The legendary Grammy-winning heavy metal band Judas Priest are the focus of a new documentary, The Ballad Of Judas Priest, which will make its North American premiere at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival in Toronto, running April 23-May 3, 2026.
The film debuted earlier this year at the 76th Berlinale – Berlin International Film Festival and provides an intimate look at the band’s remarkable career.
A preview clip premiered on Rolling Stone, featuring singer Rob Halford discussing the inspiration behind the band’s 1980 anthem “Breaking The Law.” Halford described the song as: “‘Breaking The Law’ is a revolution song…
“You’d watch the news every night and see all this conflict going on. With the pain and suffering of some of the British working class people. Rioting and striking because of their rage.”
The documentary is co-directed by filmmaker Sam Dunn and Tom Morello, marking Morello‘s directorial debut. The film celebrates Judas Priest‘s enduring influence on music and culture, featuring classic tracks like “Breaking The Law” and “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'” while tracing the band’s evolution over five decades.
Co-directors Dunn and Morello said: “While some may know Judas Priest for their huge hits that have shaped the heavy metal genre, there is so much more to their story. Tracing their incredible 50-year journey, this film will capture how Judas Priest both defined the sound and look of metal, but also made it a more inclusive place along the way.”
Halford emphasized the band’s unfiltered approach in the documentary: “We have lived and breathed metal for over five decades, and finally in this documentary we are summoning our congregation to officially witness our lives uncensored, in a never-before-seen way…the cassock comes off, revealing Priest in all its metal glory!”
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