showed lots of court footage, including (a) Rob Halford being forced to sing in the court room, and (b) a very perturbed judge who was forced to listen to hours of classic heavy metal without being able to stop it. Hahaha. More than anything, this reawakened memories of growing up during the Satanic Panic in the 80s, when parents were all to often lulled by predatory evangelical preachers into believing complete nonsense. Indeed, the real enemy of the story is the army of radicalized fundamentalist christians that live without honor or any awareness of their own hypocrisy. After watching footage of these kids’ parents, it’s no wonder that they ended up so troubled. If you can track down that documentary, I highly suggest you watch it - especially if you’re a Judas Priest fan.
