Prior to their appearance at the Wacken Open Air festival last week, Judas Priest were inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History. The brief ceremony, which can be viewed above, took place as the band were preparing to take the stage Thursday night (August 2).

“We have made sure that Judas Priest finally gets the Induction and respect they truly deserve,” Pat Gesualdo, Founder and CEO of the Hall of Heavy Metal History said in a statement. “We thank them for the decades of hard work and dedication to heavy metal, an art form they helped establish.”

“Judas Priest are thrilled and honored to accept induction into the Hall of Heavy Metal History and be amongst so many of our friends," the band said collectively in a statement. "This also sends a great message of inclusion for the metal community around the world, and keeps us defending the metal faith together.”

Sharing in the induction were frontman Rob Halford, Ian Hill, Richie Faulkner, Scott Travis and guitarist Glenn Tipton, who announced earlier this year he would be stepping away from touring with the band due to his battle with Parkinson's Disease. He was replaced on the road by guitarist and co-producer of the band's latest album, Firepower, Andy Sneap.

Firepower, which came out in early March of this year, gave the metal legends their career highest debut on the charts, landing at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. The LP, the 18th for the group eclipsed their previous high spot, Redeemer of Souls, which checked in at No. 6 back in 2014.

Later this month, Judas Priest will kick off a co-headlining tour with Deep Purple which will run through the end of September. The full list of dates can be found at this location.

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