Judas Priest Thread

[Malcolm]

JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford recently spoke with RecordOnline.com on the state of heavy metal, being ripped off, and the queen of England. Read on:

Q: How has the tour been going?

Rob Halford: "It's been great really. We just finished a successful tour of South America. We were in Brazil, Buenos Aires. It's simply amazing down there, and it showed us that metal is still a worldwide phenomenon.

Q: What place do you think metal has in the realm of music?

Rob Halford: "It's still on the radio, and it's still a powerful force in rock 'n' roll. Music develops through different players, and I'm inspired to see new metal acts."

Q: For fans who haven't seen the band since the '70s or '80s, how have the band and the show changed?

Rob Halford: "It's the same as it ever was. It's the same tradition and heritage. It's still a monster metal show with costumes and lights. It's as great as it ever was and is more intense than ever."

Q: What was making this album like? Did you have the songs all set before you went into the studio?

Rob Halford: "The first order of the day was to write new metal. We couldn't rest on our past glories. Fans are so rabid, they always want more."

Q: In March, to recognize the excellence of British music and its contribution to the culture and economy of the U.K., you were invited to meet the queen at Buckingham Palace along with 500 other people from the entertainment industry. What was that like?

Rob Halford: "I absolutely love the royal family. They're just like the Osbournes to a different extent. It was such a trip! Buckingham Palace is absolutely mind-blowing. It was unbelievable for the royal house to recognize the existence of metal. The queen actually asked me, 'Why do you have to play the heavy metal so loud?' The words 'heavy metal' actually came out of the queen's mouth!"

Q: What's going on with Gull Records? I read you're bring ripped off. What should your fans know so they don't get scammed?

Rob Halford: "You can only control so much. Our music keeps getting repackaged, which leads fans to believe it's something new. All of it does not come with our approval."

Q: What are your plans after the tour? Will there be another album?

Rob Halford: "We'll be doing some shows in Russia, and we should be done by Christmas. I've never been to Russia, so I'm looking forward to it. The plan is, we're going to get together and talk about music for the new album. We don't want people to get the impression it's a grab-the-money-and-run thing. We missed making the metal together, and when we got back together, it was never for a quick fix. It was all about doing what was left to be done. There's more metal to make."

[Malcolm]

 In a recent interview with Lynn Saxberg of The Ottawa Citizen, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing revealed that they're considering putting together a multi-act metal package to tour North America next summer, but they also want to make another album.

"It's pretty hectic," Downing said, noting that he'll be celebrating another birthday on stage this month.

"I think things have turned full circle and for bands like ourselves and SABBATH, there's not too many of us standing these days, still intact from the '70s. Bands like that basically got the ball rolling with this heavy metal thing all those years ago and I think it's one reason we're here today."

According to Downing, there is a whole new generation of kids itching to rock out to songs like "You've Got Another Thing Coming" and "Hell Bent for Leather".

"It's still guaranteed that PRIEST has a great following," said Downing. "Time moves on, and obviously people take their music with them. They're not suddenly going to start listening to jazz or classical music just because they're of a certain age.

"There's a perception that you should mellow out and do what your predecessors did, but that's not the case and it never will be. If you were a fan of JIMI HENDRIX or the CREAM or BLACK SABBATH or JUDAS PRIEST or whoever it is, you take your music with you through life, don't you," he said, "even though you might not always admit it to your next-door neighbor.

"But the great thing is now, we've got the best of it all because people are bringing their nieces, nephews, sons, daughters, even grandkids to the show. There's a new interest, probably because of the Ozzfest going on for quite some years. Parents are saying, 'You think that's metal, you want to come and see a good band.'

"Obviously, with Rob [Halford] back in the band, things are much bigger and better and more the way they used to be."

[Rob]

Downing brings up a good point in that interview.  When we're all old and grey, will we still be listening to GN'R, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Metallica, and heavy stuff like that?  I think we will be.  But it is a bit weird picturing an elderly dude rockin' out to some metal or hard rock.  But I know I don't ever plan on turning away from the music I love.

[Malcolm]

Ok this raises a good question..Who would you like to see in a metal package with Priest next summer?

I think itd be cool if they had Judas Priest/Iron Maiden playing full sets like GNR/Metallica and have VR/Audioslave or Disturbed open with like a 30 min 45 min set

[Malcolm]

Thaught id post this article and current setlist

The Metal Gods are back -- and still hell-bent for leather. After 13 years, original Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford has returned to help the British metal legends reclaim their throne.

"Our fans have sat in the wings waiting until we got back together to be the band they love," admits blond guitar god Ken (K.K.) Downing.

Halford left the group to pursue a different direction in 1991. He spent the next decade fronting the thrash band Fight and electronic duo Two before returning to his roots with Priest soundalikes Halford.

Meanwhile, the remaining members of Priest spent five years looking for a vocalist who could replicate Halford's quasi-operatic style, eventually discovering Tim (Ripper) Owens singing in -- of all things -- a Priest tribute band called British Steel. (Owens' story inspired the Mark Wahlberg movie Rock Star, but the band pulled out before it was complete and have distanced themselves from the project).

Priest released four discs with Owens but was never able to find his own identity within the group, so the band came to a creative stalemate, Downing says.

"It was fairly clear we weren't going to make anymore headway with Ripper in terms of what size venues we play or how many records we sell," Downing says.
   

"With Ripper we had some good new material but we were performing an awful lot of stuff we wrote with Rob. Even though he might have got a leg up, he had to go find his own self-image creatively and become successful in his own right instead of being perceived as a stand-in for Rob."

Halford's point of re-entry came in 2003 when he hooked up with his old bandmates -- Downing, guitarist Glenn Tipton, bassist Ian Hill and drummer Scott Travis -- to compile the Metalogy box set. Once they got together, the band knew it was their destiny to reunite.

Fittingly, their comeback album Angel of Retribution is a return to the sound of the group's peak -- the late '70s and early '80s of Breaking the Law and Living After Midnight. They even reference their old material in Angel's lyrics. That's no accident.

"It was in everybody's mind to cut out the past 13 years as if nothing had happened and carry on from the last album -- regress and do what comes naturally. That's all we could do or our head would have been on the chopping block," Downing admits.

The core members of Priest -- Downing, Halford, Tipton and Hill -- started out in the '70s as blues-based prog-rockers with a sound closer to fellow Birmingham group Black Sabbath before establishing their own identity on their second album, 1976's Sad Wings of Destiny. Their two-guitar attack and Halford's soaring vocals would set the blueprint for '80s metal. Likewise, the leather-and-studs biker look they pioneered has been adopted by more metal acts than you could shake a riding crop at.

But being first has never been a guarantee you'll last. Eventually, the bands who worshipped at Priest's altar surpassed them. Priest tried to compete by dabbling with synth-metal on 1986's Turbo and cranking up the speed on 1990's Painkiller, but to no avail.

With their return last year, Priest have embarked on a worldwide tour and squeezed back into their old leathers, although most of the band members are well past 50.

"It's a great feeling when we get dressed up in the dressing room. It's the Priest army," Downing laughs.

The army should be out in full force when Judas Priest play their first local gig in 15 years Tuesday at MTS Centre with the reunited 1985 lineup of Anthrax. Tickets are $34 to $59 at Ticketmaster.

Judas Priest's set list from Oct. 5

* Hellion/Electric Eye

* Solar Angels

* Riding on the Wind

* A Touch of Evil

* Judas Rising

* Revolution

* I'm A Rocker

* Breaking the Law

* Diamonds and Rust

* Worth Fighting For

* Beyond the Realms of Death

* Turbo Lover

* Hellrider

* Victim of Changes

* Painkiller

* Desert Plains

* Living After Midnight

* You've Got Another Thing Comin'

[Rob]

I think a Priest/Maiden package would be amazing.  However, I remember hearing somewhere that the two bands have a bit of a rivalry.  Anybody know how true that is?

[Malcolm]

 A representative at the Warner/Rhino video department has confirmed to BLABBERMOUTH.NET that the new JUDAS PRIEST live DVD, "Rising in the East", will be released in North America on November 15. In addition, the DVD's artwork has also been confirmed to the image currently being displayed by most online retailers, including Amazon.com.

"Rising in the East" was recorded at the band's May 18-19, 2005 shows at the Budokan in Tokyo, Japan and is believed to include the following track listing (NOTE: The track listing has not yet been officially confirmed):

01. The Hellion
02. Electric Eye
03. Metal Gods
04. Riding On The Wind
05. The Ripper
06. A Touch Of Evil
07. Judas Rising
08. Revolution
09. Hot Rockin'
10. Breaking The Law
11. I'm A Rocker
12. Diamonds and Rust
13. Worth Fighting For
14. Deal With the Devil
15. Beyond the Realms of Death
16. Turbo Lover
17. Hellrider
18. Victim of Changes
19. Exciter
20. Painkiller
21. Hell Bent For Leather
22. Living After Midnight
23. You've Got Another Thing Coming

In other news, JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford recently told the San Diego CityBEAT that no one in the band is thinking about the fact that they're on the downhill toward 60.

"When you start to think about that, you start slowing down, you start to diminish," said Halford. "People asked me 10, 20 years ago if I was done.... But I don't think JUDAS PRIEST will ever do a farewell tour. I think one day it will just stop. But as long as I can do the work at the right level, I'll keep going."

On the subject of being the inspiration for so many of America's new metal stars, Halford said, "I'd been e-mailing with Jamey [Jasta, the singer] from HATEBREED and he kept begging me to put them on the bill in their hometown with PRIEST. We got that kind of thing all the time on the Ozzfest tour last summer. There we were with SABBATH, us and them being the bands that started it all, and all these young bands like HATEBREED and SLIPKNOT and LAMB OF GOD were just hanging around us hoping to talk metal.

"It's important to not turn into some cynical old man," Halford continued. "When you've been around so long, I think it's easy to get jaded about rock 'n' roll, but I'm still excited and I still get a rush when I hear or see a new band that moves me."

[badapple81]

Such a pity they didn't visit Australia! I would have loved to see them! 

[Malcolm]

Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings will release the two-CD set "The Essential Judas Priest" on April 4.

JUDAS PRIEST rocketed out of the tough steel town of Birmingham, England, more than three decades ago, and the 34 songs collected here form nothing less than the very backbone ? the pure essence ? of heavy metal. This uncompromising style of rock 'n' roll has earned a remarkably loyal fan base worldwide and no other band defines heavy metal better than JUDAS PRIEST.

The core of vocalist Rob Halford, lead guitarists Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing and bass guitarist Ian Hill worked with several drummers in the earlier years, with longtime current member Scott Travis rounding out the definitive lineup due to his incredible power and versatility. JUDAS PRIEST knows that what matters is the music, and its ability to blend unforgettable melodies with atomic-bomb power has never been equalled.

All the songs on "The Essential Judas Priest" are the complete original studio album versions featuring the Halford/Tipton/Downing/Hill axis ? from the 1976 landmark "Sad Wings Of Destiny" through the astonishing 2005 reunion platter "Angel Of Retribution".

The track listing is as follows:

Disc 1:

01. Judas Rising ("Angel Of Retribution" - 2005)
02. Breaking The Law ("British Steel" - 1980)
03. Hell Bent For Leather ("Hell Bent For Leather" - 1979)
04. Diamonds And Rust ("Sin After Sin" - 1977)
05. Victim Of Changes ("Sad Wings Of Destiny" - 1976)
06. Love Bites ("Defenders Of The Faith" - 1984)
07. Heading Out To The Highway ("Point Of Entry" - 1981)
08. Ram It Down ("Ram It Down" - 1988)
09. Beyond The Realms Of Death ("Stained Class" - 1978)
10. You've Got Another Thing Comin" ("Screaming For Vengeance" - 1982)
11. Jawbreaker ("Defenders Of The Faith" - 1984)
12. A Touch Of Evil ("Painkiller" - 1990)
13. Delivering The Goods ("Hell Bent For Leather" - 1979)
14. United ("British Steel" - 1980)
15. Turbo Lover ("Turbo" - 1986)
16. Painkiller ("Painkiller" - 1990)
17. Metal Gods ("British Steel" - 1980)

Disc 2:

01. The Hellion ("Screaming For Vengeance" - 1982)
02. Electric Eye ("Screaming For Vengeance" - 1982)
03. Living After Midnight ("British Steel" - 1980)
04. Freewheel Burning ("Defenders Of The Faith" - 1984)
05. Exciter ("Stained Class" - 1978)
06. The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown) ("Hell Bent For Leather" - 1979)
07. Blood Red Skies ("Ram It Down" - 1988)
08. Night Crawler ("Painkiller" - 1990)
09. Sinner ("Sin After Sin" - 1977)
10. Hot Rockin' ("Point Of Entry" - 1981)
11. The Sentinel ("Defenders Of The Faith" - 1984)
12. Before The Dawn ("Hell Bent For Leather" - 1979)
13. Hell Patrol ("Painkiller" - 1990)
14. The Ripper ("Sad Wings Of Destiny" - 1976)
15. Screaming For Vengeance ("Screaming For Vengeance" - 1982)
16. Out In The Cold ("Turbo" - 1986)
17. Revolution ("Angel Of Retribution" - 2005)

"The Essential Judas Priest" liner notes were written by respected veteran rock journalist Geoff Barton.

Sony Music's Legacy Recordings divison has issued the best-selling, critically acclaimed "Essential" series of compilations from many of the greatest popular-music recording artists in history

[Malcolm]

JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Glenn Tipton told Greg Prato of Billboard.com that the band will reconvene next month to begin writing the follow-up to 2005's "Angel of Retribution", which was the band's first album with singer Rob Halford since 1990's "Painkiller".

"We've had a break ? we've been out for almost two years," Tipton said. "We all decided to take January off, and then we're going to start writing the new album in February. We are doing a charity show for the Teenage Cancer Trust at [London's] Albert Hall in April, and we are talking about some summer festivals [in Europe]. But our main priority is to write the next JUDAS PRIEST album ? that'll be the number one thing on our agenda."

[AxlsMainMan]

JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Glenn Tipton told Greg Prato of Billboard.com that the band will reconvene next month to begin writing the follow-up to 2005's "Angel of Retribution", which was the band's first album with singer Rob Halford since 1990's "Painkiller".

"We've had a break ? we've been out for almost two years," Tipton said. "We all decided to take January off, and then we're going to start writing the new album in February. We are doing a charity show for the Teenage Cancer Trust at [London's] Albert Hall in April, and we are talking about some summer festivals [in Europe]. But our main priority is to write the next JUDAS PRIEST album ? that'll be the number one thing on our agenda."

Sounds fuckin' awesome man

Here's hoping the next one even surpasses Angel of Retribution because while I thought it was a killer fuckin' record, I didn't think it lived up to Painkiller for all the hype it got when it came out.

[Malcolm]

Garry Sharpe-Young of Rockdetector.com recently conducted an interview with JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Rockdetector.com: Tony Iommi told me he has hundreds of tapes of riffs that haven't been used yet. Are you the same?

K.K. Downing: "There are great riffs you sometimes can't put into a song. You have to remember that the singer has to do his thing on top of it too."

Rockdetector.com: Can you ever see the Tipton / Downing well of riffs running dry?

K.K. Downing: "No. They are getting harder to come by though. A lot of bands took what we did in the '70s and have produced thousands more riffs over the years so to find something special just gets harder. If we had released 'Angel Of Retribution' in 1977 it would have been a huge album. It's just time. Some of the classic riffs from the 70s would not even get noticed today I think."

Rockdetector.com: Do you understand the passion that JUDAS PRIEST generates in its fans?

K.K. Downing: "I think I do now. More so than before. Especially with the Internet because you can really get to see what people think. There's some surprising stuff and most of it is totally positive."

Rockdetector.com: Although "Angel Of Retribution" has been a major success for you there was quite a lot of criticism about the set list on the last tour. You didn't really deviate too much from a "greatest hits"-type set and that didn't go down too well with a lot of your hardcore fans.

K.K. Downing: "Yeah, and I agree. When we do the next round I would really like to not play 'Victim Of Changes' and 'Breaking The Law' again. We're going to play a completely different set, play a lot of stuff we've not played in a long time or stuff we've never played. I mean, we can play it all so I think that's what we'll do next time. A completely new set would be a very cool thing to do. We nearly did it on the 'Turbo' tour, I remember, we played so much stuff then we had not played before and we should do that again."

Rockdetector.com: I think a lot of your fans would like to vote on a set list. I think some interaction like that could be very beneficial to the band.

K.K. Downing: "That's an idea we've thought of too. Yeah, next time round we'll play a whole new set."

Rockdetector.com: What kind of songs would you like to play?

K.K. Downing: "Oh, lots of songs from all the albums really. I think it might be good to have a look at every album, even 'Rocka Rolla'. Rob did 'Never Satisfied', didn't he? I like 'Starbreaker'. We've got so many songs that we could put together a whole new show and still make it really interesting. There are some songs from the new album we still need to play as well. Which songs do you want us to play?"

Rockdetector.com: Things like "Dissident Aggressor", "Blood Red Skies", "Starbreaker", "Steeler". I think those kind of songs are what the faithful want to hear. I think you should let "Living After Midnight" have a well-earned rest. You should play "Take On The World" because that was your first hit single and it's a great sing-a-long arena type song. Wouldn't Scott Travis do an amazing job with that song?

K.K. Downing: "Yeah. That's what I mean. We can play everything we've ever done. 'Take On The World' was really good for us because we had a hit with one of songs. I was talking about the record company always asking us for cover versions, which we kept doing but our first hit was a song we wrote. We did that on 'Top Of The Pops' and then we had another three hit singles and they were all our songs too so the record company was wrong and we were right. That was very important for us. We tried to do something similar to 'Take On The World' with 'United'. We thought that song was going to be huge."

[Malcolm]

JUDAS PRIEST management co-ordinator Jayne Andrews has posted the following message on the group's official web site:

"All of the band took a well deserved break over the Christmas and New Year holidays. Having been touring for nearly two years, they were badly in need of recharging their batteries! Now they are raring to go and are starting work on their new studio album. For this reason, they have decided not to do any touring this year but to work straight through on the new album! Once we are further down the line with it I'll give you some updates!

"We have just heard from Burrn! magazine in Japan that JUDAS PRIEST have swept the polls!

The Best Group of the year: JUDAS PRIEST
The Best Album of the year: JUDAS PRIEST 'Angel Of Retribution'
The Best Live Performance in Japan: JUDAS PRIEST
The Best Album Cover: JUDAS PRIEST 'Angel Of Retribution'
The Best Vocalist of the year: Rob Halford/JUDAS PRIEST

"Needless to say we are all very happy about these results ? they are fantastic! So a big thank you to JUDAS PRIEST's Japanese fans!!"

[Mr Cowbell ?]

A representative at the Warner/Rhino video department has confirmed to BLABBERMOUTH.NET that the new JUDAS PRIEST live DVD, "Rising in the East", will be released in North America on November 15. In addition, the DVD's artwork has also been confirmed to the image currently being displayed by most online retailers, including Amazon.com.

"Rising in the East" was recorded at the band's May 18-19, 2005 shows at the Budokan in Tokyo, Japan and is believed to include the following track listing (NOTE: The track listing has not yet been officially confirmed):

01. The Hellion
02. Electric Eye
03. Metal Gods
04. Riding On The Wind
05. The Ripper
06. A Touch Of Evil
07. Judas Rising
08. Revolution
09. Hot Rockin'
10. Breaking The Law
11. I'm A Rocker
12. Diamonds and Rust
13. Worth Fighting For
14. Deal With the Devil
15. Beyond the Realms of Death
16. Turbo Lover
17. Hellrider
18. Victim of Changes
19. Exciter
20. Painkiller
21. Hell Bent For Leather
22. Living After Midnight
23. You've Got Another Thing Coming

In other news, JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford recently told the San Diego CityBEAT that no one in the band is thinking about the fact that they're on the downhill toward 60.

"When you start to think about that, you start slowing down, you start to diminish," said Halford. "People asked me 10, 20 years ago if I was done.... But I don't think JUDAS PRIEST will ever do a farewell tour. I think one day it will just stop. But as long as I can do the work at the right level, I'll keep going."

On the subject of being the inspiration for so many of America's new metal stars, Halford said, "I'd been e-mailing with Jamey [Jasta, the singer] from HATEBREED and he kept begging me to put them on the bill in their hometown with PRIEST. We got that kind of thing all the time on the Ozzfest tour last summer. There we were with SABBATH, us and them being the bands that started it all, and all these young bands like HATEBREED and SLIPKNOT and LAMB OF GOD were just hanging around us hoping to talk metal.

"It's important to not turn into some cynical old man," Halford continued. "When you've been around so long, I think it's easy to get jaded about rock 'n' roll, but I'm still excited and I still get a rush when I hear or see a new band that moves me."

I seen them twice on this tour (Detroit and Mt Pleasant) the dvd is pretty good, Rob sounds awesome live and he really makes Priest what they are.

[Walk]

Rising In The East actually has a good set list. Priest is excellent, but too often they play abyssmal songs that no one wants to hear anymore. Come on, Living After Midnight and Turbo Lover are played out. They did include great songs like Riding On The Wind, Judas Rising, A Touch Of Evil, Hellrider, Painkiller, etc.

But that's one long set list for Halford. I think he did well, considering that! 

[Malcolm]

JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford was the featured guest on Eddie Trunk's "Friday Night Rocks" radio show on New York's Q104.3 FM last night (Friday, October 27). Speaking on the phone from his San Diego, California home, Rob discussed PRIEST's upcoming concept album about the legendary 16th-century French prophet Nostradamus and his forthcoming flurry of HALFORD and FIGHT reissues that will hit Apple's iTunes Music Store at the end of November via Halford's new label, MGE (Metal God Entertainment). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

On the upcoming JUDAS PRIEST album:

"I'm taking kind of a little break away from the ongoing 'Nostradamus' sessions in England. Everybody is in the studio slaving away there. I think Glenn [Tipton] and K.K. [Downing] are probably not hard at work this time of night ? they're probably partying somewhere. But, yeah, I'm back in San Diego. I'm here working on all of the monster lyrics for the 'Nostradamus' metal opera, which will be coming out sometime in 2007.

"All the songs are done ? I would say 99.9 percent ? but we've still got some ideas we're working on. The bulk of the opera is complete as far as the writing goes, and I can't begin to tell you how excited we are about this. It's gonna be an absolutely spectacular moment for PRIEST to follow up the incredible reunion record 'Angel of Retribution'. We're just really, really pumped about this new music that we're making. It's colossal PRIEST ? some things that you've never heard before from this band are taking place. We've just got our nose to the grindstone and we're working as fast as we can to get this all completed and wrapped up and released and out in 2007 along with some special-event shows, which we'll talk about as we get closer to that. You know, we're gonna be playing the entire opera from beginning to end. That in itself will be a unique moment for PRIEST to show to our fans around the world, and a stage show that you will not believe. . . I'm gonna kind of take on that role of the character and we're basically gonna be telling the story of his life. He had an incredible life as a man besides making these prophecies that he did. It's a great life story about the things that he went through as an individual on a personal level, so we're obviously discussing that. But we're surrounding his life lyrically with some phenomenal PRIEST music ? stuff that we're just so excited about, and as I said, music that will just blow everybody away. I can't begin to discuss it, because my mind is full of the music even as I'm talking about it. So get ready for it. The PRIEST is gonna follow up after 'Angel of Retribution' with something that's gonna be bigger and better and stronger and more metallized than you've ever heard from the band."

On what inspired him to write an entire album about Nostradamus:

"I just think this is a great opportunity for me as a lyricist, because I've talked about these characters ? the Painkiller and the Sinner and the Sentinel ? and I've been in that world as a lyricist, and now I'm having the opportunity as a lyricist to talk about this man, this real figure from the 16th century and the great things that he did ? his prophecies. Some people are very skeptical about them, some people believe them emphatically. There are schools of Nostradamus where you can attend and learn about his teachings and so on and so forth. People say that some of his predictions actually came to be real occurrences from the past and as we look into the future. So I was just fascinated by this man. He went through a lot of grief. Without getting too heavy, he lost his wife and kids during the Black Plague ? he was able to save a lot of other people, but he couldn't save his family. So he lost the loves of his life and he was put into? he was banished from the Roman Catholic church. He went through a lot of tough stuff, but he was a very strong, resilient man. Besides being a prophet, he was an advocate of certain kinds of medicine that revolutionized the world of medicine at the time, and many, many, many things. So yeah, it's been fascinating to really try and cover that man's life and put it into lyrics to the music of PRIEST."

On PRIEST's touring plans once the new abum is released:

"We're gonna do two things. We're gonna do specialized event shows in special venues for the 'Nostradamus' production. And then, of course, we'll be doing another set of touring dates throughout the world as covering all the PRIEST classics, so you'll be getting PRIEST in two dimensions next year ? you'll be getting PRIEST playing the whole 'Nostradamus' piece, which I'm sure the fans will embrace and love and wanna see, and then of course, we'll come back around and do a PRIEST show with all the great things that you love ? 'Painkiller', 'Living After Midnight', 'Breaking the Law', 'The Sentinel', [and] whatever else we decide to play. So you'll be getting PRIEST in every manner that you love to see the band. We made everybody aware when we did the press release sometime ago that that was out intent, so we're not gonna blindside the fans and let them think they're coming to the show to hear all the wonderful PRIEST classics. We're gonna let everybody know well in advance that it'll be a multi-dimensional experience ? you'll get the 'Nostradamus' tour, and then you'll get the PRIEST tour ? PRIEST classics and everything else."

[Malcolm]

Launch Radio Networks reports: Things are going well with the recording of the new JUDAS PRIEST album. It's a concept album about the 16th Century French prophet Nostradamus, and the band has started thinking about release dates. Frontman Rob Halford told Launch that everyone's excited about the project. "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.

[Malcolm]

JUDAS PRIEST is currently recording a concept album about the 16th Century French prophet Nostradamus. In a recent interview with Rockdetector's Garry Sharpe-Young, Rob Halford admitted the band's often perceived secrecy was sometimes intentional. "Look, I love the Internet as a tool for knowledge gathering and for its amazing marketing possibilities but sometimes you have to step back a bit and present something in a better way," he said. "Just because the Internet allows you to give everything instantly does not always make that the right choice. I believe that if you go along to see a concert by your favorite band, as a fan, you hunger for that anticipation ? what are they going to play? What's the stage look like? All those things. It's the same with a new record for us. We've whetted the appetites by revealing the Nostradamus concept. That's a big deal for us, actually. I could give you song titles and intimate details of the story and each track but we don't want to ruin it for fans. Just remember the last time you bought a record that you had been wanting to get your hands on for months and that magical moment when you hear the first note. We'd like to bring some of that excitement back. Metal in particular thrives on that kind of fan-driven word of mouth. It worked very well for us with 'Screaming for Vengeance' and very much so with 'Painkiller'. Fans were talking to each down the pub and saying, 'You really need to hear this!' We had it back in the very early days too when we were playing every pub and club that would have us. It was word of mouth that generated that huge support from all over the country that the London media suddenly saw manifest itself at the Reading festival in 1975."

Rockdetector.com: OK, without giving too much away then, what clues can you tease us with for "Nostradamus"?

Haford: "Not a lot, except that it's absolutely massive in its scope. I mean, it really is a very big concept, even possibly a double album. We're all totally into the whole idea and researching the man's life has opened up so many possibilities. Right now Glenn [Tipton] and Ken [K.K. Downing] have all the music written but we have to construct all of that into a meaningful story. It's hugely ambitious but I know the fans will be blown away."

Rockdetector.com: With your enthusiasm to build the excitement for this record, it seems you embrace both old style promotional tactics and you are obviously very keyed into the present game with your website and this new round of HALFORD solo releases.

Halford: "You have to be. I'm only looking at what works. Of course you have to have a great product in the first place, which is why the HALFORD albums and this new crop of releases has had so much effort gone into them. I didn't just want to rehash the existing albums so there is a lot of attention to detail. I actually think the possibilities for music distribution in the future are going to be wonderful but of course the whole industry is in a very painful transitional stage right now. Music consumption is going up very fast, but CD sales are going down. More people are coming out to shows too, so the world wants music. The question for the labels is how they deliver it. Won't won't change is that JUDAS PRIEST will be out there delivering the goods on stage"

[Malcolm]

Chad Bowar of About Heavy Metal recently conducted an interview with JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

About Heavy Metal: How is "Nostradamus" coming along?

K.K. Downing: We are working on it day and night. It's going really, really well. It's a long project in terms of the length of music. It's over an hour and a half of music, so for that reason alone it is going to take us a bit longer to pull it together. But hopefully we can offer something unique and wonderful to the world. We're totally into it. We promise the fans we'll get it to them as soon as we possibly can. We'll get a PRIEST tour together as well.

About Heavy Metal: Are you and Glenn (Tipton) doing the production on the album?

K.K. Downing: So far that is the way it seems. We've been working hard, pretty much nonstop. That's not to say at some point we might bring someone else in, but we'll see what we need. If we think we need to, we'll certainly do that. But I think between Glenn and I we've got an awful lot of experience. It's sounding really good. It's the closest guarded secret in rock and roll at the moment. It's a bit different than the work we've done previously. We're looking forward to exposing it as soon as we can.

About Heavy Metal: Obviously writing lyrics is different on a concept album, but is writing the music any different from a regular album?

K.K. Downing: I think there are a lot of the usual ingredients, but with a bigger spectrum of sound with a bit of a classical element and more orchestrated sounds, which can be extremely heavy if used right. Hopefully it's going to be pleasing to a lot of people, and that's what it's always been about. We've always tried to widen the audience of rock and metal and make it more credible to more people, and hopefully we'll achieve that goal with this project.

About Heavy Metal: 30 plus years into your career is it easier or harder to write songs?

K.K. Downing: I think the sponge is always being squeezed harder. When will we run out before we are just duplicating what someone else has done? The answer to that is in the combination of what people have to offer in the band. Five individuals when we come together creates something unique. When we will run out of ideas is a very good question. Hopefully not until this record is done! (laughs)

About Heavy Metal: What do you think are some of the most underrated Judas Priest albums?

K.K. Downing: I think they are all underrated. I think everyone who's never bought a PRIEST album should go out and buy one, and follow that up by buying every other one as well! It's fair to say that even with as long and successful of a career that PRIEST has had, we still have a long ways to go to be comparable with a lot of bands that have gotten a much bigger audience, whether it's QUEEN or GUNS N' ROSES or METALLICA or AC/DC. We are not considered underground by any means, but PRIEST is still climbing the ladder in a lot of respects. For that reason I think we're still doing it. We're still hungry. It would have been great to have been a LED ZEPPELIN, where your first album is bigger than sliced bread. The good thing about PRIEST is that we've always been building and hopefully getting better. But then again, we're not over and done with yet, while a lot of those other bands are.

About Heavy Metal: What are some of the biggest changes you've seen in the music industry over the years?

K.K. Downing: I heard an interview with Robert Plant on a radio station not too far from me, and he reminded me of something. When we first started to write music, every time we composed something we had to play it a million times so we wouldn't forget it because we weren't able to record it. That may sound weird, but it's true. We would sit there in a room and play song ideas over and over again. And then the next day we would have to remember them, because we didn't have the facilities to record the ideas. That was true in the very early days. Then we got a little cassette recording machine with a little microphone, and then we were able to record it. In addition to the technology changes and the internet, there have also been musical changes. I've been around long enough to witness the evolution of rock music and metal music from the '60s all the way to the present time. I've seen lots of waves of different trends. In metal the big change was from the end of the '80s early '90s when it was classic or pure metal changing to the newer metal. Whether it changes back remains to be seen. The good news is that a lot of the great veterans are still around, like AC/DC, IRON MAIDEN, etc. We're still hoping for a massive revival of the brilliant '70s and '80s. That would be pretty cool.

[Malcolm]

Heres a few excperts from a recent Halford interview:

Aside from the solo material, Halford says Judas Priest keeps working on its Nostradamus record. Unlike some groups terrified by the idea of a concept album, Judas Priest was quite excited by the task.

"It's just been an amazing challenge," he says. "It's been exciting to put the life of this Frenchman who lived 500 years ago into a musical realm. It deals with his prophecies but also shows that he had a human side with ups and downs, which we all can relate to."

According to reports the new album could end up being a two-disc affair. Halford says that's possible, given the amount of material recorded. But he's a bit hesitant to say when it will hit stores.

"We're still tracking it," he says. "There's been so much buzz generated from the media and fans about the new album that it's incredible. And we haven't even done any of the promotional work in support of it.

"There's just a lot of material to go through and we don't want to leave any stone unturned. We don't know for certain when it's coming out and we aren't putting a date on it yet. It will be finished when it's finished."

What Halford can confirm is Judas Priest will be on the road in 2008 supporting Nostradamus with a "grueling world tour" stopping in Toronto at some point.

And by then even the touring and ticketing industry could be in flux. The recent decision by Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne to stage this summer's entire Ozzfest tour at no cost to fans took Halford by surprise.

"Sharon is just revolutionary the way she's doing it," he says. "I'm not sure if it's going to be free from now on, but it's been done in an affordable way with the sponsors coming on board. If you look at the actual nuts and bolts of it, it's quite spectacular.