Two Boys, a Judas Priest Album, and a Tragic Incident

When it comes to music, there are those who say it’s art – anything goes. Then, there are those who take artists and their songs a tad more seriously. Regardless of which camp you fall into, I think we can all agree that music has meaning and songs have a tendency to really resonate with us. And in this case of two teenagers, one particular song resonated with them in the most severe of ways.

Raymond Belknap / James Vance / Glenn Tipton / Judas Priest / Rob Halford.

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In 1985, 18-year-old Raymond Belknap and 20-year-old James Vance tried to take their own lives, after spending hours in a dark stupor of smoke and bottles. The music they were listening to? Judas Priest’s Stained Class album.