Judas Priest, Eat Me Alive | Controversial Tunes 😈🎶

In the 9^th edition of Controversial Tunes (2023), we explore the controversy behind the song, “Eat Me Alive” by Judas Priest.

Bring on the controversy! Controversial Tunes 😈🎶 is a column that provides background information and insight into songs that raised eyebrows and totally stirred the pot.  The records that grace Controversial Tunes are old and new alike, with all genres of music welcome.  In the 9^th edition of Controversial Tunes (2023), we explore the controversy behind the song, 🎵 “Eat Me Alive” by 🎙 Judas Priest. 

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“Your wild vibrations got me shooting from the hip / Crazed and insatiable, let rip.” 😯 Let’s make it crystal clear, no 🎙 Rob Halford, the front man of  🎙 Judas Priest was NOT referring to a gun – at least not a physical gun.  The gun that Halford was mentioning is a more prized possession for the men of the world, if you catch my drift.  Obviously, the word insatiable should signal that 🎵 “Eat Me Alive”, the sixth track from the band’s 1984 album, 💿 Defenders of the Faith, is about kinky sex.  The second verse sheds even more light on this filthy, which was risqué for the iconic band: “Sounds like an animal, panting to the beat / Groan in the pleasure zone and gasping from the heat…” The chorus (“Eat me alive”), of course, is innocent, but not after lyrics like “Squealing impassioned as the rod of steel injects / Lunge to the maximum, spread-eagled to the wall / You’re well equipped to take it all.” HOLY SH—

Of course, had I finished my reaction to Halford and company’s naughtiness, it would only add fuel to the fire of this targeted song. By targeted, I mean, “Eat Me Alive” was on the radar of the PMRC or Parents Music Resource Center.  This was the organization pushing for censor-shit – I mean – censorship 😈.  “Eat Me Alive” is one of the infamous Filthy 15 songs that essentially led to the parental advisory explicit lyrics label.  So, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why Tipper Gore and company weren’t happy with this one – it’s sexually explicit.  Today, listening to a song like “Eat Me Alive,” we’d barely blink an eye. Compared to how much edgier music has become since the 1980s, “Eat Me Alive” is tame.  Yes, the sexual innuendo is through the roof, but today, musicians would’ve been even more aggressive.  I mean, how many times have rappers referenced their dick and the pleasure they are giving and receiving in return?  Judas Priest interestingly responded to the controversial status 🎵 “Eat Me Alive” received – at least regarding the political side of things. Can you say, rather sing, 🎵 “Parental Guidance”.

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🎙 Judas Priest • 💿 Defenders of the Faith • 🏷 Sony Music Entertainment • 🗓 1984

Judas Priest, “Eat Me Alive”: Controversial Tunes 😈🎶 No. 9 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Sony Music Entertainment; Anand Kulkarni, Aykut Bingül, Luân Phan, mohammadreza merhvand via Pexels; Anna, Gordon Taylor, harshahars from Pixabay; christian buehner on Unsplash]