I had the great pleasure of speaking with Rob Halford about all the Halford digital releases and the progress of Judas Priest's next CD Nostradamus. He was a great interview and seemed like a very decent, humble, down to earth guy who is grateful for all the success he's had over the years and looks forward to continuing his and Judas Priest's metal legacy.
Chad Bowar: What's the status of the next Judas Priest album Nostradamus?
Rob Halford: I'm in San Diego at the moment working on the lyrics. The guys are in the studio in England putting down all the tracks. The writing sessions have been completed and now it's time to actually record. We're on track with that and fingers crossed it will be out in the first part of 2007. We'll be doing some specialty dates to support Nostradamus, which will be performed completely from beginning to end. We've never done that before. It's our first concept album, if you want to call it that. It will be huge moment for Priest to play the whole album front to back. Accompanying that will be one of the biggest stage shows we've ever put together. It's going to be a tremendously exciting year for Priest in 2007.
Were you surprised by the overwhelming reaction of support you received when you rejoined Priest?
We were just floored by the incredible loyalty and support that Priest maintains. We just flourish on that. I think it was that incredible reception and response that kept us going for 18 months of hard work all over the planet. We came off that tour exhausted and wondered what we were going to do next musically. Then Nostradamus reared his head and we thought, what a great way to follow up a very successful critically acclaimed reunion record, and rather than go and make another studio album, here's a chance for this band three decades later to show its metal in a whole new light. It's tremendously exciting for us and we can't wait to release it to the world in 2007.
A lot of your contemporaries have lost the power and range of their voice. How have you managed to maintain yours?
I think metals singers are unique animals. We're still stepping up to the mic, whether it's me or Bruce Dickinson or Lemmy or Ozzy. I don't know why it is. Each of those guys that I've mentioned have special unique talents. You'd think we'd have all blown out our vocal cords by now when you consider what we've put them through. I think we're all in our golden years. If you've got a good voice, as long as you do the right things to take care of it, it keeps making the metal.
How has Judas Priest managed to be so successful for so long?
We're a unique breed of musicians, those of us that came into the rock and metal world in the '70s. There was a standard of musicianship and a style of musicianship that's different than today's world. I think we always hoped that we would be in a musical environment and keep going and going. It's lasted over three decades now, and I think the proof of being able to sustain is all about the quality of work, and we're real taskmasters in Priest. It's to make sure what you create is as valuable in the future as it is now. For example, when you put Sad Wings Of Destiny on, it still rocks and roars, and it's from 1976, and that's always been important to us. We've counted our blessings that we came from that time in rock in roll that really helped us stay the course in what we do with our metal.
What do you think is the most underrated Priest album?
That's a good question. I think that one would pop immediately to mind would be Stained Class. I think that there is some incredible material on that record. Ram It Down was also a bit overlooked. There are some great songs on it. But that's to be understood. Everybody gets that, where people think "Maybe that's better than I originally thought."
Rob Halford: It's just an observation on the retail side of distribution in the whole of the recording industry now. It's been in turmoil since the internet's been invented. It makes sense to do it this way. Even the major labels are providing online downloads. It's a combination of a lot of thing: living in the future, which is the way to go with all of these incredible moments that are afforded by people like Apple iTunes, who we've given the exclusive rights for these releases; and the fact that RobHalford.com is just an incredibly successful website, for not only myself, but for the metal community worldwide. It's a combination of all of those. Metal God Entertainment is going to be active and strong in providing the opportunity for everything the Halford band releases on that format. Eventually I hope it grows into a bigger dimension and potentially looking after other artists in the metal world down the line. It's a big, broad based opportunity.
Did you already own the rights to the Halford material, or did you have to purchase or acquire them from the record company?
I've had a wonderful relationship with Rod Smallwood and everybody at Sanctuary. We agreed upon my return to Priest there was a need to change shape businesswise, and was able to come to an agreement with Rod and Sanctuary and buy back all of my music from the Sanctuary Group and everything that went with it like videos and photo shoots. I'm now in the pleasurable environment of being able to look after this great music, which much like everything I've tried to do in metal, will stand the test of time and will be just as valuable now as we believe it will be in the future. I can do everything that I feel is necessary to sustain the life of that music and whatever is to come through Metal God Entertainment.
A new Halford track "Forgotten Generation" will soon be available digitally. Is that from the archives or something you've recently recorded with the band?
Since I went back to Priest, which was a great moment for me and everybody in the world of metal, I received tremendous support and encouragement from all the Halford band members who said, "You've got to go back , Rob. That's where you're from. You go there and if it's cool we'll keep the Halford band on the back burner." So that's what we've been doing. Metal Mike along with Roy Z have been working in the background writing material and recording material and presenting it to me when it's been practically completed. I've just plugged the mic in and layed down some vocals. These two tracks, "Forgotten Generation" and "Dropout" are a couple of songs from an enormous amount of material that has been accumulating. So it's not really from the archives per se, just music that's building and ready to go when we feel it's the right thing to do. My main goal is to never make any conflict in the Priest world, because that's where my heart is and that's where my life leads me with my music. When there's no conflict in release or live performances we'll bring out Halford stuff in the future.
The Halford re-releases are all digital on iTunes. Will they be re-released in CD format in the future?
At this point we're going to stay digital. The metal community is just as up to speed as the rest of the world when it comes to digital downloads. We feel that the quality of digital from Apple iTunes is great. There's only a small difference between that and getting a full CD. On iTunes you have the music, the artwork, the liner notes, the pictures, everything. But we'll see. I don't want to dismiss those metal fans that want to physically possess the CD for their collection. But for the moment we want to stay with Apple iTune exclusivity along with Metal God Entertainment music online, which you will be able to download as well. We're building that now. If you don't have access to iTunes and like the other formats of downloads we're going to make sure everyone has the opportunity to get what they want for their own needs and whatever equipment they are using at home.
You've also added some bonus material as an added incentive.
I think so. I know what it feels like to be presented with something you've already got, so we worked really hard to remaster these songs, which to my ears sound even better, along with the additional tracks. And with iTunes if you don't want the whole shebang you can just pick and choose whatever tracks you want. And I've also noodled with the actual running order of the music. That's something that is really important, the way you enjoy the record if you want to plug your headphones in and go into Halford world for 50 minutes. It's an enormous amount of material and a great opportunity of Halford fans and metal fans to investigate all these songs.
Chad Bowar: I understand you're also going to be releasing some DVDs in 2007.
Rob Halford: That will be the Fight piece and other things we've got lurking in the background. We just want to let everybody know that the Halford band is still alive and kicking and we'll be showing more of the band.
Unlike a lot of artists that had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the new millennium, you've always seemed to embrace new technology like the internet and have been in the forefront of the digital age. Why do you think that is?
It's remarkable. The internet is barely a decade old. We've lived in the revolution just like people who were around when the radio or TV were invented. The internet is just as important as those inventions were. All kinds of things were running through my mind when the internet first surfaced, then exploded the first few years. I just knew that it would dramatically affect the entertainment world, which it has done. So you run to it and embrace it. If you don't you get left out in the parking lot. That's why we put Metal God Entertainment together and we have a very successful and active website where the fans live around the world. You really have to appreciate and understand the value of that. The first thing that I thought about is that it's amazing that a fan in Japan can speak to a fan in Nebraska about Judas Priest or Halford. You have to embrace it and utilize it and make it do good things. It's amazing and I love it. It keeps everything alive and vibrant and energized.
What have been some of the high points in your career?
The day I became a professional musician was the most dramatic one for me, to know I could be in a profession I love. There's a phrase that if you find something to do in life that you love, you'll never work another day in your life. And I think that's the fortune that I've experienced the past three decades. It all started with that. I do count my blessings, because rock and roll is full of tragedy.
