Traduza\\ HALFORD On OZZY: He Looks Great, Sounds Great And He Gives His Fans What They Want

John Benson of The Vindicator recently conducted an interview with JUDAS PRIEST/HALFORD frontman Rob Halford. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

The Vindicator: What tracks stand out as defining the "Made of Metal" album?

Halford: The opening cut, "Undisputed", I see as being in the metal spirit. When I'm talking about the undisputed champion, I'm talking about the survival of heavy-metal music for all of these decades. So that's important to me. That's connecting in the set.

The Vindicator: What's up with the NASCAR race car on the album cover?

Halford: I know a little bit about NASCAR. I like to watch it. It's a tremendously exciting and dangerous sport. So when it came time for the cover, it's like, "Do you want to stand there with a shield and a sword or be in a forest or standing in burning embers?" These are almost the clichéd metal-album covers. So I'm trying to put a different angle on an idea.

The Vindicator: Here we are four decades later, and two of metal's biggest names are sharing the stage. How long have you and Ozzy Osbourne been friends?

Halford: I don't know; we go way back. We come from the same town in West Midlands in Birmingham, and we've known each other for a long time. He's a good friend of mine. We've traveled very similar journeys, musically at least. So we're good friends. We don't have to say much when we see each other because we've been in a somewhat parallel universe to some degree. He's a wonderful guy, and I'm so happy for him because he's got this great record out. This is his first big tour in a long time. He looks great, sounds great, puts on a great show, and gives his fans what they want.