JUDAS PRIEST Holds First ‘Invincible Shield’ U.K. ‘In Conversation’ Event In London: Photos, Video

To celebrate the forthcoming release of their latest album “Invincible Shield”, British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST are holding two special “in conversation” events with a special guest host. The first event took place earlier today (Saturday, March 2) at Pryzm Kingston (with Banquet Records) in London, and the second event will happen on Wednesday, March 6 at Empire (with HMV) in Coventry.

Fan-filmed video and photos of the Pryzm Kingston event can be found below.

“Invincible Shield” will arrive on March 8 via Sony Music.

As previously reported, there will be a global album listening party for “Invincible Shield” on Thursday, March 7 at various metal bars in 30 cities around the world.

If you live near Daytona Beach, you will be able to experience a special JUDAS PRIEST pop-up shop on Saturday, March 9 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Atlantic Sounds, which will be operating out of a custom JUDAS PRIEST military combat truck — “an invincible shield on wheels” — playing the album to the more than 500,000 attendees at Daytona Bike Week. Harley-Davidson will be leading a 100-biker brigade from Orlando to Daytona at 9 a.m. ET.

In a recent interview with Metal Hammer magazine, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford stated about “Invincible Shield”: “When [PRIEST guitarists] Glenn [Tipton] and Richie [Faulkner] and myself get in a room, like PRIEST have always done, as a three-piece — two guitar players and a singer — that’s the metal magic. All of that energy, all of that youthful exuberance was still there in those initial writing sessions.”

Regarding the PRIEST songwriting process, Halford told Kerrang! magazine: “It’s not easy — it absolutely isn’t easy. There’s always been a load of ideas, and I’m always grabbing my recorder and catching something they’re noodling around with. But to actually grab on to something that’s going to have value, and really going to do the business, it’s like digging for gold.”

He added: “You’re testing yourself more than anything else. Can we still do it? You don’t really know anything about that side of who you are until you get into writing mode. Sometimes you just know when you’ve got something really special and of substance, and that’s when you go and record. We’re not making records because the label are asking for one more album on the contract. Nothing to do with that — it’s because of this real, genuine love and desire for making more metal.”

Bassist Ian Hill is the sole remaining original member of PRIEST, which formed in 1969. Halford joined the group in 1973 and Tipton signed on in 1974. Rob left PRIEST in the early 1990s to form his own band, then came back to PRIEST in 2003. Original guitarist K.K. Downing parted ways with the band in 2011, and was replaced by Faulkner.