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 It’s all metal |
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By Andy Laudano |
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This summer the mighty Priest is back on tour, celebrating the 30th anniversary of their revolutionary British Steel album. “We never even thought about it until recently,” Halford recalls. “We were in Germany earlier this year. We knew we were coming back to the States to do a second leg of the American tour, initially in support of Nostradamus, which is still a very important record for us. But then somebody said, “You know, next year is the 30th anniversary of British Steel” and we decided to get the party started early and share it with all our American fans.” As part of the celebration, Judas Priest will be playing the entire British Steel album live on stage for the first time. “British Steel is a very important record for Priest,” Halford states. “It was the one that really broke the band on a national level in America, with tracks like “Breaking the Law” and “Livin’ After Midnight.” It means a lot to us and to our fans, so we’re delighted to be performing all of it live. We’ve never done that before.” Halford is looking forward to doing songs from the album that have rarely if ever been played live before. “I can’t wait to do “Rapid Fire” and “Steeler.” Halford notes. “Some people say that those two tracks were the inspiration behind the thrash metal movement. That’s what the guys from Metallica said. We’re going to burn through the British Steel material. It’s only about 40 minutes long, and then we’ll play some other Priest classics.” Priest has special plans for the actual anniversary date. “We want to put together a really cool package for the fans to enjoy,” Halford explains. “We’re going to be recording all the shows in America on the British Steel live tour. We’ll also be bringing cameras to do a DVD. We’ll make a nice little box set too, to celebrate the official birthday and have it all come out on that particular day next year.” If you can’t wait a whole year to get your hands on a new live Judas Priest CD, don’t worry. Priest’s newest live album, A Touch of Evil: Live comes out July 14. “We recorded all the shows on the Angel of Retribution and Nostradamus tours,” Halford reveals. “We wanted to make a record of material previously unreleased in a live format. What’s really cool is the album turned out so f#cking intense; it’s a really heavy album. Live albums are important because they chronicle the band’s abilities on stage in front of the fans. Even after four decades, you can sense how much we still love what we do, and you can feel it in the performance.” In recent years Halford has also become quite the entrepreneur, starting his own record company, Metal God Entertainment. “I love everything I do with Priest,” Halford relates. “I also have the luxury of doing projects on the side, my solo activities and so forth. Metal God Entertainment is the foundation where Metal God Records has sprung from recently. Besides my solo material, this will provide an outlet for all the young metal talent who might want to submit stuff to it. There’s also a clothing line. Right now, we’re taking baby steps. It’s just T-shirts. We want to move into other areas eventually. All the stuff I’ve ever worn in Priest came from my own ideas, so anything’s possible. I’m just looking to find different ways of staying active in the metal world. These are my golden years as a metal performer, and this is going to help me stay connected to the future. I love it. It’s all metal.” Don’t miss Judas Priest and Whitesnake at Nokia Theater August 13. |
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