Judas Priest will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year with the Musical Excellence Award.
Since 2000, the Musical Excellence Award has been given out to 25 musicians, songwriters and producers in recognition of their "originality and influence creating music have had a dramatic impact on music." Previous recipients include Beatles icon Ringo Starr, rapper LL Cool J, and late Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Randy Rhoads.
"Judas Priest are going in through this category because they had such a massive influence on the genre [of metal]...and being the godfathers," Rock Hall president and CEO Greg Harris tells ABC Audio.
In the Performers category, the inductees are Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Lionel Richie and Carly Simon, as well as Dolly Parton, who'd originally announced that she was withdrawing her name from consideration before ultimately deciding that she'd accept the honor should she be chosen.
The Performers inductees are described as "artists who have created music whose originality, impact, and influence has changed the course of rock & roll." While the Performers category often gets the most attention of the Rock Hall inductees, Harris says that the recipients of the Musical Excellence Award, like Judas Priest, are "equal" to the Performer inductees.
"They're all Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees," Harris says.
The 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony takes place November 5 in Los Angeles. The show will air on HBO and HBO Max at a later date.
Beck, Rage Against the Machine, MC5 and Kate Bush were also among the 2022 Rock Hall nominees, but were not chosen for induction.