HALFORD

HALFORD - New Video Available On YouTube

As previously reported, HALFORD's video for the song 'Forgotten Generation' premiered on Yahoo! on Monday, January 15th at midnight. The video is now available on YouTube at this location.

Frontman Rob Halford recently spoke to Launch Radio Networks' Bruce Simon about the forthcoming JUDAS PRIEST album and offered the following update:

"The writing sessions were fantastic - some of the best writing that (guitarists) Glenn (Tipton) and K.K. (Downing) and myself have ever created, and we're in good shape, we're recording. And finger's crossed, and with the belief that it's ready when it's ready, we should be out by the middle of 2007 with Nostradamus."

This will be Priest's first album since Angel Of Retribution came out in 2005, marking Halford's return to the group.

Judas Priest is also working out the details for a stage show to go along with the album's subject matter.

BW&BK EXCLUSIVE Studio Report - JUDAS PRIEST's Nostradamus Album Will Contain "18 Songs Clocking In At Over An Hour And A Half"




In an EXCLUSIVE chat with BW&BK this afternoon (February 17th), JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing took some time to discuss the band's upcoming concept album about the life and predictions of 16th-century French prophet Nostradamus.

"Myself and Glenn (Tipton - guitar) have been in the studio for the last month and a half non-stop, laying and formatting the tracks," Downing reveals before heading off to the pub! "Basically we're doing a lot of the groundwork. Roy (Z - guitarist/producer; also HALFORD, BRUCE DICKINSON) hasn't been involved in the new record as yet. He has really been quite busy with Rob (Halford - vocals) in his band as well. We'll have to see what happens on that front. Rob's already put vocals down on some of these tracks, but they've only been kind of roughed out. So, he's been refining the lyrics for the album. But the thing with this one is that the music is running an a hour and 39 minutes at the moment. So it's literally almost twice as long as what we've done previously. This concept is going to be that way, pretty intense, in-depth and length - and hopefully a masterpiece."

Will it stay that length?
Well, were were hoping we'd get it onto one CD, but knowing that a CD holds only 80 minutes, it's looking that we'll have two CDs I guess."

Is the material taking shape to the point that you can't edit it down?
"I think there is one idea that we can afford to leave off, but the rest is still going to run about an hour and a half."

Describe the material?
"It's tough and we are ready for anything. The only thing I know is that it sounds like music," he laughs! "Hopefully songs that sound like music - that's all I can say."

How many songs are there in the can?
"I think there are 18, but there are a lot of links between songs. There are lots of instrumental parts, so it's a full-on musical really."

What about orchestration?
"Yes, there's going to be orchestration. It's all myself and Glenn putting it together. We dabbled with Midi Guitars back in the '80s, with the Turbo (1986) album. Now things have moved on a lot and now we've got some pretty high tech gear. The tracking is very good, so we can put the orchestrations together ourselves. Also, we've always dabbled with keyboards as well. Godin, the guitar company from Quebec, I've been using those for about a year and that's working out really well. They are the best people in the world if you want Midi converters on an instrument. So we can actually play their guitars and go through a Roland or Axiom interface. It can sound like anything you know. We're getting all these really heavy, orchestral sounds and stuff."

Are any outside orchestrations being considered or will it strictly be all Priest?
"We're taking about that. We don't really know. What we do know is what we're putting together sounds really, really good you know. Obviously we want to go out and play and perform this concept in it's entirety. Hopefully this will be the first ever metal opera in a sense. We're talking staging now as well. We're look forward to putting on a great show with this music. Who knows what's going to happen yet. We'll release the record and maybe go out on tour. Maybe play a couple of songs off the new record. It would be nice to tour with this record, once we establish with the people whether they like it or not."

Have you encountered any problems with this massive undertaking considering you announced the project last April?
"No, actually. We're pretty confident ... quietly confident. The only question is the level of acceptance, because everybody, probably just want another Priest record you know! All of those ingredients will be in the record anyway."

Is this coming together at the pace you expected?
"We're belting along now. All the songs are down and formatted ... were just getting ready to get Rob over now and looking forward to hearing his lyrics on this new record and us putting it all together."

What's your timeline? Will Nostradamus be out by the summer time?
"Yes, definitely. We may be back on the road in the summer, maybe late summer. There's always somewhere in the world Priest can tour, so we'll be looking to get out there and play some shows."

Are you getting cabin fever?
"You do don't you? When you finish a world tour like we did - we did almost 18 months of touring. I think we did the Ozzfest and the European festivals before we even released our last record (Angel Of Retribution). And then we did a world tour with that. It's amazing, time goes by and you look forward to getting out there and cranking it up you know."

Watch for more of BW&BK's chat with Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing at BraveWords.com and in the next issue of BW&BK (#103 - out in late March). Up next he talks about his most recent undertaking - VIOLENT STORM, the new project featuring bassist Mick Cervino (ex-YNGWIE MALMSTEEN and RITCHIE BLACKMORE) that he produced.

ROB HALFORD On The Hairball John Radio Show

The Metal God, ROB HALFORD, recently took time away from recording his vocal parts for the new JUDAS PRIEST disc to talk with The Hairball John Radio Show. Rob gave incredible insight into the inspiration behind the upcoming Judas Priest studio album, Nostradamus as well as reflecting on some of the highlights of his career, including the importance of opening for LED ZEPPELIN on their final US dates in 1977.

Rob Halford: “We had the opportunity to open up for Led Zeppelin towards the end of our very first American tour. We had just completed a very successful tour across The Stats and we got a call saying the Zeppelin was going to be doing two shows at the Oakland Coliseum, near San Francisco, and Robert Plant had asked if we were still in The States and if we would mind hanging out and opening up for them. Of course we said yes. So we played to 80,000 people in less than 48 hours and people came from all over the world for those shows, so in a showcase perspective it was a vital moment in our career. “

The entire interview with Rob Halford can be heard at the home site of The Hairball John Radio Show here.


The Hairball John Radio Show is a syndicated radio show featuring the best of Hard Rock, past and present. It is broadcasted worldwide by more than 30 FM and web-based affiliates. For a complete broadcast schedule visit www.hairballjohnradioshow.com .

JUDAS PRIEST Frontman ROB HALFORD - Expect Nostradamus "Sometime Next Year"

BW&BK's Mitch Lafon spoke to The Metal God, ROB HALFORD (JUDAS PRIEST) during the singer’s recent Canadian promo stomp talking about his new Metal God Entertainment company and his latest CD, Metal God Essentials Volume 1 (a Best Of compilation featuring tracks from his HALFORD solo days, his band project FIGHT and a few of new tracks). Here's Part III of the chat (click here for Part I, Part II) where Halford is speaking about the upcoming Judas Priest album, Nostradamus.

Mitch Lafon: Is it (Nostradamus) simply ‘themed’ around him or is it truly a concept album – where the first song leads into the second and the second into the third... Is it a sequential story?

Rob Halford: “To me a concept album is one plot... One idea and you embellish it with instrumentation and different messages. You basically got the man’s life and anybody can find out about the man’s life by reading a book or doing a Google search. It’s all there you know, so you’re essentially taking the elements of his life and making it connect to Metal.”

ML: How did Priest latch on to Nostradamus? You’ve got Ozzy latching on to Rasputin. So, why Nostradamus and not somebody else?

RH: “It would be very difficult to do a Metal version of Judy Garland (laughs). Although, I bet somebody will do that at some point. You just look at historical figures of importance and value. I’m sure Ozzy will do a fantastic job of Rasputin. Rasputin was the mad monk – how cool is that? And then you think of Ozzy and you think you’re crazy you know. So, I just think... Geoff Tate of QUEENSRŸCHE had the Operation: Mindcrime and if you look through rock ‘n roll history we’re not the first band to go into this arena. We’re all looking for something we haven’t done before and forever the fans of Priest have been calling for a concept album. Some people have asked if Painkiller was a concept album and it wasn’t. British Steel... No. Sad Wings of Destiny... No. So, this is a statement that this is a concept album about this figure and it’s just great subject matter and it lends itself to a Metal experience.”

ML: With Nostradamus being a concept album – will the stage show end up being ‘concept-y’ and will you perform the whole album? Will the set design be from ‘500 years ago’?
RH: “Yeah, it’s great because we can do anything. The possibilities are endless. You can go with a very straight forward presentation, you can try and create a stage environment that reflects his time of life or you can put it in the future context, but we haven’t really got to that stage yet. When you’re still tracking and things are changing all the time... It’s in a nebulous state of flux and you can’t really be definitive. When you finish the tracking and the mixing and you’re listening to it and you’ve digested all of that – then you can look at the physical interpretation of the stage performance. It’s great really because there’s multiple opportunities and anything could really take shape. That’s what we like do to in Priest – we don’t give ourselves set parameters ‘cause once you do that you miss out on something that’s outside the box.”

ML: Does that include musically? Metal seems to have certain parameters and once you get too orchestrated or... Are you going to go anywhere different musically with this or will it be straight on Metal?
RH: “I think the important value is that you’re able to interpret it on stage and you’ve got to be able to do that first.”

ML: So, there’s no rules. There is a freedom to do...
RH: “Yeah, you have to do that for any band. You got to be able to recreate your recording sessions and that’s what we’ve always achieved in Priest. Doesn’t matter how grandiose it becomes or how simple and direct it becomes. Whether it’s a five piece or beyond. You need to be able to walk out confidently and play the music. I think the fans’ belief in you is made more solid by ‘look they’re actually performing it on stage. They’re on stage performing this music’. You’ve got to do that first and look at the additives later.”

ML: When will it come out?
RH: “I don’t know really. You can’t really put a specific time line on it.”

ML: Are you hoping for this year?
RH: “I think the reality would be sometime next year... Just looking at what there’s left to do because of the scope of it. It’s not just ten to twelve different songs. It all has to be really really thought out properly and you can’t afford to let anything escape you because once it’s done and released – you can’t go back. It’s that ‘it’ll be ready when it’s ready’ vibe you know. We’re in that comfortable world now whereas years ago we were on strict time schedules where we had to get a record out at a specific time and we had to tour at a specific time. Now, we’re in a different place and it’ll take as long as it takes basically.”

ML: Must be nice not having the record company breathing down your neck saying ‘it’s time. Let’s go’.
RH: “It’s great with Sony BMG. Rob Stringer is the boss at the label and he’s a hard core Priest fan and he knows that we’re making something very special and he’s supporting us.”

ML: Let me ask you about record company pressure – when you did the album with songs like ‘Parental Guidance’ which are a little more poppy – was there a pressure from the label to be more BON JOVI-ish or more pretty or whatever or was it simply the music that came out from you at the time?
RH: “Again, there’s tremendous respect afforded to Priest by so many people and the Turbo record was just where we were at – at that particular moment in time.”

ML: So there never was an A&R guy saying ‘c’mon guys we need a DEF LEPPARD flavored single’?
RH: “We’ve never done that. We’ve never done that and if anybody asked us to it we’d tell them to ‘fuck off and mind their own business’. We know what we do and we’re best at what we do and if you don’t like it – that’s just too bad. Obviously, it’s important to have a label believe in you and what you provide to them. As controversial as Turbo was – it was in the commercial sense a very successful record especially in America. It was huge in America and we brought in a lot of new fans. As it turned out – a lot of the fans turned on by the Turbo tour were also experiencing other tracks from the Priest records and we were opening them into other areas of the band’s music. Priest is a very unique animal. We can either rip your face off with Painkiller or we can take you to a beautiful ballad like ‘Angel’. A very simple and beautiful acoustic ballad. At the end of the day, I think a record company just wants something of value and substance. That’s what we’ve done and because we’ve had this incredible relationship with what was CBS, Columbia, Sony and now Sony BMG... we’ve had a zillion sales track record. Our back catalogue in Priest is just enormous. Everybody still wants to get a hold of Sin After Sin or British Steel or Stained Class. So, the label is basically like ‘we don’t have to do anything with Priest. They know what they’re doing. They have a hard-core fan base that are going to support them. So, we’re going to support them.’”

Watch for Part IV coming soon. For more details regarding the Metal God Essentials - Volume 1, click here.

JUDAS PRIEST Frontman ROB HALFORD - "I Think Whatever Small Mark Or Point I Was Able To Make By Announcing My Sexuality In A World Famous Heavy Metal Band – I’d Like To Think Some Good Came Of It"





BW&BK's Mitch Lafon spoke to The Metal God, ROB HALFORD (JUDAS PRIEST) during the singer’s recent Canadian promo stomp talking about his new Metal God Entertainment company and his latest CD, Metal God Essentials Volume 1 (a Best Of compilation featuring tracks from his HALFORD solo days, his band project FIGHT and a few of new tracks). Here is the IV and final Part of the chat (click here for Part I, Part II and Part III):

ML: If I may, when you came out – were you afraid that the hardcore fan base in places, for example, like Alabama...
RH: “It’s great because when I go on stage in places like Tennessee or Alabama the gay metal heads are up front giving it the Devil sign. It’s something that I’ve always felt comfortable talking about since my coming out experience...”

ML: I haven’t offended you...
RH: “No, not in the least. It was ’98 or whenever, but here’s the deal. I’ve always said that if I hadn’t come out as I did when I was away from Priest. If I’d stayed in Priest and not been able to step out – would I have been able to make that ‘proclamation’? And I don’t know the answer to that. It’s just a thing you mull over in your brain. On a purely personal level, I think if you’re a gay man or woman that make that statement because. And again just on a personal level, I’ve always tried to be as open and honest as I can be and not being able to disclose that side of me always made me feel as I was not being truthful and I think that equates to your music. Music is an incredibly powerful force in humanity and people are attracted and attached to your music in a very personal way. So, it was a balancing act for me and I often thought before I stepped out of Priest ‘should I say’ and ‘what will happen?’ Anyway, as it happened I made the statement as I was away from Priest and by the time I got back to Priest it was like water under the bridge.”

ML: It shouldn’t make a difference anyway...
RH: “Well no, it shouldn’t and it didn’t obviously.”

ML: But you must have been fearful through the ‘70s and ‘80s...
RH: “Oh yeah yeah yeah and I think ‘it’s’ still fearful now. There’s got to be other gay Metal players out there that are not stepping out.”

ML: I just read today about STYX' Chuck Panozzo and his new book...
RH: “In the specifics of Metal, it’s still viewed as a male dominated domain (which it isn’t). That’s why I love bands like EVANESCENCE and AVRIL LAVIGNE (even though she’s not totally Metal – she’s hard.)”

ML: There’s DORO, JOAN JETT, LITA FORD...
RH: “Exactly. So, I think destroyed the myth if there was a myth that this was a kind of ‘redneck’ experience. It’s not. Metal heads are as compassionate, tolerant and caring as all other forms of music fans are.”

ML: But when you held back from saying it in the ‘80s and early ’90s – there was a fear that they weren’t. There was a fear that they were homophobic...
RH: “Oh, yeah and that still exists to a certain extent although I think there’s been tremendous advances and changes in that area though different cultures. There’s more openness and honesty now, but there’s STILL the bigotry and hatred that exists and that’s just a human flaw in my opinion. You still get it all the time – kids in playgrounds getting bullied or bullied on the Internet or whatever and that’s terrible. I think whatever small mark or point I was able to make by announcing my sexuality in a world famous heavy metal band – I’d like to think some good came of it. When you’ve lived with this all your life – you don’t think of the ramifications of the statement, but when you get Emails from 16 year old Metal heads who say ‘because you did what you did I was able to tell my father the next day about myself and he embraced me for it’. You don’t think about that, you know. And I’m not really in the gay culture because the gay culture is pretty much stereotypical in the music world. We’re overlooked to a certain degree, but we’re out there. There are gay Metal heads all over the world for a fact and I think it’s great when everybody can stand in a venue and accept each other.”

ML: There shouldn’t be ‘gay Metal heads’ or ‘non-gay Metal heads’ – you should just enjoy the music...
RH: “Totally and I would like to think that that day would come and where we’ll assimilate. I’ve got an apartment in Amsterdam and the gay culture is so assimilated that it’s not even discussed. It’s just there. Your sexuality is irrelevant. The color of your skin is irrelevant. Your religion is irrelevant. You’re just a person. I would love for that day to come along, but I think while you’re still working with that human flaw – to a certain extent which is in bred by the family unit, but you can’t really walk away from the fact that it is not a matter of choice. It’s not choosing. The extreme right wing conservatives in politics and in religion constantly state ‘well, you made that choice’. You don’t make this choice. You don’t. I didn’t choose to be who I was. I’m just that way, you know and there’s more and more proof allegedly from the scientific community that that’s an absolute fact. It’s like, you know, you don’t choose to be a black man. You don’t choose to be a Jew. That’s just it.”

ML: I see we’re running out of time – so one more question about that. Was there a sense of relief and can you sit back and go ‘haaa’?
RH: “Yeah, you do.”

ML: Does it change the touring experience because you don’t have to hide anything or have the roadies make sure nobody sees....
RH: “No. Frankly, nothing has changed in that world. Other than I can be open and honest about who I am and I think it’s drawn me closer to my fan base than ever before. I would urge all gay people that are in the closet to somehow find the piece of mind, the contentment and the strength because it’s a very empowering thing to do... Gives you a lot of strength because once you come out of the closet – all those ‘he’s a fag’ and ‘he’s a cocksucker’ mean absolutely nothing. It’s like empty bullets. It doesn’t make a damn bit of difference. So, you’re taking away your walls and everything around you that you put up and suddenly people’s attitudes, people’s interpretations, people’s opinions have absolutely no value because each of us are unique humans on this planet and we have a right to be who we want to be inside and what we want to say. I’m a total believer in the democratic system and just the human level on an open playing field.”

ML: So, it does sound like there was a great sense of relief. No more pretending. No more hiding...
RH: “I had these questions thrown at my in the ‘80s (from journalists) and I couldn’t answer them. I never denied my sexuality, but I always had a way of talking my way around it and now I don’t have to do that anymore and it’s great. I utilize that for whatever benefits can come from it.”

ML: Any last words?
RH: “It’s nice to be in Montreal. Nice to be in Quebec. I’ve got a hardcore fan base here. Always have great times when I come here with Priest or in the future with the Halford band.”

For the best in metal visit: www.robhalford.com ; www.HalfordMerchandise.com ; or www.HalfordMusic.com .

ROB HALFORD - "Life Is About Taking Chances And Taking Risks; If They Don’t Work At Least You Can Say You Had A Go"

PureGrainAudio.com recently caught up with JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford to discuss the release of Metal God Essentials - Volume I. The following is a brief excerpt from the interview:

PGA: The album features thirteen tracks in total from your FIGHT and HALFORD solo releases. How did you go about deciding on the track listing for the disc? Was it difficult to narrow it down to just thirteen songs?

Rob: "Yeah, you know, unlike a brand new record with the studio, if you’re in a band and you’re doing a brand new record and your pacing and your tempos and all the other ways you put a record together are important, but this is kind of just jumping about from place to place you know. I think the running order works really well, um, I think it was cool that we started off with 'Resurrection' because that’s where, in the Halford band at least, we kind of kicked metal paydirt if you want to call it. And then we mix it up you know, to go from studio tracks into a live scenario with 'Screaming In The Dark' is kind of you know, a different thing to do. And then jumping into the Fight world and then we have a couple of new tracks with 'Forgotten Generation' and 'Drop Out'. And then we wind it all up with a remix which is called 'Redemption' on the European one, it’s different titles for different territories because we did four or five different remixes of the 'Forgotten Generation' track. So you know that combined with the DVD, it’s just a really strong looking piece of product, you know calling it business wise, it’s product. With me on the bike (on the cover) and the screaming, flying skeletons, it’s brilliant; it’s just a great looking piece of metal visual display."

PGA: Not only does the album contain some of your best solo work, but it also offers fans two new songs 'Forgotten Generation' and 'Drop Out', your first new material in over four years. When were these songs recorded and were they just leftover material or did you specifically record them for this greatest hits package?

Rob: "While I’ve been back with Priest, the main writers in the Halford band Mike is based in New Jersey and Roy Z is based in L.A., they’re just kind of swapping files over the internet and sending each other ideas. But in Priest, everything is done with Glen and K.K and myself, that’s our word, that’s our creative world, but with the Halford band, I just like to leave the guys to enjoy putting together all of the instrumentation side of it so that’s what they do. When I get the material, it’s almost finished you know and I just make my feelings felt about any of the possibilities. So as is this case, I mean we’re stockpiling a ton of new Halford material and these are two new relatively new tracks that we put together, let me think, are we in June? Let me think, when did I do this? I think we finished them off sometime last year so it is relatively new, it’s not stuff that is four or five years old."

PGA: One thing that struck me about the title of your new release was the "Volume 1" at the end. Does this indicate that fans can expect a Volume 2 and perhaps a Volume 3 of your greatest hits in the near future?

Rob: "Yeah, I think you can do that you know regardless of whatever band you’re in if you got some longevity attached to your career and we’ve got an tremendous amount of material that we can put together in this packaging. And it’s cool you know, I mean to just kind of mix it up and just show all the displays of versatility of what I’ve done with the Halford band and with Fight. So yeah, there will be a volume two at some point, I don’t know when exactly, but that’s the ambition."

PGA: The last several months have certainly been busy for you from a music and business perspective as back in November, you formed your own label, music and film production company called Metal God Entertainment. Why did you decide just recently after all these years to take such an active control over your music and your catalogue by forming your own label?

Rob: "Oh it’s brilliant; it’s a joy to actually be able to control your own music. When the Sanctuary organization was going through different changes some time ago, they afforded me the opportunity to get my music back so yeah, that was absolutely brilliant, I just ran to that idea. It was really that possibility that opened up all these other endeavors, you know, so I was able to do that with all the Halford material. I’ve had a great relationship signed to BMG who are able to let me do what I want with the Fight material so that really was the kind of impetus to spur me on and that’s when we thought of Metal God Entertainment and then that became a broad based idea with a possibility of bringing in new talent and doing radio and video and everything else for the future. So it’s never too late you know. This is not me pontificating, but I think that’s what life’s all about, it’s about taking chances and taking risks and if they don’t work at least you can say well you had a go. Have a go I say!! [laughs] Otherwise your life is behind you and you’ll say oh fuck you know, I could have done this, I could have done that, why didn’t I do this, why didn’t I do that, you know. You just gotta really run out there and be assertive and grab life by the balls and you know, see what you can do with that."

Go to this location to check out the complete interview.

ROB HALFORD To Play "Guest DJ" On Metal Express Radio This Friday

Metal Express Radio has issued the following update:

"This Friday, July 6th, "The Metal God" himself, none other than ROB HALFORD, will grace the Metal Express Radio studios as host of the Guest DJ Hour show!

Tune in to hear Rob talk in-depth about 10 of his favorite metal bands and tracks from each. You just might be extraordinarily surprised to find out exactly what "The Metal God" picks and what has rocked his world over the years!

As an added bonus, we'll round off the following hour with a healthy supply of tracks from the first Metal God Entertainment release, Metal God Essentials, Volume 1!

You WON'T want to miss this show... mark your calendars to tune in at 3 PM and 9 PM (CET) (9 AM and 3 PM (EST)) on Friday!!!"

More info at this location.

ROB HALFORD - Audio Interview With The Governor's Ball Available For Download




The Governor's Ball recently caught up with JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford. The complete interview, divided into two parts, is now available for download. Click the following links:
Part 1,
Part 2.

The Governor’s Ball! - The “Mighty” Metal and Comedy Show is heard Saturdays 3:00pm (EST) only on www.myspace.com/thegovernorsball and www.fusionradio.ca.

ROB HALFORD - Signing Session At Vintage Vinyl In Fords, NJ Confirmed

JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford will be at Vintage Vinyl in Fords, NJ on Saturday, November 17th for a signing session. It will begin at 5:30pm. For more information go to this location.

As previously reported, Halford spoke to the Greatfallstribune.com recently about a number of topics including his solo retrospective Metal God Essentials: Vol. 1 and of course the new Priest album set for release in 2008.

"(He's) a real man, not like a fantasy that you get in rock and roll and metal," Halford said of Nostradamus. "(We're) telling the story of this very controversial human being from 500 years ago, from France, who still resonates all these years later. It's a human story as well as one that you know about from his premonitions."

"We're really pushing ourselves again," Halford said. "It would be very easy for Priest to stop recording music and just keep going out and doing shows, but that's not what we're about. The music is absolutely phenomenal. It's everything that you love about Priest and more 'cause we really stretched ourselves and we're doing some extraordinary things musically."

Read more here.