Vance v. Judas Priest
Just five years after the U.S. Senate Hearings of 1985, another heavy metal case with heavy coverage by the media occurred. The very popular Judas Priest band was said to have played a role in the suicide of a man and the failed suicide of another by the prosecution. In their cover version of "Better By You, Better Than Me" in the album Stained Class, Judas Priest was claimed to have "presented a hopeless world as well as subliminal messages that incited the actions of the two men" (Brunner, 13-14). Interestingly, the court agreed that there were "subliminal messages" when the song was played backwards. However, they ultimately contended that "personal and family issues that also contributed to their unhappiness," and that the "certain harmless messages" could not definitively lead to such actions (Brunner, 14).
The following is a collection of news programs covering the Vance v. Judas Priest case. Pay particular attention to the first two news video clips. In the first, the "subliminal messages" are discussed as a reason for the incident in the eyes of a credible source. In the second, a first-hand interview with one of the victim's mothers attests that no suicidal signs were present in her son. Many of the videos provide a compelling argument that metal was in fact to blame. Both of these in particular, along with the others, present a sad situation in light of heavy metal:
The following is a collection of news programs covering the Vance v. Judas Priest case. Pay particular attention to the first two news video clips. In the first, the "subliminal messages" are discussed as a reason for the incident in the eyes of a credible source. In the second, a first-hand interview with one of the victim's mothers attests that no suicidal signs were present in her son. Many of the videos provide a compelling argument that metal was in fact to blame. Both of these in particular, along with the others, present a sad situation in light of heavy metal:
Video courtesy of YouTube