Priest

Was the first heavy metal record the Kinks’ You Really Got Me (1964), Steppenwolf’s Born to Be Wild (1968), Black Sabbath’s Black Sabbath (1970) or something else? VerulamiumParkRangerGotta be Black Sabbath. I love the Kinks and Steppenwolf but by definition they’re not really metal. In terms of riffage, I’ve always defined metal to the greatest extent with the bass and it’s a big, meaty, Black Sabbath-style riff – a West Midlands sledgehammer! That’s what Tony was doing, so it’s definitely Black Sabbath for me.How did…

Judas Priest, heavy metal’s tireless defenders of the faith, will come screaming for vengeance in bars all around the world next week with a global listening party for their new album, Invincible Shield. The events will take place March 7, a day before the album’s official release. To find out what time a particular bar will start blasting Priest at deafening volumes, just phone them up and pray the bartender can hear you over the stereo. Many bars, the organizers promise, will be offering “Judas Priest–themed…

With a truly extraordinary voice that can go from piercing falsetto caterwauling to burly pronouncements in the space of a single song, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford is one of the defining vocalists in heavy metal – and as the band gear up to release new album Invincible Shield, he’ll be answering your questions.Halford’s history with the Midlands group stretches back almost to their very earliest days, joining them in 1973 and recording their debut album Rocka Rolla the following year. Somewhat in the shadow of punk rock…

The novelist Christopher Priest, who has died aged 80 after suffering from cancer, became eminent more than once over the nearly 60 years of his active working life. But while he relished success, he displayed a wry reserve about the ambiguities attending these moments in the limelight.In 1983 he was included in the Granta Best of Young British Novelists, a 20-strong cohort, most of them – such as Martin Amis, William Boyd, Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie, Graham Swift and AN Wilson – significantly younger than…

Just like last time, Bored Panda reached out to Father João Paulo, a compassionate priest from Gravatá, Pernambuco, Brazil, known for his dedication to rescuing and caring for stray animals.When asked about the genesis of his initiative, Father João Paulo said, "The love for animals always accompanies me, when I arrived in the city of Gravatá (PE)Brazil, people from an NGO that took care of street animals came to me to buy some cookies. Not only did I buy it, but I started advertising it in the Church.Then I found out…

From “hot” to “holy”: that’s the tale Edoardo Santini has chosen to live by, as he recently joined a priesthood following a successful modeling career.The 21-year-old, who was once voted the most handsome man in Italy, reportedly quit his modeling job to become a priest.Edoardo was voted Italy’s most beautiful man in 2019, when he was 17, in a pageant organized by ABE, a fashion group, Daily Mail reported.The young adult had been honored with the title after taking part in the 40th edition of the national beauty contest…

Sabrina Carpenter and a priest walk into a church and only one of them leaves with their job fully intact.This strange story began when Carpenter filmed part of her music video for the single “Feather” at the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in Brooklyn, N.Y., earlier this year. In the video, Carpenter is seen dancing around four pastel coffins in front of the church’s altar as she wears a super-short black dress and a veil. The video dropped on Oct. 30 and now has 11.9 million views on YouTube. In…

On a windy evening in late October, Father Antonio Pileggi’s flock are queuing up under the portico of the 15th-century Jesuit church on Milan’s San Fedele Square. The theme of tonight’s congregation at the San Fedele Cultural Centre, however, is not evangelism but electronic noise.The 57-year-old Jesuit priest, a tall and thin figure with a crucifix around his neck, is presenting an evening of music by experimental electronic composers Maryanne Amacher and Tim Hecker, a Canadian whose ambient instrumentals veer between…

In the heart of Kyoto, Japan, sits the more than 400-year-old Kodai-ji Temple, graced with ornate cherry blossoms, traditional maki-e art—and now a robot priest made from aluminum and silicone. “Mindar,” a robot priest designed to resemble the Buddhist goddess of mercy, is part of a growing robotic workforce that is exacerbating job insecurity across industries. Robots have even infiltrated fields that once seemed immune to automation such as journalism and psychotherapy. Now people are debating whether robots and…

Christopher Priest has been adding his style to Dynamite’s Vampirella for a while, creating an interesting and dynamic incarnation of the legendary character. Now the writer is continuing the Daughter of Drakulon’s canon with Vampirella/Dracula: Rage #1, a new series hitting this summer and featuring art by new series artist Christian Rosado.  In this story, Vampi is angry; cultists have stolen her baby and clearly, that’s just not going to fly. Priest chatted with The Beat about the upcoming book and what it is like to…