ROCK BAND TO STAND TRIAL IN SUICIDE LAWSUIT

RENO — The British rock group Judas Priest has been ordered to stand trial in a civil lawsuit that charges the band’s heavy metal music induced two Nevada youths to shoot themselves.

The lawsuit, which also names CBS Records Inc., was filed by James Vance and the mother of Raymond Belknap. Belknap, 18, died from the December 1985 shotgun blast, while Vance was left severely disfigured.

The two allegedly formed a suicide pact and shot themselves in the head with a shotgun after spending six hours listening to an album by the band.

Washoe District Judge Jerry Whitehead on Wednesday ordered attorneys for both sides to set a trial date after rejecting a motion to dismiss the suit. The case is expected to go to trial next fall.

Lawyers for the band had argued that the group was protected by constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression. They also insisted there was no claim in the suit for which the band could be held liable for damages. Robert Altshuler, vice president press and public affairs for CBS Records in New York, said, “Its our practice not to comment on any matter that’s in litigation.”

The suit claimed the music intentionally has a hypnotic effect on listeners and the lyrics could lead young people with emotional problems to conclude the band’s message was to commit suicide as the ultimate act of societal rejection.