Judas Priest

You ought to know that any phrase beginning with the German word "Heil" may be misunderstood outside of Germany... or in Germany, for that matter.
 
My  :blink: had little to do with the use of heil.  Though Perun is sensitive to such things.
 
The combination of (the sound of) Heider and heil sucks. Reminds me of some other Austrian politician. That one is still alive.
 
Be careful what you say, Forostar, or the Governator is going to go back in time and dispose of your mother...before you're even born.
 
Yeah, I was having that thought too. I gave him the benefit of doubt since said Austrian is spelled Haider, but then, our friends in that camp aren't always known for their intellectual capacity...
 
Rob Halford: "We refute any accusation that music can have the power to take someone's life"

RockBand.com recently conducted an interview with Rob Halford and Glenn Tipton about the band's new album, "Nostradamus". You can download the chat in two parts: Part#1, Part#2.


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In a recent interview with the Edmonton Sun, Halford stated about the inspiration behind the new album — which is based on the life and times of controversial 16th-century prophet Nostradamus — "There were similarities to what we've gone through, and probably still go through to some extent in today's metal world. It's that perception of a society that doesn't understand something, or fights it or rejects it. He was going through similar emotional conditions, and we found the correlation of those incidents were kind of strange, to think that he was going through that himself 500 years ago, much like some of the bands have been going through recently in the metal world."

On whether he fully buys into the Nostradamus hype:

"All of us in the band have different feelings about it. Like, if you believe in Nostradamus, do you also believe in UFOs? Are you a ghost hunter? In the end, it's all of these parts of his life that we don't understand — and probably never will — that make him a fascinating character to talk about. And whatever the facts are, the man is still being talked about 500 years later. That in itself was enough to get us involved."

On being named in a 1990 civil suit launched by the parents of two adult fans in Nevada who attempted suicide by shotgun in 1985 (the men's parents tried blaming the deaths on subliminal messages found in a PRIEST tune):

"We flatly refute any accusation or allegations that music of any thought or style can have the power to take someone's life. At the end of the day, that's the individual's choice, and if you're messed up on booze or drugs — or you have some kind of mental instability — that's got to be addressed. But music in and of itself can't kill you and never will."
 
Rob Halford Talks About Heavy Metal Scene's 'Phobia And Intolerance' Of Gay Community

Jim Otey of Pollstar recently conducted an interview with Rob Halford. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Pollstar: Do you think the fact that you've toured so much and not relied on album sales puts you in a better position to weather some of the changes that are going on right now in the business?

Halford: "I think in our mind we still firmly believe we're only as good as the last thing we ever did. So we're always driven. And of course that's been part of our philosophy. As much as I know what you mean with the general condition of the music industry — as we've seen it literally turned upside down on its head with the invention of the Internet — I think that more than ever, we're still determined to get out there as much as we can, on the road, and let people see us in the flesh. I think that the actual touring side of what we do — I mean I keep an eye on Pollstar and I keep an eye on the figures and everything — and I know that right now we're in tough times. There is a worldwide recession and that word has to be addressed. We're all feeling the pinch. And I think that it's up to everybody to try accommodate this climate — in ticket prices or whatever you can do. Having said that though, whenever there are tough times, people run to entertainment. They run to the movie theatre. They make 'Dark Knight' one of the highest-grossing movies in the history of the movie business. And it's the same with concerts. People have the need more than ever, in difficult times, to say, 'Come on. Get in the truck and let's go see PRIEST. Let's go to the movie theatre. Let's just go escape the world that we're in.' So that, I think, is exactly where we're at right now and I hope it doesn't last too much longer. But you have to accommodate and adjust with the times that we live in."

Pollstar: I wanted to tell you personally, as an out gay man myself, how much respect I have for you and for what you did by coming out.

Halford: "Well thank you. Thank you."

Pollstar: Do you have an idea as to why more people in the industry haven't done that? I mean, we know that there are other people in the industry.

Halford: "Yeah, and I think, as you and I have experienced, it's down to your personal needs and wants. Some people are prepared to live their life in kind of an invisible way. There are millions of people like ourselves that keep their lives private and are happy to do that. And there are some of us who realize that if you have the strength — and I do believe it's a matter of strength — you've got to step forward and tell everybody who you are. I mean, you go to places like Amsterdam and it's like, 'What are you talking about? You're gay. So what's that got to do with anything?' I wish all the world was like that, but it's not. I think particularly in metal still, there is a degree of misunderstanding. There's still a degree of phobia and intolerance. But for myself, and for us in PRIEST, we've never really — suffered's not the word — we've never been exposed to that kind of reaction. Because we still have millions of fans that love us. So there you go. Maybe I'm the only — do you know the show 'Little Britain'? Maybe I'm the only gay in the village."

Pollstar: Somehow I doubt that.

Halford: "I'm talking about in metal. Maybe I'm the only singer. I don't know. Maybe somebody else will come forward, maybe somebody won't. That's not part of what I'm about. I'm not really much of a spokesperson. I don't go standing on a box. I'm aware of the significance of it and it makes me feel very humble when I meet people like I did the other night. This guy whispers in my ear, 'You changed my life man' and I said, 'What do you mean?' He said, 'Because of what you did, I was able to come out.' And I thought that was great and we shook hands. You're not aware of the peripheral stuff, but it's all relative. It's all important."

Read the entire interview from Pollstar.
 
I just bought the new Priest album (or perhaps I should say double album) titled Nostradamus.

And it is freakin' EPIC. The album artwork is amazing, the concept is great, and the songs are absolutely ridiculously good. I recently gave Death Magnetic a listen on Metallica.com and this cannot possibly compared (ok, some people would say the styles are so different they can't be compared), but I mean in terms of just quality music. It has such a strong basis, it doesn't feel like Priest is trying to salvage a long lost style but worse and boring, and the songs aren't 8 minutes long without a reason. And Halford certainly doesn't sound like the 50+ man that he is.

So, I'm enjoying it immensely and that's all I wanted to say :p.
 
I listen to that album very rarely, probably once or twice a month.  It really requires concentrated listening to fully appreciate, and I don't want to listen it to the death too soon.
 
Priest's new album I certainly find more magnetic. Glad you like it!

Natalie said:
it doesn't feel like Priest is trying to salvage a long lost style but worse and boring, and the songs aren't 8 minutes long without a reason.

Very well said! Exactly my first impression of both albums.
 
It's true that the Priest album requires a lot of concentration and free time haha, but for me right now it feels like when I first heard the entire Savatage album, The Wake of Magellan. I think those two works are quite comparable, since they enfold as an entire work...but with songs that can be appreciated individually. My favorites from the Priest album are: Prophecy, Exiled, Death, Nostradamus and Future of Mankind.
 
I find that with both Nostradamus and the new Iced Earth album that it's not very rewarding to listen to single songs (more so for IE).  Some songs like Revelations, Persecution, Future of Mankind, and Nostradamus are good listens on their own, but many others are not very interesting when they come up in shuffle mode.  The songs are great when they have their intros and then fade out seamlessly into the next song, and are also nicer lyrically when they come "chronologically" in the space of the larger story. 

Damn, now you've given me an urge to listen to the album again.  Good thing actually, haven't listened to it in a few weeks.  Will do tomorrow.  Hope I'll find something new in it once more; I always seem to do with every listen.
 
Sweden dates for the second leg:

28th February GLOBEN/STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
1st March SCANDINAVIUM/GOTHENBERG, SWEDEN
4th March MALMO ARENA, MALMO, SWEDEN


I'll be going to Globen. Anyone else?
 
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