Rob Halford of Judas Priest: My Top Ten Favorite Metal Albums

Rob Halford, the iconic vocalist for British metal band Judas Priest, talks to Rolling Stone Magazine about his top ten favorite metal albums

The commentary under each album are Rob's own words

10. Ace of Spades, Motorhead (1980)

-This is a hardcore roar of wild bombastic f--- you!

9. Slipknot, Slipknot (1999)

-When this came out, it was nu-metal pent up rage searing a whole new era

8. Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk, Emperor (1997)

-I love this because it's sonic blasphemy from the dark side

7. Holy Diver, Dio (1983)

-This album has classic grooves, vibes and melodies supporting the king

6.Cowboys from Hell, Pantera (1990)

-The "Texas Massacre" started with this one

5. Reign in Blood, Slayer (1986)

-It's full frontal assault riffage and in your face lyrics

4. Iron Maiden, Iron Maiden (1980)

-This felt like fresh U.K. blood from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and it was top of the heap

3. Korn, Korn (1994)

-On their debut, Korn brought a new definition of metal that was a game changer

2. Kill 'Em All, Metallica (1983)

-This was full-on thrash energy that led the USA charge

1. Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath (1970)

-This is the blueprint that epitomizes everything metal

11 Facts You May or May Not Know About Rob Halford

Rob Halford is often known as "The Metal God". He's the vocalist for legendary British metal band Judas Priest. There are things that people may or may not know about him. According to the people at Loudwire.com, here are 11 facts you may or may not know about Rob Halford. Also, if you want to know more about him, read his book Confess. Heads up, if you do read his book, be forewarned. He does not hold back on what it's like being a gay man. He will be honest about being in relationships with men and his battle with drug and alcohol addiction.

11. Motorcycles on stage were dangerous

-During the final show of Judas Priest's 1990 Painkiller tour, Rob Halford, as always, rode his motorcycle out to sing "Hell Bent for Leather". He was knocked off of his bike because of a misplaced prop. He suffered a broken nose and was knocked unconscious, which caused him to miss the final song of what would be his final show with Judas Priest for more than 10 years

10. While fully sober, sang a song about drugs with Queens of The Stone Age

-While being a former drug / alcohol addict, Halford got himself clean and sober in 1986. He feels like it was a cry for help, because he was struggling with his closeted homosexuality. He said getting sober gave him a "great sense of empowerment and strength". Of course, he ended up singing along with Queens of The Stone Age on their 2000 song "Feel Good Hit of the Summer", which references various vices

9. Sang for Black Sabbath...twice

-Two different occasions seen him fronting the fellow British metal legends Black Sabbath. First in 1992, he sang two concerts with them when Ronnie James Dio refused to open for Ozzy as a solo act and in 2004 when Ozzy was sick

8. Got shoved around by Mickey Rourke

-Halford had a small part in the 2002 independent film Spun. He played a clerk in a porn store

7. Not a real priest, but appeared as one on TV

-He dressed as a mischievous priest for a Virgin Mobile commercial in 2010. Halford states that being raised in a Christian home helped him build the spiritual foundation for helping him to keep sober all these years

6. He trusted the fans on supporting his coming out

-It's not easy being gay and coming out. It's especially harder if you are in a career that is as masculine as heavy metal. Halford said he could count on the fans being incredibly supportive during his 1998 announcement that he was gay. But, many fans already suspected he was gay long before he came out. During an interview with the Montreal Gazette, Halford said "Metal fans are just as compassionate and caring and tolerant as any other form of music fans are." He said that the love and support from the fans surprised him by being "incredibly intelligent and compassionate" and that "it made me feel great"

5. Despite being a rock star, drives a pretty boring car

-Despite owning several expensive cars over the years, he's pretty basic in his personal vehicle. It turns out he prefers nothing more simple than a 2006 Cadillac DTS. During an interview with MotorTrend, "I'm not a frugal person, but I find it difficult to be extravagant materially."

4. Took going bald with pride

-Like any man, going bald is usually bad. But, like a lot of men, he shaved his head, figuring it would disappear eventually. Halford took going bald with pride. He simply shaved it off after going with a close cropped look for a while. In fact, the first album to feature him with a completely shaved head was 1990's Painkiller

3. Went into electronic music with Trent Reznor

-1997 seen Halford going electronic with his band Fight. He recorded an album called Voyeurs, which was an electronic-techno album with people like Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, etc. It was a pet project of Reznor. It didn't do well, but did put Halford back on his heavy path with 2000's Resurrection

2. Could have sung classical music

-Classical voice teacher Claudia Freelander rated five of the most famous voices in metal. She listened to unmarked tapes of each singer and their work. She stated Rob Halford was "super talented, and the only one I really wish I could get my hands on." She also complimented his "fabulous range of vocal colors" and "mad skills"

1. He's becoming a one man business empire, quietly

-Rob Halford formed Metal God Records in 2009. This label reissued all of his solo records and records with post-Priest band Fight. Halford even did a gig recently with Ozzy Osbourne on his Scream tour

Rob Halford Duets with Dolly Parton at Rock Hall Induction Ceremony

Two unlikely musicians, Dolly Parton and Rob Halford, duet together on Parton's iconic song "Jolene" at rock hall induction ceremony

During the rock hall induction ceremony, Judas Priest, which consisted of guitarist Glenn Tipton, who was still a member of the band, despite retiring due to his diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease, former guitarist K.K. Downing alongside current guitarist Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, vocalist Rob Halford and drummer Scott Travis, played three iconic songs from the band's catalogue: "You Got Another Thing Coming", "Breaking the Law", "Living After Midnight". Later on, Rob Halford joined country music legend Dolly Parton in singing on her classic hit "Jolene".

It turned out a lot of people sang with Parton and Halford on the song "Jolene", as part of her induction into the hall. This "super jam" included Simon LeBon of Duran Duran, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo and Eurythmics vocalist Annie Lennox.

Rob Halford beats prostate cancer during COVID-19 epidemic

You read that right. As if we all don't have enough to worry about, cancer is always looking for its next victim. Cancer doesn't care if we are in the middle of a crisis. Cancer doesn't care who you are. And during this massive crisis, Rob Halford was diagnosed with prostate cancer and he successfully beat it.

In an interview with Consequence, Halford had this to say. "I had my little cancer battle a year ago, which I got through and that's in remission now, thank God. That happened while we were all locked down, so things happen for a reason as far as time sequence of events. I have nothing but gratitude to be at this point in my life, still doing what I love the most."

In a new chapter of his 2020 memoir Confess, Halford had not discussed his private cancer battle in public. Instead, he detailed them there. He mentions first seeing symptoms in 2017 and after extensive testing, he got his diagnosis. "How did I feel? I felt a combination of shock, horror and, oddly, relief - at least now I know! 'Am I going to die?' It was all I could think of. I know blokes who've died of prostate cancer. 'No, you're not going to die, Rob' said Dr. Ali." He underwent a prostatectomy on 7/5/2020. He also underwent chemo treatments in April and May of this year after more cancer was discovered around the area of his prostate and even underwent an appendectomy after a tumor was found on his appendix.

"It's been a draining year, I can't deny it, but I'm delighted to have come through it. I feel like I've had the most thorough MOT [measurements, observations, tests] that a Metal God can have."

Halford is not alone in his medical scare. Guitarist Richie Faulkner had to spend some time in the hospital after the band's Sept. 26 show at the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville. An aorta in his heart ruptured during the band's performance of "Painkiller" and as soon as the song concluded, he was rushed immediately to the hospital. Judas Priest postponed the remainder of their 50th anniversary tour. Faulkner was in surgery for 10 hours and had five parts of his chest replaced with mechanical components. He joked "I'm literally made of metal now. Although I have a recovery road ahead of me, as soon as I'm able to get up and running again, you'll be the first to know and we'll get back out there delivering the goods for you all!"

In a recent interview with Ultimate Classic Rock about Judas Priest's 50th anniversary tour and the follow up to 2018's Firepower, Halford had this to say. "The clock's always ticking with Priest, and you can't do too many things at the same time, otherwise things get wonky and they don't get the care and attention to detail they deserve. But I have a sense that it's going to be sooner than later. We're not going to make you wait three, four or five years as some of us have done."

Cynic leader Paul Masvidal defends Sebastian Bach against homophobic joke made by comedian

 That's right. A comedian made a homophobic joke directed at Rob Halford. Cynic leader Paul Masvidal stands up and gives Sebastian Bach praise for defending close friend Rob Halford

During an interview on podcast Sex, Drugs & Rock 'n' Roll, Paul Masvidal gave high praise and applause to Sebastian Bach for his response to a homophobic joke directed at Judas Priest front man Rob Halford.

Early in the interview, Bach explained how he heard that Halford does not do pre-show warm ups, which a comedian named Big Jay Oakerson responded "His exercise is probably something gay he doesn't want to tell ya. You gotta gargle jizz, but I dunno how to tell you that, Sebastian."

Bach, immediately angry at the homophobic insult towards someone he calls a friend, responded "Dude, could you not wreck this interview?" He stated Halford is a close friend and that the comedian should "skip those kinds of comments". Not long after, he left the Zoom interview

Paul Masvidal came out as publicly gay in 2014. He felt Bach did something responsible and that he did "the right thing" by leaving the interview while saying that underscoring this incident is an example of how homophobia is "culturally perpetuated when a comic can use the word "gay" in a derogatory way disguised as humor."

Furthermore, Masvidal added in an Instagram post "This ain't about being uptight. It's about ending the normalization of homophobic bull----. And in the same way that Bach has grown up since the days he'd wear AIDS: kills f---s dead t-shirts, Big Jay Oakerson needs to as well."

Masvidal later noted that Halford commented on the situation, giving it his usual sense of humor by saying he swallows, not gargles, but that this shouldn't be a means for Oakerson to "feel justified" for his actions.

August Birthdays

Since it's August, it's time to say Happy Birthday!

Joe Elliott

-Birth name: Joseph Thomas Elliott Jr.

-DOB: 8/1/1959

-Where: Sheffield, England

-Is a massive fan of Queen and Mott the Hoople

James Jagger

-DOB: 8/28/1985

-Where: New York City, New York

-Told the media that he and Twilight actor Robert Pattinson had drama class in high school together

Rob Halford

-Birth name: Robert John Arthur Halford

-DOB: 8/25/1951

-Where: Sutton Coldfield, United Kingdom

-His struggle with his homosexuality caused him to start abusing drugs and alcohol. Once he did come out, people still accepted him as their Metal God front man of Judas Priest

Dustin Hoffman

-Birth name: Dustin Lee Hoffman

-DOB: 8/8/1937

-Where: Los Angeles, California

-He only pursued acting because he didn't want to work or go into the military

Glenn Hughes

-DOB: 8/21/1952

-Where: Cannock, United Kingdom

-Had a small fling with Linda Blair on the set of The Exorcist II

Ian Gillan

-DOB: 8/19/1945

-Where: Chiswick, London, England

-Over the years he's had a rocky relationship with former Deep Purple/Rainbow guitarist Ritchie Blackmore

Robert Plant

-Birth name: Robert Anthony Plant

-DOB: 8/20/1948

-Where: West Bromwich, England

-Was in a car crash in the mid 1970s and as a result, he injured his arm. To this day, he cannot fully extend his right arm

Bruce Dickinson

-Birth name: Paul Bruce Dickinson

-DOB: 8/7/1958

-Where: Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England

-First got into music when he attended a boarding school and heard Deep Purple's "Child in Time" blaring out another student's room

Viola Davis

-DOB: 8/11/1965

-Where: Saint Matthews, South Carolina

-Her mother, Mary Alice, worked as a maid, a factory worker and a civil rights activist. Her father, Dan Davis, worked as a horse groomer and trainer

Antonio Banderas

-Birth name: Jose Antonio Dominguez Banderas

-DOB: 8/10/1960

-Where: Malaga, Spain

-Initially, Hollywood was hesitant to cast him in movies because of his strong Spanish accent. He learned English phonetically and was able to start appearing in movies

Sean Connery

-Birth name: Sir Thomas Sean Connery

-DOB: 8/25/1930

-Where: Glasgow, Scotland

-Best known for portraying spy James Bond

Vivian Campbell

-Birth name: Vivian Patrick Campbell

-DOB: 8/25/1952

-Where: Belfast, Ireland

-Was previously in the bands DIO and Whitesnake

John Deacon

-Birth name: John Richard Deacon

-DOB: 8/19/1951

-Where: Oadby, United Kingdom

-He was actually one of the last bass players brought into the band Queen

Rob Halford on LGBT rights

"I always thought things would be better". This is what Rob Halford, front man for legendary British speed metal band Judas Priest had to say about the current state of affairs in the LGBT communities.

He always thought things would improve over time, like the old adage "Time heals all wounds". Apparently some wounds still refuse to heal. He thought things about gay rights would improve, but sadly no. He said he is happy with the warmth and kindness he has received from the hard rock community after coming out of the closet in 1998. He was actually worried at first about coming out as gay, thinking he would suffer from some sort of fallout effect

"I just get so frustrated and angry that here we are in 2017. Because of that society I grew up in, and to a still great extent today, we have this tremendous push back in equality. I always kind of felt, as I was going through my teen years, my twenties and my thirties, things would be better – but they’re not. There’s still a long way to go in America and in my home country. And in some parts of the world, people like me get thrown off buildings. People like me get hung, just because of who we are." He told Blabbermouth.

Rob compared struggles of LGBT people to the types of struggles faced by "people of color" and "people having tremendous difficulties with accepting religions". He added "It’s a crazy world. You’d think that by now we’d have just figured things out – live and let live, love each other and just accept each other for who we are. Life is short."

He recalled the moment he came out as gay during an MTV interview. "The thing about gay people is that, until we come out of the closet, we’re always protecting other people – ‘I can’t do this, because it’s gonna hurt so-and-so.’ We’re trying to live the lives of other people, and that’s the worst thing you can do. You’ve gotta learn to love yourself, then you can go out in the world and try and figure everything else out. So I said that thing, and I went back to the hotel and I thought, ‘What have I done? There’s going to be a fallout."

After coming out, he experienced not a fallout, but an outpouring of respect and kindness. His bandmates in Judas Priest had no issue with him being gay. Even bassist Ian Hill was quoted as saying "we always knew he was gay but we treated him like a normal human being because that's the way gay people should be treated."

He mentioned "I’d never seen such an outpouring of love in all my life from everybody in the metal community. Rob, we don’t care. We want you to be who you are.’ That was a tremendously uplifting moment for me. This just goes to show you that we in the metal community – probably because of the push back we felt because of the music we love – we are the most tolerant, the most open-minded, the most loving, the most accepting of all the kinds of music in rock’n’roll. So it was a great moment."

10 rock/metal singers whose voices haven't changed

You know how some people think that as people grow older, their voices might change either for the better or worse? Here are 10 rock/metal musicians whose voices has yet to change.

Bruce Dickinson

-Iron Maiden

Ronnie James Dio

-Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Dio

Rob Halford

-Judas Priest

Glenn Hughes

-Trapeze, Black Sabbath, California Breed, Black Country Communion

Geddy Lee

-Rush

Robert Plant

-Led Zeppelin, The Band of Joy

Bobby Blitz

-Overkill (I'm only adding him because he's on the list. I hate Overkill. I think they're hypocrites. They get on Avenged Sevenfold about getting their own logo because they have a winged skull like Overkill. BUT.....EXCUSE ME!!! Who is the band that writes their name like Iron Maiden??????? Any guesses? Hint, hint!)

 

Notice any similarities between this logo and that of Iron Maiden? I do!!

 

I'll admit that the logo is similar, but it's not the same. Overkill, get over yourselves!

 

Klaus Meine

-The Scorpions

Dee Snider

-Twisted Sister

King Diamond

-Mercyful Fate (I only added him because he's on the list. I do not know much about him other than that he's heavy metal. I don't know what kind of metal. I just hope it isn't that scary black metal stuff. That stuff truly scares me!)

August Birthdays

Since it's August, time to say Happy Birthday to the following people

Joe Elliott

-Birth name: Joseph Thomas Elliott

-DOB: 8/1/1958

-Where: Sheffield, England

-Going to be: 57

-Came up with the name for an imaginary band called Deaf Leopard. To keep it from being associated with punk, the band name was intentionally misspelled as "Def Leppard" and it stuck!

Glenn Hughes

-DOB: 8/21/1952

-Where: Cannock, Staffordshire, England

-Going to be: 64

-Was named after the big band legend Glenn Miller

Daniel Dae Kim

-DOB: 8/4/1968

-Where: Pusan, South Korea

-Going to be: 48

-Has played a variety of characters both onscreen and on stage, such as the King of Siam, a social worker, a counter-terrorist agent for the government or a police officer on a special task force

Michelle Yeoh

-Birth name: Yeoh Chu-kheng

-DOB: 8/6/1962

-Where: Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

-Going to be: 54

-Prior to acting, was a former Miss Malaysia

James Jagger

-DOB: 8/28/1985

-Where: New York City, New York

-Going to be: 31

-His half-sisters are Jade and Karis Jagger and his half-brother is Lucas Jagger while his brother is Gabriel Jagger and his sisters are models named Elizabeth and Georgia May Jagger

-Also plays a character named John Turnbull on Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll

Rikki Rockett

-Birth name: Richard Allan Ream

-DOB: 8/8/1961

-Where: Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

-Going to be: 55

-Drummer for the glam metal band Poison

Antonio Banderas

-Birth name: Jose Antonio Dominguez Banderas

-DOB: 8/10/1960

-Where: Malaga, Spain

-Going to be: 56

-Prior to acting, he held jobs as a waiter and in modeling

Viola Davis

-DOB: 8/11/1965

-Where: Saint Matthews, South Carolina

-Going to be: 51

-Her mother, Mary Alice (Logan) was a civil rights activist

Robert De Niro

-Birth name: Robert Anthony De Niro Jr

-DOB: 8/17/1943

-Where: New York City, New York

-Going to be: 73

-Despite having an Italian name, he only has a small percentage of Italian ancestry, from his paternal grandfather's side

Vivian Campbell

-Birth name: Vivian Patrick Campbell

-DOB: 8/25/1962

-Where: Belfast, Ireland

-Going to be: 54

-He shares a birthday with Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford and Kiss bassist Gene Simmons

Rob Halford

-Birth name: Robert John Arthur Halford

-DOB: 8/25/1951

-Where: Sutton Colfield, United Kingdom

-Going to be: 65 

-Rather than face embarrassment over a receding hairline, in the late 1980s, Rob simply shaved his head completely

My sister has the biggest crush on him...

Robert Plant

-Birth name: Robert Anthony Plant

-DOB: 8/20/1948

-Where: West Bromwich, West Midlands, England

-Going to be: 68

-He's known for adding spiritual, mystical or philosophical lyrics into his songs (i.e. references to Lord of the Rings in "Ramble On")

Sean Connery

-Birth name: Thomas Sean Connery

-DOB: 8/25/1930

-Where: Edinburgh, Scotland

-Going to be: 86

-Prior to acting, he held a variety of jobs, ranging from lorry driver to milkman to model for Edinburgh College of Art to bodybuilder to coffin polisher

Gene Simmons

-Birth name: Chaim Weitz

-DOB: 8/25/1949

-Where: Tirat Carmel, Israel

-Going to be: 67

-When he initially met Paul Stanley, he was not very enamored of Paul

Bruce Dickinson

-Birth name: Paul Bruce Dickinson

-DOB: 8/7/1958

-Where: Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England

-Going to be: 58

-Has an estranged sister named Helen who he describes as "she was planned, I was an accident", referring to the fact his sister was a planned birth while his birth was accidental (Thank God he was born. History for Maiden might have been ALOT different!). His mother was 17 and father was 18 when Paul Bruce Dickinson was born. This definitely explains a lot on his solo album Accident of Birth

Still handsome for his age. Always will be :)