Few people in metal have been as influential as Rob Halford, best known for his work as frontman for Judas Priest. The metal god recently spoke with FasterLouder about life, metal, and art.
Metal God Entertainment, Rob Halfords own label, has been recently established. The first release on this label was Metal God Essentials Volume 1, and it contains material recorded by both the Halford band and Fight. Metal God Entertainment was established by Halford to enable him to try and keep his music still connected in some way, partly because Sanctuary Records (on which releases Resurrection and Crucible were released) were shifting and changing their business operations. As Halford says, everything hes ever done right back to the first Priest album is still available, and he wanted to try and keep his music out there.
It shows that theres a need for it, and a want for it, you know? I feel that everything that Ive tried to do in music has got longevity attached to it, that everything Ive endeavoured to achieve has got some length of lifespan. So thats why I decided to keep that music out there. And the reason that I put Metal God Entertainment together was just a way of keeping it closer to me, controlling where it went, and so forth.
The recent deal struck between Halford and Australias Riot!Entertainment will see further Metal God Entertainment releases coming our way. This deal was a great coup for Riot!, particularly given the fact that huge numbers of people were approaching Halford once the word went out about what he was looking for in a distro company.
The people at Riot! are just brilliant, you know? I mean, theyre just totally into metal, and for me thats important. Theyre Rob Halford fans, theyre Judas Priest fans. Theyre really genuine guys and you can sense that. So Im absolutely delighted to have this first release going out through Riot! Its going fantastically well.
Despite the fact that Halford is now releasing material himself, he still acknowledges the importance of labels. Judas Priest, for example, are signed with Sony/BMG, and their relationship with that label is very strong. But as each artist is different, and as each artists needs are different, not all labels are going to meet that artists requirements.
But being involved in the industry side of things hasnt always interested Halford. When he started out, he couldnt care less for the business side of the music industry being more interested in writing, recording, performing, and touring. But the integration into the business side of things was a natural progression for him. In terms of the music industry, Halford had some advice for young bands about getting into, and coping with, the industry.
First of all, make sure youve got a great manager. Secondly, make sure you have a lawyer that you can trust, if you dont trust your manager. And just take a little bit of time and effort to see what makes it tick and click. Theres a lot of wheeling and dealing that goes on in the business and you really need to know how to deal with that, and to get the best back from what you put in. Coz thats the saddest part. Youre working really hard as a performer/writer/so-on and so-forth, and youre not getting back something that you really feel that you deserve. And a lot of bands do deserve more than they get back. You need to take a little bit of time out and figure out the basic issues. And be aware that youre absolutely married to that and youve got to make it work, otherwise theres going to be a problem.
Record companies and management can really influence bands very strongly, especially if theyre young bands, and if they strike a good success. Sometimes this happens to the point where bands, having tasted success once or twice, are encouraged some might say, pressured to try to repeat that performance. While it might make them a pack of money, it can result in bands who start writing material for the people who buy it and listen to it, rather than for themselves. Its a trap, but an easy one to fall into. And its one that Halford cautions bands to be aware of.
I think you do have to write for yourself, which sounds very selfish, but I think thats what all creative people do. Youre dealing with this instinct, this primal urge that youve got to fulfil these dreams and desires. And then, if youre lucky enough, youll get other people around the world attracted to what you make.
Rob Halford has definitely been lucky in this respect, but despite his success and fame with some releases going gold or multi-platinum he hasnt been tempted to start writing material that he thinks the fans might want. A large factor in his ability to avoid such a large pitfall of successful releases, has been his own integrity as an artist.
I think, once you get stuck in the rut of thinking about the back-end of the financial side of what you do, um, I think I just couldnt do that. Id rather do something else for a living, quite frankly, if I was forced into that situation. Youve got to be able to put your head on the pillow at night and think good about what youve done that day as a writer, as a recorder, as a performer, you know? And Im able to do that.
Walking hand-in-hand with his own integrity as an artist is Rob Halfords responsibilities as The Metal God. A title that was bestowed upon him years ago by the fans, and which Halford used to see as a bit of fluff, superfluous fun, it is a title that makes him take his work very seriously. Having such an exalted title and exalted it is, especially if you know how fickle metal fans can be, and how defensive of their heroes they often are is a reality check for Halford, but one that comes burdened with expectation.
Its like being a great cricket player in Australia, or a soccer player, you know. People tend to look at you with expectation, and youve got to deliver. Now I think more about it [the title] and, you know, when I step up to the mike to record, like Ive been doing on Nostradamus, its like this is The Metal God singing into this microphone. Just make sure what you put down into that mike is what you expect of yourself and what your fans want to hear from you. You cant take it easy just because youve got a platinum record. If anything it makes you tougher, and stronger. Thats the challenge that I think you need to accept in life, no matter what you do.
Those of the readers out there who might have surfed the web for information about Halford or any of his projects, will have discovered that he has an enormous web presence. While this is administered from a central office in Phoenix, Halford has his finger continually on the pulse and sees the internet as one of the greatest inventions, even if he didnt quite understand it at first.
I couldnt really understand it when the internet was invented, I just couldnt get my head round it. I thought it just worked in your town or something. And then I suddenly realised it was this, like, web, that went around the world for everybody and Im like, god, this is unbelievable!. I check it throughout the day. No matter where I am in the world I can jump on and see what the fans are talking about in the Quorum and what theyre posting and so forth. I cherish it. I think its a very important part of what you do in the music world.
The internet has also seen new ways of working for Halford. Writing material always is, and always has been, a team effort for him. In Judas Priest, all the material is written by Halford, Glenn, and KK: they get together at the start of a day and see what they can create. But with the Halford band the process has to be different, because of the different locations in which the band members are located.
Metal Mikes in New Jersey, Roy Zs in LA, and Im wherever I am in the world. The guts of the music are put together by Roy and Mike, and they just send me the media files over the internet, and I listen to em and we put ideas together that way. Which is an unusual and unorthodox method of doing it, but it works for us.
As a man who has been right through the evolution of metal, having seen the rise and fall, and resurgence, of genres, Rob Halford has seen many great things. When I asked him what sort of a sense he gets about himself when he looks back on his professional and artistic life, he told me that doing a retrospective is really difficult with music. Unlike other media, it doesnt necessarily leave behind tangibles such as photographs or even video but when you have them, they speak so much louder than anything else.
If you can look at old videos and photographs, thats when you are really kind of able to see where youve been and what youve done. And its just mind-boggling! Absolutely mind-boggling! You know, I looked at early, really early, primitive, video of Judas Priest in Japan in 1976? 7? on YouTube, and I cant believe its me. Its like another person. But I think what I do, for the most part, is I let the past live for itself and stand up for what it may represent. I just let the past go and move on.
Yet he does look back at past projects occasionally. One of the questions I threw at Halford, was what he considers his most underrated project to be. He responded that it was the Tomb record, recorded in collaboration with Trent Reznor, of Nine Inch Nails fame.
I would love for this to get a second chance, enthused Halford. With Trent, he tends to write music that is just so advanced in terms of construction and production. So Im hoping that with Metal God Essentials Volume Two people will be able to get an earful of that music, coz theres some good stuff on there.
Australian readers will be begging to know by now if Halford is going to tour out here in the near future with Judas Priest. Those readers will be very happy to know that there is an Aussie tour on the cards for 2008.
Absolutely. We need to come to Australia. Priest was there with Ripper, had a great time. I was there with Fight in the 90s, had a brilliant time. And weve got a really strong, passionate, support following in and all around Australia, and people have been very patient waiting for us. So were working on putting some tour dates in, and hopefully by the early part of next year, if you go to www.judaspriest.com, youll be able to see when and where well be coming. But were definitely coming to Australia.
And to all those fans of Priest and Halford out there, the Metal God had this to say:
Thank you for being cool about the fact that we just havent been there as often as wed like to. And thank you for looking after us and listening to our music, and playing our DVDs. Well be back to give you the real deal as soon as we can next year.
Halfords Metal God Essentials Volume One is out now on Metal God Entertainment/Riot. Stay tuned for the new Judas Priest release, Nostradamus which will be released sometime in 2008.
Metal God Entertainment, Rob Halfords own label, has been recently established. The first release on this label was Metal God Essentials Volume 1, and it contains material recorded by both the Halford band and Fight. Metal God Entertainment was established by Halford to enable him to try and keep his music still connected in some way, partly because Sanctuary Records (on which releases Resurrection and Crucible were released) were shifting and changing their business operations. As Halford says, everything hes ever done right back to the first Priest album is still available, and he wanted to try and keep his music out there.
It shows that theres a need for it, and a want for it, you know? I feel that everything that Ive tried to do in music has got longevity attached to it, that everything Ive endeavoured to achieve has got some length of lifespan. So thats why I decided to keep that music out there. And the reason that I put Metal God Entertainment together was just a way of keeping it closer to me, controlling where it went, and so forth.
The recent deal struck between Halford and Australias Riot!Entertainment will see further Metal God Entertainment releases coming our way. This deal was a great coup for Riot!, particularly given the fact that huge numbers of people were approaching Halford once the word went out about what he was looking for in a distro company.
The people at Riot! are just brilliant, you know? I mean, theyre just totally into metal, and for me thats important. Theyre Rob Halford fans, theyre Judas Priest fans. Theyre really genuine guys and you can sense that. So Im absolutely delighted to have this first release going out through Riot! Its going fantastically well.
Despite the fact that Halford is now releasing material himself, he still acknowledges the importance of labels. Judas Priest, for example, are signed with Sony/BMG, and their relationship with that label is very strong. But as each artist is different, and as each artists needs are different, not all labels are going to meet that artists requirements.
But being involved in the industry side of things hasnt always interested Halford. When he started out, he couldnt care less for the business side of the music industry being more interested in writing, recording, performing, and touring. But the integration into the business side of things was a natural progression for him. In terms of the music industry, Halford had some advice for young bands about getting into, and coping with, the industry.
First of all, make sure youve got a great manager. Secondly, make sure you have a lawyer that you can trust, if you dont trust your manager. And just take a little bit of time and effort to see what makes it tick and click. Theres a lot of wheeling and dealing that goes on in the business and you really need to know how to deal with that, and to get the best back from what you put in. Coz thats the saddest part. Youre working really hard as a performer/writer/so-on and so-forth, and youre not getting back something that you really feel that you deserve. And a lot of bands do deserve more than they get back. You need to take a little bit of time out and figure out the basic issues. And be aware that youre absolutely married to that and youve got to make it work, otherwise theres going to be a problem.
Record companies and management can really influence bands very strongly, especially if theyre young bands, and if they strike a good success. Sometimes this happens to the point where bands, having tasted success once or twice, are encouraged some might say, pressured to try to repeat that performance. While it might make them a pack of money, it can result in bands who start writing material for the people who buy it and listen to it, rather than for themselves. Its a trap, but an easy one to fall into. And its one that Halford cautions bands to be aware of.
I think you do have to write for yourself, which sounds very selfish, but I think thats what all creative people do. Youre dealing with this instinct, this primal urge that youve got to fulfil these dreams and desires. And then, if youre lucky enough, youll get other people around the world attracted to what you make.
Rob Halford has definitely been lucky in this respect, but despite his success and fame with some releases going gold or multi-platinum he hasnt been tempted to start writing material that he thinks the fans might want. A large factor in his ability to avoid such a large pitfall of successful releases, has been his own integrity as an artist.
I think, once you get stuck in the rut of thinking about the back-end of the financial side of what you do, um, I think I just couldnt do that. Id rather do something else for a living, quite frankly, if I was forced into that situation. Youve got to be able to put your head on the pillow at night and think good about what youve done that day as a writer, as a recorder, as a performer, you know? And Im able to do that.
Walking hand-in-hand with his own integrity as an artist is Rob Halfords responsibilities as The Metal God. A title that was bestowed upon him years ago by the fans, and which Halford used to see as a bit of fluff, superfluous fun, it is a title that makes him take his work very seriously. Having such an exalted title and exalted it is, especially if you know how fickle metal fans can be, and how defensive of their heroes they often are is a reality check for Halford, but one that comes burdened with expectation.
Its like being a great cricket player in Australia, or a soccer player, you know. People tend to look at you with expectation, and youve got to deliver. Now I think more about it [the title] and, you know, when I step up to the mike to record, like Ive been doing on Nostradamus, its like this is The Metal God singing into this microphone. Just make sure what you put down into that mike is what you expect of yourself and what your fans want to hear from you. You cant take it easy just because youve got a platinum record. If anything it makes you tougher, and stronger. Thats the challenge that I think you need to accept in life, no matter what you do.
Those of the readers out there who might have surfed the web for information about Halford or any of his projects, will have discovered that he has an enormous web presence. While this is administered from a central office in Phoenix, Halford has his finger continually on the pulse and sees the internet as one of the greatest inventions, even if he didnt quite understand it at first.
I couldnt really understand it when the internet was invented, I just couldnt get my head round it. I thought it just worked in your town or something. And then I suddenly realised it was this, like, web, that went around the world for everybody and Im like, god, this is unbelievable!. I check it throughout the day. No matter where I am in the world I can jump on and see what the fans are talking about in the Quorum and what theyre posting and so forth. I cherish it. I think its a very important part of what you do in the music world.
The internet has also seen new ways of working for Halford. Writing material always is, and always has been, a team effort for him. In Judas Priest, all the material is written by Halford, Glenn, and KK: they get together at the start of a day and see what they can create. But with the Halford band the process has to be different, because of the different locations in which the band members are located.
Metal Mikes in New Jersey, Roy Zs in LA, and Im wherever I am in the world. The guts of the music are put together by Roy and Mike, and they just send me the media files over the internet, and I listen to em and we put ideas together that way. Which is an unusual and unorthodox method of doing it, but it works for us.
As a man who has been right through the evolution of metal, having seen the rise and fall, and resurgence, of genres, Rob Halford has seen many great things. When I asked him what sort of a sense he gets about himself when he looks back on his professional and artistic life, he told me that doing a retrospective is really difficult with music. Unlike other media, it doesnt necessarily leave behind tangibles such as photographs or even video but when you have them, they speak so much louder than anything else.
If you can look at old videos and photographs, thats when you are really kind of able to see where youve been and what youve done. And its just mind-boggling! Absolutely mind-boggling! You know, I looked at early, really early, primitive, video of Judas Priest in Japan in 1976? 7? on YouTube, and I cant believe its me. Its like another person. But I think what I do, for the most part, is I let the past live for itself and stand up for what it may represent. I just let the past go and move on.
Yet he does look back at past projects occasionally. One of the questions I threw at Halford, was what he considers his most underrated project to be. He responded that it was the Tomb record, recorded in collaboration with Trent Reznor, of Nine Inch Nails fame.
I would love for this to get a second chance, enthused Halford. With Trent, he tends to write music that is just so advanced in terms of construction and production. So Im hoping that with Metal God Essentials Volume Two people will be able to get an earful of that music, coz theres some good stuff on there.
Australian readers will be begging to know by now if Halford is going to tour out here in the near future with Judas Priest. Those readers will be very happy to know that there is an Aussie tour on the cards for 2008.
Absolutely. We need to come to Australia. Priest was there with Ripper, had a great time. I was there with Fight in the 90s, had a brilliant time. And weve got a really strong, passionate, support following in and all around Australia, and people have been very patient waiting for us. So were working on putting some tour dates in, and hopefully by the early part of next year, if you go to www.judaspriest.com, youll be able to see when and where well be coming. But were definitely coming to Australia.
And to all those fans of Priest and Halford out there, the Metal God had this to say:
Thank you for being cool about the fact that we just havent been there as often as wed like to. And thank you for looking after us and listening to our music, and playing our DVDs. Well be back to give you the real deal as soon as we can next year.
Halfords Metal God Essentials Volume One is out now on Metal God Entertainment/Riot. Stay tuned for the new Judas Priest release, Nostradamus which will be released sometime in 2008.
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