October 2018 – Green and Black Music

Judas Priest: The Subliminal Message Trial

October 11, 2018October 11, 2018 Green and Black Musicjudas priest better by you better than me, judas priest stained class0 comment

On December 23, 1985, two heavy metal fans spent the day drinking, smoking marijuana, and listening to Judas Priest. Throughout the course of their party, the troubled friends formed a suicide pact. Raymond Belknap died instantly from a self-inflicted shotgun blast. James Vance survived his suicide attempt. The shotgun left Vance grossly disfigured. Grieving parents struggled to make sense of tragedy. Rather than focus on substance abuse and a trouble past, they blamed music. Both kids had been listening to the classic Judas Priest album Stained Class before taking their…

Suicide Solution: The Ozzy Osbourne Trial

October 5, 2018November 9, 2018 Green and Black Musicozzy osbourne lawsuit0 comment

Tragedy struck a California family in 1984 when nineteen-year old John McCollum committed suicide. Side one of Ozzy Osbourne’s Blizzard of Ozz sat on John’s turntable. His lifeless body was still wearing headphones. It is a reasonable assumption that “Suicide Solution” was the final song heard by the troubled teenager. Although John was a high school dropout with a history of substance abuse, the McCollum family believed external influences were the root of John’s internal demons. According to Mr. McCollum, music inspired his son to kill himself. Specifically, Ozzy Osbourne…