Don’t call Judas Priest “hard rock,” or else you have to deal with frontman Rob Halford. In a recent interview, the legendary singer was asked about the 50th anniversary of the band’s debut album, Rocka Rolla,” and he made it clear that Judas Priest intended to be a heavy metal band “from day one.”
“Well, we had no idea that 50 years ago, when Judas Priest released Rocka Rolla, that we would be here 50 years later celebrating and keeping and defending the metal faith,” Halford told Victor Rocks of Japan’s Victor Entertainment, as transcribed by Blabbermouth. “It’s been an incredible journey full of so much power and energy and love from our heavy metal maniacs all over the world, especially our Japanese heavy metal maniac family. We love you.”
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Halford then went on to discuss the band’s choice to have producer Tom Allom, a frequent collaborator with the band, to remix Rocka Rolla to celebrate the album’s 50th anniversary.
“The idea to bring Tom Allom into the 50th-anniversary edition of Rocka Rolla was an important one because there were so many elements in the music, in the sound, in the feel of the album that we felt Tom could make great improvements, make the whole album express itself with the power and with the feelings that we had when we were originally making that recording in 1974,” Halford explained. “If there’s a chance to make anything better in life, then you should take it. And that’s what we did with Tom Allom for the new edition of Rocka Rolla.”
Finally, Halford addressed the notion that some fans believe that Judas Priest didn’t actually become heavy metal until after their second album, 1976’s Sad Wings Of Destiny. “When Judas Priest began its metal life all those years ago, we said from day one, ‘We want to be a heavy metal band. We want our sound of heavy metal around the world from the very beginning.’ And that’s what we did when we began with Rocka Rolla.”
“Yes, there’s a different texture and a different experience from Rocka Rolla to Sad Wings Of Destiny,” he continued. “As it is with a lot of bands, your first two or three albums are establishing who you are and what you wanna say with your metal, with your, with your music. And that’s what Judas Priest did with Rocka Rolla.” Halford then double-downed, saying, “Heavy metal from day one. Oh, yeah.”
