After Judas Priest recently stormed the German charts with their new album “Invincible Shield” (reaching number 1), the avowed blues fan and band frontman Rob Halford has now announced to Rock Antenne that he is planning a blues album. The same crew that worked on his Christmas album “Celestial,” including his brother Nigel and his nephew Alex, will be part of this project.
Speaking to Rock Antenne, Halford shared the backstory as follows: “As you might have occasionally heard here and there, I had the ambition to make at least one blues album. Because metal, yes, all of rock’n’roll, comes from the blues. A large part of music stems from the blues. And since I am a fan of the blues, I have always wanted to explore this area. A few years ago, we — that is, my brother, my nephew Alex on bass, and a friend of ours — made the CELESTIAL Christmas album together. And then, towards the end of those sessions, I said to the guys, ‘Why don’t we just make a blues album?’ Okay, it’s a simple idea, right? So, we have the music ready, all these songs are primed for the go-ahead. It’s just about timing. Timing and planning are so important in our world, in music. So, that’s something I’d really like to make happen. And if I get the time to implement it, I will do it.”
Watch the complete interview with Rob Halford here:
It is universally agreed that one of the greatest heavy metal vocalists of all-time is Rob Halford – who is often referred to as the “Metal God” due to his distinctive, multi-octave singing voice, and his larger-than-life, leather n’ studs persona.
While best-known as the long-time singer of Judas Priest, Halford has also launched his own successful solo career. And now, two of his classic solo efforts will be issued on vinyl for the first time ever – Crucible and Made of Metal.
Both will be issued in several limited edition color variants – Crucible in the colors black (900 units), neon violet (500), ghostly purple (500), and black purple/navy splatter (100), while Made of Metal will be issued in black (900), white (500), coronetto (500), and ghostly (100). A limited number of copies of each variant will be personally signed by Rob Halford.
“I am really proud to see these two Halford band records released on vinyl for the first time,” says the Metal God. “My fans will love the packaging and care that went into these re-issues.”
Both albums were produced by Roy Z. 2002’s Crucible spawned such headbanging favorites as “Betrayal” and the title track (and saw Halford joined by Metal Mike Chlasciak – guitar, Patrick Lachman – guitar, Ray Riendeau – bass, and Bobby Jarzombek – drums), while 2010’s Made of Metal gave us “Till the Day I Die” and “Fire and Ice” (and saw both Chlasciak and Jarzombek returning, as well as bassist Mike Davis and Roy Z providing additional guitar work).
With vinyl’s popularity at an all-time high, these two vintage metal masterpieces by the Metal God will undoubtedly be highly sought after by collectors – grab them while you can!
Crucible Track Listing:
SIDE 1
PARK MANOR (INSTRUMENTAL)
CRUCIBLE
ONE WILL
BETRAYAL
HANDING OUT BULLETS
SIDE 2
HEARTS OF DARKNESS
CRYSTAL
HERETIC
GOLGOTHA
SIDE 3
WRATH OF GOD
WEAVING SORROW
SUN
TRAIL OF TEARS
SIDE 4
SHE (BONUS)
FUGITIVE (BONUS)
ROCK THE WORLD (BONUS JAPAN)
IN THE MORNING (BONUS JAPAN)
“On the follow-up to this monumental release he continues down the same path, his vocals are as focused and exceptional as they have ever been. ‘Crucible’ keeps things fresh, as a result, this is yet another classic metal album for the next generation.” –AllMusic
Made of Metal Track Listing:
SIDE 1: 01. UNDISPUTED 02. FIRE AND ICE 03. MADE OF METAL 04. SPEED OF SOUND
SIDE 2: 05. LIKE THERE’S NO TOMORROW 06. TILL THE DAY I DIE 07. WE OWN THE NIGHT 08. HEARTLESS
SIDE 3: 09. HELL RAZOR 10. THUNDER AND LIGHTNING 11. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
SIDE 4: 12. MATADOR 13. I KNOW WE STAND A CHANCE 14. THE MOWER
“The teeth-rattling power of ‘Made of Metal’ stands out, but this is a record – and a man – to be heard and appreciated in full.” –Classic Rock Magazine
BraveWords’ new live streaming experience, Streaming For Vengeance, continues with Rob Halford broadcasting live on Saturday, October 31st at 3:33 PM, Eastern.
For more information on Streaming For Vengeance visit here.
“What an enlightening conversation,” BraveWords Founder/CEO “Metal” Tim Henderson says happily. “We’ve been honored to have a relationship with Rob and the band for nearly three decades, helping promote one of the greatest heavy metal bands in music history. But this is a side I’ve never witnessed, his new book Confess being a deeply personal moment for the Metal God and a must-read. We dig very deep into his past, gay marriage, Judas Priest at 50+, the new studio record and the fact that Stained Class and Van Halen I were released on the same day in 1978, so plenty of Eddie Van Halen idolization! I’m certain you’ll find the conversation as entertaining as I did! And how fitting is it that our first “Metalhead To Head” interview on Streaming For Vengeance is Judas Priest-related!”
Following the continuing government recommendations on mass gatherings and social distancing this summer, BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR FESTIVAL has issued the following statement:
“Dear Bloodstockers,
Following the ongoing government guidance on mass gatherings and social distancing, we are extremely disappointed to announce that this year’s BLOODSTOCK will no longer be going ahead. We respect the government’s mandate and recognise it is made with the best intentions, in order to protect the health & safety of not only our audience, but our staff, crew, musicians, and other contractors who work on site at BLOODSTOCK. Safety remains of paramount importance to us.
We know you have been concerned about what the developing Covid-19 situation would mean for BLOODSTOCK and will be as disappointed as we are at this tough decision, but we hope you can appreciate it is the right choice to make at this time. We had been working tirelessly to ensure we could still offer the top quality BLOODSTOCK experience you trust us to provide, year on year – and this year more than ever, when we invited you to celebrate 20 Years of BLOODSTOCK with us. We do not – and never will – take this trust in us for granted.
We have been reading your comments on our social media, and many of you have said that in this circumstance, you would like the option to roll your 2020 ticket over to 2021’s event – and we can confirm that you are able do that. Rest assured that BLOODSTOCK will return with an almighty vengeance, better and stronger than ever, so to that end and to help assuage your disappointment, next year BLOODSTOCK will be adding an extra day!
The festival will be 5 days and start from Wednesday, as opposed to Thursday; the dates for 2021’s event will be 11th – 15th August. This will be at no extra cost to those who have already purchased weekend tickets for 2020 and wish to roll them over. We will also freeze prices at the ticket store until later this year, when prices will then increase by just £10 and a new, longer 6-month instalment plan will launch to make that option even easier to manage. The on-sale date for day tickets and any returns on previously sold out ticket categories, such as camper vans, will be announced in due course. We are happy to report that many artists on this year’s line-up have already reconfirmed for 2021 and we look forward to sharing further plans with you soon. Meanwhile, you can watch an updated trailer for the festival here and a special message from metal overlord Rob Halford, from headliner Judas Priest, (below).
Should you prefer a refund, we also wish to state that full, face value refunds will be available to everyone who has already purchased a BLOODSTOCK 2020 ticket from official sellers and assure you of our best efforts to process those refunds within 28 days, where possible. We have a lot to sort out, so please bear with us – everyone who has purchased a ticket already from Seetickets will be emailed in the next 7-14 days.
We are also updating our website and have launched a new page to answer your questions about refunds & the roll-over process here.
While we understand the current financial climate is difficult for many, we sincerely hope you will decide to join us to celebrate BLOODSTOCK next year. As an independent, family run festival, we wish to extend our deepest appreciation for your continued and loyal support.
We know we are privileged to have such a strong BLOODSTOCK community, and as a united family of heavy metal fans, we WILL prevail.
Vicky, Adam, Rachael, Paul, and all at Team BLOODSTOCK.”
Jimmy Kay from Canada’s The Metal Voicespoke with Lee Payne bassist and leader of the N.W.O.B.H.M. band Cloven Hoof.
Payne spoke about the bands new album ‘Age of Steel’, how Judas Priest’s Rob Halford and Led Zeppelin’sRobert Plant helped the band in the early days and the the bands back catalog.
What is the musical direction of the new album Age of Steel from the last album?
” The musical direction was a natural progression from the (last album) ‘Who Mourns for the Morning Star.’ The last album did so well it got us our first headline tour of America, so when we did the ‘Age of Steel’ album it worked like a charm because we all had that experience on the road together now on the new album. I felt quite a bit of pressure though (writing the new album) because when you release a really good album, the expectations are really high on the next one. So we had to dig deep on the new album and I wanted it to be everything that Cloven Hoof does really well. We have some songs on the new album that are stand alone and the rest of the album is a mini concept. The concept’s character comes from our second album Dominator (which was a concept album), so we brought the Dominator character back. Hopefully this concept will continue on the next album as well. ”
Did Cloven Hoof Pioneer the Power Metal genre?
“A lot of people think we are pioneers of Power Metal. Back in the day it wasn’t a conscious move there was no such thing as Power Metal. Our songs were sort of epic, muti-time changes, fast and powerful. We sometimes abandoned the contrived verse chorus verse song structures. Our songs sort of tell stories like min movies. As well our songs have various movements which help tell the story.”
How did Robert Plant and Rob Halford help the band in the early days?
“We were aired on Radio One BBC, the Tommy Vance Show Rob Halford from Judas Priest took our demo tape in and Robert Plant did as well. The BBC offered us a session, Neat Records heard us and then they offered us a deal for the debut album. ”
“How it happened was Rob Halford was doing an interview on one of the local radio stations and at the time we did not have a singer, so we wanted the radio station to announce it on the air (looking for a singer). So we waited for Rob Halford to come out (from the radio station). We were sitting on the wall and Rob came out and we told him we got a demo tape and we cant find a singer. He liked our attitude so we all went back into the radio station and he listened to our demo tape. Halford was blown away and he said when you get a singer I want to listen to this and I gave him my number. I thought Rob Halford was not going to call me back but sure enough when he went on tour with Screaming for Vengeance I got a phone call from him. He was true to his word I couldn’t believe it, Halford said did you get a singer yet? I said yes. So I met him and gave him the tape. He said I am doing Radio 1 Tommy Vance show and I will take it in for you and from there we got a deal to play Radio 1 (BBC). We owe Halford a lot for that one. As for Robert Plant he lived near us, so I found out where his house was and he too said he too would bring the demo tape to BBC Radio 1 Tommy Vance show. So we had both Halford and Plant take our tapes in. So it shows you what kind of people they are, camaraderie giving support to a young band.”
When asked what the band plans on doing with the Coronavirus downtime
“We recorded our set at Bang Your Head Festival, the footage is absolutely breathtaking, recorded in HD 24 cameras involved. So maybe there will be a release of it in June a DVD and a Live CD as a box set. And since we are in isolation we are also going to rehearse for the next album as it is already written and maybe try to get it recorded this year. So next year we can devote to playing live if this terrible virus is gone.”
Jimmy Kay from Canada’s The Metal Voicerecently spoke to JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford. Halford spoke about his latest Christmas album Celestial, his opinions on Judas Priest’s nomination into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and his thoughts on the NEW Three Tremors featuring Ripper Owens, Sean Peck and Harry Conklin.
Watch the interview below.
When asked why he felt the need to do another Christmas album
“This is a special one for me, I’ve got my brother on drums and my nephew on bass and a couple of respective friends on guitars Jon Blakely and Robert Jones. So we kind of wrap this up as Halford family and friends because that’s exactly what it is and it just seems like a great opportunity to work with my immediate family that I wanted to do for years. I was with my family a couple of Christmas’ ago and we were listening to Winter Songs, so I said to them let’s see what we can make in terms of music in this holiday theme together. Write some new songs and add some traditional songs and I got the green light and what a great time we had. The way the record turned out was just phenomenal.”
When asked how you go about writing new Christmas songs
“You know how metal works, as far as the music you’re constantly inspired by what you’re listening to and for us I think the inspiration came from working on these wonderful traditional holiday Christmas classics. These traditional songs have been with us forever and are great songs and will always take a different interpretation. So when I was hearing the songs I said to the guys you know while they’re at this let’s see what we can come up with together in terms of originality. It was just a thrill to have an opportunity to have original tracks which are, Protected By The Light, Donner and Blitzen, Morning Star and Celestial. Those were bonus moments that came out of recording the traditional songs.”
When asked if Judas Priest wins the nomination into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame who will accept the award in terms of band members (ex members)
“I feel we’re going to have to wait until the day quite frankly but it’s Judas Priest in every aspect, in every respect and to be nominated for the second time is a another thrill and an honor for everything that we love about Judas Priest and the fifty years that we’ll have you know I’ve been around as a metal band next year. So whatever turns out will be great for Priests and will be great for metal.
When asked about his thoughts on the NEW Three Tremors, which was his idea years ago
“I know about them and they are wonderful singers and they’re doing something really cool and special. I wish them all the success in the world with it.”
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 