Led by motorcycle-ripping, whip-wielding frontman Rob Halford, Priest is still the epitome of metal after rising to the genre’s forefront during the 1980s heyday and creating an enduring studded-leather legacy.
“This is the longest-running heavy-metal band on the planet right now,” Halford proclaims.
He and his mates — original bassist Ian Hill, legendary axman Glenn Tipton, longtime drummer Scott Travis and new guitarist Richie Faulkner — take pride in that, and they prove it every time the group hits the stage.
“This band never gets sloppy. What I mean by that is there’s always a sense of freshness each time you make a song happen,” he continues. “I’ve always said you can have done ‘Breaking the Law’ 10,000 times, but at that moment it’s fresh, it’s new. It’s never been done before, and you have to think about it that way.”
Even now, at 73, Halford’s legendary pipes ring out like one of the seven trumpets of the metalocalypse, whether he’s belting out a tune from one of Priest’s classic albums, such as 1982’s Screaming for Vengeance, or the latest release, this year’s Invincible Shield.
The Birmingham band is still touring Invincible Shield and will come to Blue Arena on Sunday, October 20. Swedish power-metallers Sabaton are the opener.
The fresh Priest offering is chock-full of the band’s brand of traditional heavy metal, and some of its best work ever can be heard on the aggressive “Panic Attack” and anthemic “Crown of Thorns.” Invincible Shield also features the guitar of Andy Snead, who became a touring member in 2018, when Tipton cut back on his playing after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Is there anyone more metal than Rob Halford? Just look at that leather jacket!
Courtesy Judas Priest
“We’ve always done our best to have this all-killer, no-filler mentality. We feel that every song is as important as the one that proceeds it,” he adds. “That’s been part of us being able to sustain ourselves — the quality of the music. The albums, particularly, are still as relevant now as they were when they were first released.”
That’s one of the reasons that Priest became one of the few pure metal acts to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
Halford, who wears the title of the Metal God (that’s literally his name on Zoom) humbly, accepted the honor with grace. He says he's always looking toward the “metal future," but he’s feeling a bit nostalgic when we catch up with him before leaving on tour for the fiftieth anniversary of Priest’s debut album, Rocka Rolla. A new remixed and remastered anniversary edition hit streaming platforms on September 13, with a physical release set for November 22.
“It’s still valuable; it’s the touchstone, it’s the roots,” he says. “It was one small step for metal, one giant leap for metal-kind. Which is what it was. It was one of the first heavy-metal albums that was made.”
Judas Priest, whose name is a nod to a Bob Dylan song, has been around since 1969, the same year Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, but Halford didn’t officially join Priest until 1973, right before the Rocka Rolla recording sessions began. The young, unknown band didn’t have the funds for prime studio time, so the members laid down tracks overnight, when the studio rate was half off, he recalls.
“We were like vampires. We did the night shift. We went to work at around 8 p.m. and finished around 8 a.m.,” he says.
“But I remember you would come out of the studio, and it was bright sunlight in London, and crawl in the back of the van. It’s summer, and you got no AC,” Halford continues from the air-conditioned comfort of his current Arizona home. “So you got five guys and a couple of roadies sleeping in the back of the van in the blazing sun and London heat and getting up at 8 p.m. for work that night. What a beautiful memory, though.”
While it’s been a while since Judas Priest had to crash in a car or keep a nocturnal schedule, Halford believes that first recording experience really laid the foundation for the rest of the band’s career, even through several lineup changes — including an extended time away by Halford himself — and shuffles over the years.
“That really is the epitome of endurance and self-belief and preservation, dedication, commitment, passion. All these things are wrapped up in the release of that first album,” he says, adding that not much has changed in that sense.
“You have to have the desire. It’s not about the money. It’s not about the fame. It’s nothing like that,” Halford concludes. “It’s about the pure desire of wanting to do your work because you love it so much.”
And that's why Priest is perpetual.
Judas Priest, with Sabaton, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, October 20, Blue Arena, 5290 Arena Circle, Loveland. Tickets are $59.
