It finally happened. Judas Priest were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — kind of. Last night (November 5th), the metal pioneers performed at the 37th annual ceremony to receive the "Award for Musical Excellence," which means they'll be included in the self-appointed pantheon of rock greatness, but not in the main Performers category — which only features two metal bands, Metallica and Black Sabbath.
Of course, Priest deserve to be propped alongside the all-time rock musicians to ever do it, and their performance at the induction ceremony demonstrated why. Reuniting with founding co-guitarist, K.K. Downing (who's formally been out of the band since 2011), Priest played an ass-kicking medley that included iconic anthems "You've Got Another Thing Comin'," "Breaking The Law" and "Living After Midnight."
Former drummer Les Binks — who played with Priest from 1977 to 1979, appearing on the studio albums Stained Class and Killing Machine and the live album Unleashed in the East — also joined the band for the Rock Hall performance.
Even though Rob Halford and Co. should receive the same distinction as this year's Performer inductees — Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie and Carly Simon — the fact that they reunited with Downing onstage is altogether a more exciting achievement for Priest fans.
Watch fan-shot footage of their performance above via YouTube. HBO will premiere the official broadcast of last night's entire induction ceremony on November 19th.