Rob Halford Interview: It’s All About Being Fearless

By: Rob Cavuoto

Photo Credit: Rob Cavuoto

As the singer of Judas Priest, Rob Halford’s blazing vocal style became a crucial ingredient to Heavy Metal’s most classic moments, while visually Rob’s aggressive styled stage costumes were globally embraced as the definitive metal look. There are plenty of reason why Rob is widely referred to as The Metal God, as few others have contributed more, or influenced so many, as Halford with his signature sound and imagery.

Rob’s solo band, Halford, was formed in 1999 and has churned out three text book metal CDs with Crucible in 2000, Crucible in 2002, and now his latest release Halford IV Made Of Metal, featuring fourteen new studio tracks.

Robert Cavuoto had a chance to catch up with Rob while on tour with his old pal Ozzy to get an up close and personal look into his latest release, as well as discuss what the future holds for the Metal God.

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Rob Cavuoto: How’s the tour with Ozzy going so far?

Rob Halford: It’s been incredible. Ozzy and I have known each other forever. I usually catch a few of his songs every night, and he’s just amazing to watch, giving his best every show. His band is killer and Gus G is a great guitar player.

As a matter of fact, Gus often comes by to our dressing room to hang out with Metal Mike and talk about guitars. My band is red hot. After a number of shows, everything is starting to click in a special way. It’s going great for us.

Rob C: Halford IV Made of Metal is a fantastic CD, with lots of different musical styles and offering fans a wide variety of song types. What was the thinking behind this approach?

Rob Halford: You’re probably aware from the liner notes that I did a lot of writing, I haven’t done that for ages. It seems like I’m in that place where I’ve seen or done almost everything. I feel like I’m enjoying myself more and there are no restrictions. No obligations or necessities to cover. I’m writing from the heart which is the best way to do it.

You know what the business is like, you get side tracked on what you can do and which song management wants you to do. Those are important things to listen to, but at the end of the day, if you keep the music coming from the purest source possible then special things happen. I think this is what happened for this release.

Rob C: In your opinion, what makes your last three solo CDs, Resurrection, Crucible, and now Made of Metal, so different?

Rob Halford: Resurrection was a more thought out record, it was a bridge back to a lot of things that I thought were important to connect to. By the time I got to Crucible the band had grown, and we were able to exchange ideas with each other and understood the opportunities more clearly. Crucible was a more serious record, a stronger record musically in my opinion. It was also an angry record.

If I think back when I was writing Made of Metal, I was able to explore all things inside of me as singer and writer to develop something that’s not too complicated, something simple with a straight forward song structure. The Beatles started off with simple stuff like “I Love You Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.” Look at Nirvana their music was simplistic and straight forward. You can’t go wrong really when you write in that manner.

Photo Credit: Rob Cavuoto

Rob C: What are the chances that Priest may do a more commercial, straight forward sounding CD?

Rob Halford: Priest is an amazing band. One minute you can be British Steel, the next you can be Painkiller, the next Nostradamus. I haven’t got a clue to be perfectly honest. Glenn Tipton, KK Downing and I have been writing as a trio since British Steel and we never really know what we’re going to do next. Nostradamus was the only record where we knew in advance what we were going to set up. So who knows what the next one is going to be like. It’s exciting to not know.

Rob C: I take it that “Twenty Five Years” is a song about the battle with your past additions. It reads like on opened letter to the people you care about. Was that the intent?

Rob Halford: Yeah, I didn’t know if I should address that subject. I talked to Roy Z my producer and he reinforced that I wrote the lyrics, the CDs got my name on it and it’s really up to me if I want to share it. He told me that it was an important subject and if I feel like I’m ready to say what’s on my mind I should do so.

Roy encouraged me to go to that place where I can be honest with my personal statements and music. This is about as honest as I can be with everything I was going through, and am still going through.

Rob C: Being such a personal and honest song, were you worried how it would be perceived?

Rob Halford: I really thought people were going to hate that track. It’s turning out to be a favorite song on the CD. I’m happy if anyone connects to the songs on the CD but particularly that one.

When I wrote it, I didn’t want the song to sound self indulgent. I didn’t want it to sound “Oh woe is me.” So I kept writing and writing and found the important points.

It’s funny really, music is all about emotions. Now when I listen back to it I’m still very detached from it. It sounds like someone else signing about what I was going through. Which is bizarre, but it’s how I feel.

Rob C: One of my favorite songs is “The Matador,” not only because of the music, but the straight forward story line. It’s not like anything I have heard from you before, what’s back story on it?

Rob Halford: I’m glad you made that point, because that’s where I’m at right now, the quest for something I haven’t done before. I haven’t written a lyric like it until this song. The story is kind of interesting; I was watching a PBS documentary on this guy who goes around the state of California meeting people and getting their stories. This episode he was talking about the gold rush in California. After that, I started watching the news and they showed a clip of the running of the bulls in Spain.

Like most musicians, something goes off and you say what if I wrote a story about the California gold rush and bull fighting? Everything starts with an idea. We’re just looking for a seed or germ that sparks a lyric. That’s what sparked the lyrics for me with “The Matador.” I love the character; he’s almost like a cartoon. That’s what I love about metal.

It can Spinal Tap one minute or very serious the next. You have to be fearless and not worry about what other people think or may say. You just have to let it go. You have no control at the end of it all. You have no understanding of where it is going to go or what it’s going to do. That’s the way I think you should treat all music.

Rob C: With so many rock stars like Steven Tyler, Gene Simmons, Bret Michaels and Ozzy doing reality show and books have you put any though into doing either?

Rob Halford: I’ve been approached for both and I said I’m not ready yet. I do lie awake sometimes at 4 am thinking about my life going “that would be a great chapter!” Then there is another side of me that says, “Fuck off,” it’s my private life. You have no reason to put your nose into it.

Then there is yet another part of me that says you have been given this life by the people that support you, been by your side and deserve a look to my life’s experiences. I’m not really settled yet on what my decision would be. If I did move ahead in the book world, I think it would be a really interested read.

Rob C: If you were to do a reality show, would it be serious or comical in nature?

Rob Halford: I haven’t thought about that, but the comical side could be interesting. It’s good to have a few laughs about life. It doesn’t always have to be so serious. So who knows, I never rule anything out? I always have an open mind.

Rob C: When the time is right and you’re working on the last chapter of your book, reflecting back on your life, what do you want to be remembered for?

Rob Halford: [Laughing] Why am I laughing – I don’t know? You know when you watch planes going across the sky and they leave that vapor trail, I would like to think that what I’m leaving behind is trail of metal. A trail of music, good times, and great shows.

All the wonderful events that you share with millions of people. I would go riding off into the sunset not on a horse, but on a Harley Davidson. [Laughing] Either giving the devil signs or the finger!