When you start in any band, I don't think you have any idea as to how long your particular journey is going to last. You really don't have a clue. I think that when you come together as musicians, that's the furthest thing from your mind.
— Rob Halford
We can either rip your face up with 'Painkiller,' or we can play this beautiful thing called 'Last Rose of Summer' from 'Sin After Sin.' And people love us for that because they don't really know what to expect.
I think the last thing you want in life is to live with regret.
I discovered that I was gay when I was about nine or ten. I did go out with girls for a while, but it didn't last.
There are gay and lesbian people in all walks of life, in all different types of professions. I just happen to be a gay man who sings in a heavy metal band.
We're all people. We all need to just try and find a way to love each other and accept each other and try and make the world a better place.
The thing about rock & roll, and the black leather biker jacket - it automatically creates an idea about what that person might be about, about their musical taste or their attitude.
Life is a beautiful thing, but a lot of it, it kind of replicates itself.
I was in several bands before I joined Judas Priest. Being in those early unknown bands were the stepping stones, really, so I learned a lot in those short few years jumping from one band to another.
I think that essentially, since music was invented, it's basically reached out and touched every single kind of conceivable generation.
'Defenders' seems to have a really gritty, hard, uncomplicated vibe about it. Somehow, we made everything sound stronger and more precise than on 'Screaming Vengeance' through Tom Allom's amazing mixing skills.
I love early blues like Bessie Smith, Muddy Waters, and Howlin' Wolf. I listened to the way these people sang, and it was just beautiful - straight from the soul. That, for me, was an inspiration.
It's best to keep things as free and open as you can. It's good to have a template, but then you go back and dissect it and see where you can make improvements. That's pretty much been the case with every Priest song that's ever been written.
I never tire of the drive from Phoenix to San Diego, and it is mostly desert, obviously, but you get different varieties of desert terrain.
If I was a billionaire, I'd have a warehouse full of Ferrari and Lamborghini, but I'm not.
On their debut, Korn brought a new definition of metal that was a game changer.
You have to let your musicians in your band be who they are.
'Firepower' is the eighteenth full-length studio album for Judas Priest. That's a lot of metal songs over the decades, and the writing process is always the same, really.
I kind of blew the doors off the myth that all heavy metalheads are Neanderthal and very limited in their ability to take on subject matter of any human depth.
I like to remain somewhat anonymous. I could never handle the whole Britney Spears syndrome of being noticed everywhere.
They talk about the American Dream. I still believe in that. I still believe that this is a great country, where great things can happen, where anybody can become president of the United States. Just that simple statement there defines so much about the whole business of liberty and freedom and the pursuit of happiness.
Heavy metal is always going to be there. At its core, it's all about a primitive connection we all need to keep in our lives.
You've got to be able to compromise in a band; otherwise, somebody's more important than the next guy, and that's never been the case in Priest.
Oh God, don't let me go on Amazon Prime at one in the morning 'cause I always buy something I don't need.
We've always tried to convey these strong messages of strength and power and doing good in the world and, at the same time, to not be afraid to look at the difficulties that we experience.
I just love to sing. It makes me feel great, so I'm gonna keep going.
I love all that kind of gothic Bram Stoker kind of thing. I love to get lost in that kind of escapism.
With 'Defenders,' we had some very barebones ideas, but the bulk of it came together very quickly over in Ibiza. The main thing I like about that record, looking back on it now, is the change in the texture of the production from 'Screaming For Vengeance.'
Making a record is an intimate experience. A good producer can get things out of you that you can't get out of yourself.
I've often talked about metal being the underdog in rock n' roll music.
As soon as I got my driver's license, I went crazy, and I got the Ford Cosworth, which was this limited edition street racing turbo. It was like this 200-miles-an-hour monster.
I'm not a frugal person, but I find it difficult to be extravagant materially.
That's the life, really, isn't it? You write. You record. You play. And it never grows old.
Don't put yourself on a pedestal. Because it's very easy for someone to knock you off.
It's very tempting for certain generations to say, 'Well, I just want to be in a band, and I want to be a rock star,' or whatever. That's not what it's about. Firstly, you've got to be in it for the love and the passion that you have for the music, and then you take it from there.
You don't fully appreciate your band until you're away from them.
It's a myth that I received any flak from the metal community over my decision to come out. I have, in fact, received numerous positive responses from fans, as well as e-mails from people who were going through much the same thing. It's horrible to keep something like that secret, and I felt I had to make it public.
Just the basic principles of what makes America work for me are very strong in my heart. It's like no other nation in the world.
When you make that choice of stepping out and facing the issue of disclosure, you do create this kind of self-imposed negative fear. It's unfortunate it still happens today. 'Do I step out and say I'm a gay guy?' But you have got to do it and live your life on your terms and no one else's terms.
When I write lyrics for Priest, I'm writing them for Priest. I'm not writing them for me.
If you look at the history of the LGBTQ community, from my perspective growing up as I did in the U.K. in the '50s, there was just terrible, terrible discrimination, you know? It was extremely difficult to live your life as you should have been allowed to do.
The great thing about Priest, in all the years that we've been making heavy metal music, is that we've always kind of carried this metal flag, if you will - this beacon of hope that, no matter what you may be going through in life, there's always a sense of overcoming difficulties, a sense of winning, a sense of coming out on top.
It's a very empowering kind of music, heavy metal is.
As far as putting a rating on music like you do movies, I can see the common sense in that.
The battle goes on for me; as a gay man, I shall not be happy until I see equality across the board.
Some songs are dead easy, and others can be quite challenging. Other times, you just have to put it in the bin.
We've always had this fantastic relationship with America.
I didn't pass my driving test till I was 38!
Metal fans are just as compassionate and caring and tolerant as any other form of music fans are.
I love people. I love being in a band. I love making music.
