"Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" is a song by the English heavy metal band

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

. It was originally released on their 1984 studio album, ''

Defenders of the Faith ''Defenders of the Faith'' is the ninth studio album by English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 13 January 1984 by Columbia Records. The album was RIAA certification, certified platinum by the Recording Industry A ...

'', and issued as a single later that year.

Background

"Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" was included on '' The Best of Judas Priest: Living After Midnight'', which was not endorsed by the band. The tune itself was composed by

Bob Halligan Jr Robert Sidney Halligan Jr. (born January 3, 1953) is an American singer, musician, music producer and songwriter who has collaborated with many artists, particularly in the hard rock/ heavy metal genre, throughout his career. He is currently the le ...

., of the band

Ceili Rain Ceili Rain is a Christian band based in Syracuse, New York that is influenced by Celtic music. It is led by Bob Halligan, Jr. and was founded in May 1995. As the group's founder, Bob Halligan, Jr. explains, in Gaelic, the word " Céili" (pronounc ...

. The first half of the

guitar solo A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular m ...

is played by

Glenn Tipton Glenn Raymond Tipton (born 25 October 1947) is an English guitarist. Often noted for his complex playing style and classically influenced solos, he is best known as one of the lead guitarists for heavy metal band Judas Priest. Early life and ...

and the second half is played by

K. K. Downing Kenneth Keith Downing Jr. (born 27 October 1951) is an English guitarist and a former member of the heavy metal band Judas Priest. Early life and career Downing was born in West Bromwich, West Midlands. In the late 1960s, he developed a p ...

. The EP's B-side is a live version of "

The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown) "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" is a song written by Peter Green and recorded by Fleetwood Mac. It was released as a single in the UK in May 1970 and reached No. 10 on the British charts, a position it occupied for four consec ...

", recorded at the US Festival, Glen Helen Park, near Devore, San Bernardino in California on 29 May 1983 in front of an audience of approximately 375,000 people. It also includes the studio version of "Jawbreaker" from the ''

'' album. The song was on the

2001 Clear Channel memorandum Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia), the largest owner of radio stations in the United States, circulated an internal memorandum containing a list of songs that program directors felt were "l ...

banned songs-list after

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

. The song was also the inspiration behind the

Dokken Dokken is an American glam metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. It split up in 1989 and reformed four years later. The band had several hit singles which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, such as " Alone Again", " In My Dreams", and " Burn ...

song " Into the Fire" with George Lynch stating in a 2010 interview that he had "ripped them off".

Covers

"Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" was covered by American rock band Fight or Flight on the deluxe edition of their debut album, ''

A Life by Design? '' A Life by Design? '' is the only studio album by American hard rock band Fight or Flight, released on July 23, 2013. The debut single, "First of the Last", was released on May 7, 2013, with its radio airplay beginning on May 21, 2013. Track ...

''.

Personnel

Rob Halford Robert John Arthur Halford (born 25 August 1951) is an English heavy metal singer. He is the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. He has b ...

– vocals *

– guitar *

Ian Hill Ian Frank Hill (born 20 January 1951) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and the sole continuous member for the heavy metal band Judas Priest. Biography Hill learned how to play the double bass from his father, a bass player ...

– bass *

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

– drums

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1984 singles Judas Priest songs Songs written by Bob Halligan Jr. 1984 songs Columbia Records singles