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Today in 1990, This Heavy Metal Band Was Accused of Subliminally Inspiring a Teenage Pact Ending in Tragedy

The trial left the band shaken, but they used the opportunity to subvert heavy metal stereotypes.

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On July 16, 1990, English heavy metal band Judas Priest went to trial after being accused of adding subliminal messages to a 1978 track. “Better by You, Better than Me” was a cover of Spooky Tooth’s 1969 original, and a last-minute addition to their 1978 album Stained Class.

Twelve years later, the band was involved in a highly publicized subliminal message trial centered on that last-minute addition. The lawsuit claimed that there were secret messages within the recording that directly influenced two young men in Nevada to form a suicide pact.

In December 1985, 18-year-old Raymond Belknap and 20-year-old James Vance spent a night smoking, drinking, and listening to Judas Priest. Specifically, the........

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