Les Binks, the drummer behind some of Judas Priest’s most influential work, has died at the age of 73.
Binks, who joined Priest in 1977, was behind the kit for two of their key records: Stained Class (1978) and Hell Bent for Leather (1979). He also features on Unleashed in the East, the 1979 live album that helped turn the band into an international force. It still holds up as one of metal’s best live recordings.
His time in the band was short, but his impact wasn’t. Binks’ playing pushed Priest into heavier, faster territory. It sharpened the sound that would define British metal going into the ’80s. You can hear it in the double-kick bursts, the tight fills, and the speed creeping into tracks like ‘Exciter’. Without Binks, that evolution would’ve sounded very different.
After leaving Priest, Binks played with a handful of other acts over the years, but came back into the fold in 2019 to drum for KK’s Priest, the project from former guitarist K.K. Downing. He stayed on until 2021, before later stepping away for health reasons.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Judas Priest in 2022, finally getting recognition for a run that helped shape the sound of modern metal. If there’s any consolation in the timing, it’s that he got to see that moment while he was still here.
Judas Priest posted a tribute to Binks on social media, calling his drumming “first class” and highlighting his “unique techniques, flair, style and precision.” They ended the post simply: “Thank you Les – your acclaim will live on.”
No cause of death has been confirmed at the time of writing.
For a drummer whose run in the spotlight was brief, Binks left a long shadow. So quietly essential to a genre still trying to match the weight of the records he helped build.
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