The Story Of Judas Priest: Defenders Of The Faith (Omnibus Press)
Publication Date: 14th September 2007
My first book was a biography of the mighty Judas Priest . It was published in hardback on September 14th, 2007 via Omnibus Press. Visit the publisher’s website: www.omnibuspress.com
“We've been making metal for over three decades now, and next year is a bit of an anniversary. The name Judas Priest first came about in 1969, so that will be 40 years!”
Rob Halford, 2008.
What the critics said:
Online Reviews
"From the multiple lineup changes to massive worldwide success to several internal and external problems within the band, this book does an excellent job chronicling the interesting history of one of the world's great metal bands. There's also an extensive appendix which includes a band chronology, lineup history, discography and list of every tour and live date the band has ever played. The Story Of Judas Priest: Defenders Of The Faith is a well-written and well-researched book."
Chad Bower - About.com (www.about.com)
“Neil Daniels has written a tantalizing book on the history of Metal Gods Judas Priest … The author covers the suicide trial, the drummer’s perversion and every other Priest era with historical data and in-depth interviews with all who were there at the time … for not being granted current access to the band he did an amazing job … Simply put, it is a good read. B.”
Jeb Wright – Classic Rock Revisited (www.classicrockrevisited.com)
“So this unofficial biography goes a long way to telling the ins and outs of the band's history. Factually, it really is spot on, detailing may things well, from the pre Priest days, the bands formation to the American court case and the more unfortunate case surrounding drummer Dave Holland's incarceration. 4/5”Joe Gessin – Get Ready To Rock (www.getreadytorock.com)
“The formative years of Priest in the harsh reality of the ‘60’s Black Country are dealt with in detail … Daniels however has certainly done his research in bringing the book together … Throughout his writing style and prose are clear and lucid, easy to follow and by no means simply pandering to the band. Where they made mistakes and errors he makes note, and where they succeeded he doesn’t go overboard in his praise, simply explains the facts and moves on. Given the obvious limitations of the exercise, with Priest’s lack of involvement, Daniels has pulled together a fair and relatively complete history of the Priest …”
Steve Cummings – Hard Rock House (www.hardrockhouse.com)
“I’m really amazed at the amount of research that went into this book. Everything we ever wanted to know about the band’s history is in here. It’s incredible. And thank you Neil for not only the book, but for mentioning this very site in the appendix. I’m very grateful.”
Devin Comiskey – The Judas Priest Shrine (www.judas-priest.com)
“This is Neil Daniels first book and it’s a good one … Defenders Of The faith tells the story in chronological order and includes all the major events, such as the breakthrough with British Steel, the Nevada trial, Dave Holland’ sentence, Rob Halford´s departure ... Neil Daniels has written a really good book about one of Britain’s biggest and most respected metal bands and I doubt it will leave any Priest fan disappointed.”
Niclas Müller-Hansen – Metal Shrine (www.metalshrine.se)
“Despite the lack of co-operation from the band members, he has put together a very thorough and detailed book about these legends of Heavy Metal … One of the most interesting parts of the book for me were Daniels' informative album reviews … If renewing the reader's interest is one of the main motives of a rock book, then this book has succeeded in it. Not to mention that it's altogether a very entertaining read …”
Kimmo Toivonen – Rock United (www.rockunited.com)
"... this is a great book for metal fans, or indeed music fans, especially those with knowledge or experience of fucking about with bands and gigs, as by far the most enjoyable sections are the early days, struggling as a Sabbath/early Fleetwood Mac style heavy blues band, slugging around the harshlands of early/mid-seventies Britain. The photo section is also fabulous, with some colossally brilliant and ludicrous pictures."
Stu Gibson - Sleezegrinder (www.sleezegrinder.com)
“Defenders Of The Faith is a balanced, warts and all account of their history. It’s also impressively exhaustive, with an amazingly complete list of appendices … All in all, it’s just about all the priest you can handle, and thanks to Daniels’ impressive attention to detail, Defenders… stands favourable comparison with just about every rock biography of recent times.”
Eddie Thomas – Subba Cultcha (www.subba-cultcha.com)
Magazine Reviews
“It’s all here, as is a detailed account of every album and tour making BC scribe Neil Daniels’ first book an essential purchase for Halford and Priest fans. A comprehensive and informative read, this is true British steel! 4/5”
Ian Chaddock – Big Cheese
“Neil Daniels’ biography is an insight into the many weird and wonderful events the band has been through … With such content covered it is hard to believe that Daniels wrote everything with no access to any of the present band members … Defenders Of The Faith is a detailed insight into the story behind Judas Priest and highly recommended to anyone looking to read further into the band. 4/5”
Ashley Morton – Black Velvet
“Neil Daniels is great on the early history of Brummie metal legends Judas Priest. He’s quick to dispel the notion that Judas Priest were formed by guitarist KK Downing and bassist Ian Hill, pointing out that an incarnation of the band existed in 1969 before those two joined … ”
Geoff Barton – Classic Rock
“… heavyweight exploration of the life and times of Brum’s finest. Author Daniels’ insights into the highs and lows of the career of Rob Halford et al make for endlessly entertaining reading … all here, in full grisly detail.”
Joel McIver – Classic Rock: Heavy Metal Special
“Maybe because this is a totally independent account of Judas Priest’s history, Neil can get away with bringing up the (admittedly few) controversial events that have happened in the last thirty-something years, and as such it takes the material away from merely being homage paid by a fan … Defenders Of The Faith is easy to read and hard to put down – a must for all Judas Priest fans.”
Phil Ashcroft – Fireworks
“The early years are particularly well covered, with many people I think I’ve never read any interviews with before. And as a die-hard Priest fan, there are a few things I didn’t know, especially the Valen controversy during the Turbo Tour.”
Baudelot Benji – France Rock Hard
“There's no faulting the author's painstaking research; indeed over 100 pages of this tome is an appendix ... The author does attempt to strike a balance with second hand quotes ... ”
Caren Gibson – Metal Hammer
"... this is a thoroughly researched and well-written chronology of Priest's career ... Daniels even includes a letter from Dave Holland's jail cell. An even-handed Priestopedia ... handy for reference. 3/5”
Suzy West – Record Collector“Featuring a foreword by founding member Al Atkins, this is the long-overdue and fascinating story of the Brummies … Essential reading. 8/10”
Ronnie Kerswell – Rock Sound
“Daniels has done an extremely genuine work in terms of research. The documentation is, or at least appears to be, as solid as it possibly could have been … Neil Daniels’ book constitutes some of the best, most well-written, and absolutely fabulously entertaining reading that any fan of the band could possibly ask for. 8/10”
Erik Thompson – Sweden Rock
"Neil Daniels has taken his best shot at documenting the long and convoluted history of the Priest, and, in many respects, has done a good job ... There's an array of comprehensive lists at the story's conclusion, and all in all, this is a stirling first effort from Mr. Daniels. 3/6”
CK – Zero Tolerance
Other Reviews
“ … I was really impressed by the early years chapters, the first 50 pages or so are superb indeed. After that, with the band not participating, it was clear that the primary interview sources would dry up … still most enjoyable …it is a well-written and well-presented band biography.”
Matthias Mader – Author of Der Stahlerne Weg Von Judas Priest
"This is a well written and enlightening account of the Judas Priest story; it made me want to go back a re-visit their back catalogue. A must for Priest fans!"
Brian Tatler - Diamond Head
Buy 'The Story Of Judas Priest: Defenders Of The Faith' at Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk
