Alan John Atkins (born 14 October 1947) is an English heavy metal

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

, best known for being the original lead vocalist and founder of

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 ...

Biography

With a wife and young daughter to support, Atkins was forced "to get a 9-to-5 job" in May 1973. As of 2012, Atkins fronts the band Atkins/May Project, which also features guitarist Paul May. A press release dated 21 May 2011 stated that Atkins would be contributing session vocals for the heavy metal opera project, Lyraka.
In 2013, Atkins recorded a solo album of his favorite songs written between his days in

and his ''Holy Rage'' days.

Discography

Solo

* ''Judgement Day'' (1990) * ''Dreams of Avalon'' (1991) * ''Heavy Thoughts'' (1994) (released in 2003 with two bonus tracks) * '' Victim of Changes'' (1998) * ''Demon Deceiver'' (2007) * ''Demon Deceiver... Plus'' (re-release with two bonus tracks, 2009) * ''Reloaded'' (re-recorded "best of", featuring Ian Hill, Ralf Scheepers, Roy Z and more special guests, 2017)

Holy Rage

* ''Holy Rage'' (2010)

Atkins / May Project

* ''Serpents Kiss'' (2011) * ''Valley of Shadows'' (2012) * ''Empire of Destruction'' (2014) * ''Anthology'' (compilation, 2015) * ''The Final Cut'' (2020)

Albums (guest sessions)

Lyraka *''Lyraka Volume 2 (not yet released)''

References

External links

atkinsmayproject.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Al Living people English songwriters English male singers English rock singers English heavy metal singers Judas Priest members People from West Bromwich Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands 1947 births