Rob of England

Berlinale Review: “The Ballad of Judas Priest” (2026)

Did we need, or deserve it? Coming from any self-respecting metalhead, the answer is a resounding YES – to both. Heavy metal’s journeymen, the steel Manalishi with the two-pronged crown of studs and leather, Judas Priest, has been given a full documentary treatment that reaches over the decades, through the drama, setbacks and victories. Until we get nearer to present day when we see the frontman Rob Halford in a full-length glitter coat, full grey beard and (then) mere 72 years of age, getting ready to get on stage to hold another heavy metal sermon to his faithful converted. By his fans, he has been promoted from the head preacher to somewhat higher status – his nickname is “Metal God”, after all.

All that could be dangerously close to the pitfalls of Spinal Tap. That’s where majority of metal dwells anyway, and it’s part of the art – how to remain on the edge but not fall overboard. Or, in some cases, how to jump down headfirst and try to convince everyone that you can fly. No-one’s more aware of this than Judas Priest who largely constructed the whole heavy metal sign system of operatic vocals, fast, harmonizing double guitar leads, and the visual look that was inspired by the band’s visit to a sex shop. People often relate the emergence of metal to the beginning of the Eighties, with New Wave of British Heavy Metal happening, Iron Maiden releasing their debut in 1980, the emergence of thrash metal, etc., but Judas Priest were forging the formula already from the mid 1970s, and their vast influence on majority of the extreme metal genres has become more apparent with every passing year and decade.

Thankfully, The Ballad of Judas Priest can match the heritage. Prime rock documentarist Sam Dunn has really outdone himself here and elevated from a subculture chronicler into a social commenter, with a film that might be his best yet. Maybe partly because he has Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello aboard as a co-director and everyone and their rebel mother can tell you: Morello rarely is publicly involved in anything that isn’t actively political. As a counterpoint to the countless unforgettable riffs, the band’s political arch adds some necessary extra depth to a music doc that could otherwise end up as just another entry to the canon of musical biographies that might as well exist on the screen of the now-deceased MTV, or as an obscure DVD-extra.

It starts with music as a tale of hard-edge working-class boys in industrial Birmingham where noise and pollution have always inspired harder sounds. We owe this city the birth of heavy metal, Black Sabbath, the refinement of the auditive and visual form of the musical style, Judas Priest, and a whole bunch of next-gen bands, mostly from Earache Records, like Godflesh, Napalm Death, or Bolt Thrower, who took music into the new extremes. Music literally forged out of metal in the iron foundries and steel mills of the Black Country.

It becomes clear right away that the dudes from Priest are very thankworthy subjects for the film. While the world looks upon the antics of Kid Rock and Kanye West with a mix of horror and morbid curiosity, here are some thoroughly nice chaps who can put together a grammatically correct sentence – not a given if you happen to watch a few of the modern pop, rock, and hip-hop docs.

And they help us recall some of the most taxing chapters of the Judas Priest story, namely the 1990 James Vance trial, where Judas Priest was accused of inserting subliminal messages (a phrase “Do it!”) in a 1978 cover of a Spooky Tooth song “Better by You, Better than Me” and thus causing the two US teenagers to kill themselves. There is an absolutely fabulous philosophical metal discussion circle in the film, led by Tom Morello and featuring Scott Ian of Anthrax, Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins, Darryl “D.M.C.” Daniels of Run DMC, and Lzzy Hale of Halestorm, and Ian reflects quite pointedly that we would probably have ended up in a parallel universe to ours, had the trial gone the other way. Thankfully, the Priest guys were acquitted of those ridiculous charges, but the drama left a trace. For a more in-depth look into the case and the related, events seek out another doc, “Dream Deceivers: The Story Behind James Vance vs. Judas Priest” from 1992.

It is ironic how the times change. For ages – decades – Rob Halford was pressured to follow the advice of the band and management not to come out as a gay man, because the times were not right for that sort of revelation and the band might have imploded in the aftermath. On the other hand, without Halford, the times might never have been right. His coming out (on primetime television, no less!) was a watershed moment for the whole metal community and forced the more conservative wing to re-evaluate their priorities. Back then, it was still largely unheard-of in metal scene, and in hindsight, the Priests alleged hidden “weakness” has become one of its biggest strengths in the game of cultural perseverance and relevance. Besides, music, this is another aspect that makes Judas Priest timeless and making them a true living example of inclusion and acceptance in metal.

I am probably not wrong guessing that Berlinale doesn’t give a hoot (a hoof!) about metal music (although I saw the fabulous “Last Days Here” years ago in Berlin as well), but Halford’s journey makes it a logical pick for the festival.

There has been a lot of commotion about political expressions, provocations, misunderstandings and erroneous wordings. The festival that is supposed to bring us together and make us more aware of the world, has unfortunately become a battlefield where everyone is everyone’s enemy.

May this wholehearted heavy metal documentary “The Ballad of Judas Priest” be the true healing power here. We need it, we deserve it.

Country: USA
Language: English
Year: 2026
Runtime: 98 min.
World Premiere: Berlinale Special
Production: Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen
Directed by: Sam Dunn and Tom Morello
Written by: John Semley
Camera: Martin Hawkes
Composer: Ramachandra Borcar
Editing: Nick Taylor, Dave McMahon
Production Manager: Craig Mailman
With: Rob Halford, K.K. Downing, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill, Scott Travis, Jack Black, Billy Corgan,
Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Grohl, Kirk Hammett, Lzzy Hale, Darryl McDaniels