THE SIMPSONS have apologised for describing JUDAS PRIEST as a death metal band – by having BART SIMPSON do it for them.

ROB HALFORD appeared on an episode of the long-running show two weeks ago, performing a version of classic track Breaking The Law as part of a storyline in which HOMER SIMPSON learned how to illegally download movies.

But during the show an FBI character said: "There's only one surefire way to get fugitives out of a foreign building: blasting death metal."

That resulted in a stack of negative comments from heavy music fans. So in this week's episode producers responded by having BART's punishment scene in the opening credits based on the line "Judas Priest is not 'death metal'."