Metal.jpg

The members of Judas Priest and the iconic face of Iron Maiden.

CLEVELAND, Ohio –The list of nominees for induction into the 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are bound to be released any day now.

Until that happens, we will look at some of the acts that haven't been inducted, but deserve consideration. Today's debate moves to the world of heavy metal.

Do heavy metal titans Iron Maiden and Judas Priest deserve their place in Rock's hallowed ground? Let's take a look.

Credentials

Iron Maiden



Eligible since:

2004

Essential album(s):

"The Number of the Beast" (1982), "Powerslave" (1984)

Essential songs:

"Hallowed Be Thy Name," "The Number of the Beast," "The Trooper," "Run To The Hills"

Judas Priest

Eligible since:

1999

Essential album(s):

"Hell Bent for Leather" (1978), "British Steel" (1980), "Screaming for Vengeance" ((1982)

Essential songs:

"Victims of Change," "Beyond the Remains of Death," "Painkiller," "Hellion/Electric Eye"

Pros: The Rock Hall's criteria focuses on "influence and significance." Iron Maiden and Judas Priest have both. Maiden has sold more than 85 million records worldwide, played more than 2,000 concerts and carried its popularity over four decades.

In terms of influence, there is no denying Iron Maiden's impact on the development of metal. Acts like Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold, Anthrax, Slayer and Slipknot all cite Maiden as a major influence. It wouldn't be to outrageous to say that without Iron Maiden, there would be no Metallica, a band that was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2009.

Judas Priest's numbers aren't quite as eye-catching as Iron Maiden's. Priest has sold about half as many records. However, Priest's influence may run deeper. The Guardian once wrote a moving story titled "How Judas Priest Invented Heavy Metal."

You could definitely argue that Black Sabbath "invented heavy metal." However, there's no doubt that Judas Priest pushed the genre forward, both in terms of style (leather biker-swag) and a more progressive, twin guitar sound.

Cons: Just a few metal bands have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Black Sabbath, Metallica and AC/DC. You can also throw KISS and Van Halen into that group. Regardless, the one thing each of those bands has over Iron Maiden and Judas Priest is a level of mainstream success that put them in front of an audience that went beyond hardcore metal fans.

And that may be the only knock against both Maiden and Priest. They suffer from something that could affect Nine Inch Nails this year. They are acts heavily identified with a specific genre that some may (perhaps ignorantly) identify as niche.

AC/DC was inducted in 2003. So Rock Hall's recognition of metal is still somewhat new. And for some reason, hip-hop is getting more respect lately. It could be several more years before Maiden or Priest is even nominated.