A quick scan through the literary pages of Amazon reveals surprisingly little on metal titans Judas Priest. Unlike many of their contemporaries and peers, many of whom have had whole rain forests destroyed to bring their stories to print, the Midland five piece have had barely a book worthy of the name dedicated to them.

Journalist Neil Daniels has changed that somewhat with the publication of his Defenders Of The Faith biography. As a first time author Daniels may be considered brave taking on such a weighty topic as that of the 'Priest, but it's a tale well worth the telling.

As with any band there are certain pivotal moments in a career and, in the main, Daniels focuses on these throughout the book. The formative years of Priest in the harsh reality of the '60's Black Country are dealt with in detail, thanks to the author's access to early members, management and friends of the band, most notably original vocalist Al Atkins. Likewise the furor surrounding the trial in America, in which Priest were accused of placing backward messages on one of their songs, namely  Better By You Better Than Me, that led to two young men forming a suicide pact is given considerable attention. And of course, as you would expect, the resignation, and later triumphant return, of vocalist Rob Halford makes for good copy in its own right.

On the downside the middle years of the band's career, from around '78 - '91, are skipped over less than thoroughly. A run down of the albums, recording and touring details and that's about it. Arguably this is down to the fact that Priest themselves declined any involvement in the project and hence any quotes and stories from what was in essence the most stable chapter of the band's history are culled from contemporary press interviews and  figures that could be considered peripheral to the overall story. A shame as Priest mainstays KK Downing, Glen Tipton, Ian Hill and Rob Halford, all obviously have anecdotes and stories from the period that others, no matter how close to the band, would never be privy to and would make for more than interesting reading.

Daniels' however has certainly done his research in bringing the book together. Included are a detailed chronological timeline of the band's history, an extensive discography and touring schedule and numerous live and studio photographs covering the five decades of Priest's existence. Throughout his writing style and prose are clear and lucid, easy to follow and by no means simply pandering to the band. Where they made mistakes and errors he makes note, and where they succeeded he doesn't go overboard in his praise, simply explains the facts and moves on.

Given the obvious limitations of the exercise, with Priest's lack of involvement, Daniel's has pulled together a fair and relatively complete history of the Priest and until, and if, an authorised biography ever becomes available fans will find much to appreciate here.