Judas Priest: The Subliminal Message Trial

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…

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