Consequence’s Annual Report continues as we interview the legendary Rob Halford, frontman of our Heavy Band of the Year Judas Priest, who released one of our favorite metal and hard rock albums of 2024. You can watch the interview above or via YouTube, and hear the full conversation on the latest episode of our Consequence UNCUT: Annual Report podcast, available exclusively on Amazon Music.
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It’s fitting that Judas Priest had the word “invincible” in their latest album title, because that’s exactly what the band proved to be in 2024 — one of many reasons we’ve named the legendary metal act our Heavy Band of the Year.
Over the past few years, the Priest got hit with one serious health setback after another, but forged on to record and release their excellent 19th studio album, Invincible Shield. Not to mention, their live shows were just as electrifying as ever, with frontman Rob Halford’s soaring vocals in fine form.
Hot off the heels of a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance for the Invincible Shield track “Crown of Horns,” Heavy Consequence caught up with Halford over Zoom to discuss the band’s magical 2024 and congratulate him on being named our Heavy Band of the Year — though the gracious Metal God seems as honored as we are.
“Let me start by saying huge thank you to Consequence for this amazing honor,” Halford tells us as our conversation begins. “You know, these things, they’re not lost on us. They mean a lot. They mean so much in so many ways, and considering the wealth of great bands that have made records this year, it truly is an honor. Thank you so much for choosing Judas Priest.”
A half century into their career, Priest are still running at full throttle. As Halford explains, recognition like this helps keep gas in the tank: “Motivation is part of it. You’ve given us some more motivation [with this honor]. I think all artists thrive on the surroundings that are attached to their creativity. And who doesn’t want to be embraced, and who doesn’t want to have all of our glorious fans and all of our friends in the industry, in the media, shouting, ‘Priest, Priest, Priest!’ It makes you feel good, man.”
He continues, “Yes, this band is firing on all cylinders and more. When we get dressed to go onstage, we’re buzzing. There is so much energy backstage. There is so much desire to out on the stage together… because again, it’s not lost on us, that there’s so much love and respect for each other in this band.”
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As mentioned, Priest have battled their fair share of health issues over the past few years. Guitarist Richie Faulkner had a near-death experience when his aorta ruptured onstage during the band’s 2021 performance at the Louder Than Life festival, undergoing life-saving emergency surgery. A month later, Halford himself revealed a quiet battle with prostate cancer, which is thankfully in remission now. And founding guitarist Glenn Tipton disclosed in 2018 that he is battling Parkinson’s disease, announcing that he would only play occasional shows with the band moving forward.
“If that isn’t what heavy metal is about, I don’t know what is, man,” Halford says of the band’s perseverance. “We go back to the time, in our industry, when heavy metal was a couple of dirty words. Radio wouldn’t play us. There was very little coverage by the media.”
He goes on, saying, “This self-preservation that we have within our metal community is really on display here. I’ve spoken to Richie a million times about this and much like myself, his attitude was, ‘Okay, this has happened to me, I’m going to deal with it. How do I get back onstage?’… In all honesty, I think most people that are dealing with, in this instance, a life or death situation, so many of us refuse to curl up in a ball. We fight, fight, fight.”