In the winter of 1985, a tragic event unfolded in Sparks, Nevada that would become one of the most infamous intersections of music, morality, and the law. Two young men—Raymond Belknap (18) and James Vance (20)—entered a church playground armed with a shotgun, made a suicide pact, and pulled the trigger. Belknap died instantly. Vance survived, but was left horribly disfigured. He later died in 1988 from complications tied to the injuries and a morphine overdose.
But the story didn’t end with their deaths. It erupted into a courtroom battle that accused a British heavy metal band of planting subliminal messages designed to manipulate young minds into self-destruction. The band was Judas Priest, and the song at the center of the storm was “Better by You, Better Than Me.”
What followed was a trial unlike anything in music history—a case that questioned artistic freedom, moral responsibility, and the power of suggestion.
The Suicide Pact: What Happened?
On December 23, 1985, Vance and Belknap—friends and fans of heavy metal—spent hours drinking, smoking marijuana, and listening to Judas Priest’s 1978 album Stained Class. The pair eventually walked to a nearby playground and, in what seemed like a spur-of-the-moment decision, made a suicide pact.
Belknap died immediately after shooting himself. Vance’s attempt failed. He lost most of his face but survived and later told Belknap’s parents that he believed Judas Priest’s song “Better by You, Better Than Me” had influenced their actions. He specifically cited hearing the phrase “do it”—allegedly hidden within the track—urging them to take their lives.
It was this claim that led to a $6.2 million lawsuit filed against Judas Priest and their label, CBS Records, in 1990.
The Lawsuit: Music on Trial
The parents of the boys, particularly Belknap’s, accused Judas Priest of using subliminal messages—phrases or suggestions hidden beneath the music, inaudible to the conscious mind but potentially powerful enough to manipulate vulnerable listeners. The track in question, “Better by You, Better Than Me,” was a cover of a Spooky Tooth song, included late in the album’s production and performed by the band without originally writing it themselves.
The plaintiffs claimed that when played backward or analyzed closely, the song revealed messages like:
-
“Do it”
-
“Let’s be dead”
-
“Try suicide”
They alleged these messages, combined with the mental state of the teens, drove them to make their fatal decision.
The case made international headlines. It was one of the first—and only—times that a band was formally accused in court of causing suicide through subliminal messages.
Judas Priest’s Defense: Music, Not Murder
The band vehemently denied the accusations. Lead singer Rob Halford and other band members were dragged into the courtroom, baffled by the claims.
“We had no idea what a subliminal message was,” Halford later recalled.
“It was just a combination of weird guitar sounds and the way I exhaled between lyrics.”
In one surreal moment, Halford was asked to sing “Better by You, Better Than Me” a cappella in court, to demonstrate how the song might sound with and without the alleged message. It was a scene that reportedly stunned the judge and underscored the strangeness of the case.
The band’s defense also argued that if subliminal messages truly had power, any accidental suggestion could lead to unintended consequences—and that no band would willfully insert a message designed to kill their own fans.
The Verdict: A Case Dismissed
Ultimately, the court ruled in favor of Judas Priest. The judge determined that:
-
The supposed “subliminal messages” were not intentional, nor proven to exist in the form alleged.
-
Even if the phrase “do it” could be heard, it lacked context, and did not instruct any specific action.
-
Most critically, both Vance and Belknap had long histories of psychological and emotional distress that predated their exposure to the song.
It was also revealed that the boys struggled with drug use, family instability, and depression, making them tragically vulnerable regardless of the music they listened to.
The Aftermath: A Legacy of Censorship and Art
James Vance died in 1988, years before the trial concluded, of a morphine overdose. His body had endured endless pain from the failed suicide attempt, and his mind had remained tormented.
The trial became a cultural flashpoint, part of the broader 1980s panic over heavy metal, satanic messages, and moral decay. It echoed other cases of music censorship, including those involving Ozzy Osbourne’s “Suicide Solution” and the PMRC hearings that led to parental advisory labels.
For Judas Priest, the trial was deeply painful but also affirming. They were vindicated—but scarred by the absurdity of being blamed for a tragedy they had no hand in.
Conclusion: The Thin Line Between Influence and Responsibility
The Judas Priest suicide trial of 1990 wasn’t just about a song. It was about how we process tragedy, and how desperate we become to assign blame when the reasons for suffering are too complex to face.
Did the music influence the boys? Possibly. But influence is not the same as responsibility.
Mental illness, addiction, and trauma cannot be solved—or scapegoated—by pointing at a guitar riff. Music can inspire. It can provoke. It can comfort. But ultimately, it is a reflection of what we carry inside us—not the cause of what we become.
The Judas Priest trial remains a strange, sad reminder of that truth.
Because in the end, it wasn’t the song that failed those boys. It was the world around them.