Rob Halford Names Next Two Metal Acts Rock Hall Should Induct

Rob Halford of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Judas Priest had much love for upcoming inductee Ozzy Osbourne’s solo career, but also dropped the next two metal bands he feels the Rock Hall should induct while speaking with Full Metal Jackie for her weekend radio show.

“Let’s get Maiden in … and Motorhead,” suggested Halford. “There’s a long list. But those are the two that jump out immediately.”

While Rob noted the tremendous career of the two legendary bands, he also revealed the up-and-coming groups he’s been loving of late and even gave us a review of Turnstile after  catching them from the side of the stage in a recent viral video with James Hetfield.

During the chat, Rob also examined the two ends of the spectrum of Judas Priest’s career. He spoke on the positive returns from their Invincible Shield album and how they’ve been able to maintain such excellence this far into their career while also reflecting on the journey of Priest as a young band and their hopes while making their debut album, Rocka Rolla 50 years ago.

Check out more of the chat below:

It’s Full Metal Jackie bringing you the one and only Metal God himself, Mr. Rob Halford. Rob and Judas Priest are continuing their support of the Invincible Shield album on tour in the States this fall. And Rob, Invincible Shield has gotten some of the better reviews of the band’s career. Is there a secret to keeping that level of excellence going this far into your career?

I think it’s just the fact that we keep reflecting on all of the great opportunities we’ve had from the very beginning with Rocka Rolla, which incidentally, fans are going to have a nice little experience from Rocka Rolla all the way through. We’ve never kind of left the foot get off the gas pedal.

We’ve always been aware of the things that we searched out to achieve and do and we never kept re-experiencing the past too much into a repetitive kind of mode. This band has always been looking for new things to do and we’ve talked about this before, Jackie, Judas Priest can be your “Painkiller” or we can be your “Turbo Lover.” We’ve just broken down all the walls that ever existed in metal from day one to pursue every, every musical adventure that we possibly can.I think that’s what’s carried us so strongly through to where we are with this great ongoing celebration for Invincible Shield.

This time it’s the epitome of loving, living, breathing, everything in the heavy metal world.

Judas Priest, “Crown of Horns”

Rob, you live in Phoenix and have toured the U.S. countless times over the years. Are there certain cities or locations you look forward to now because of the attractions they provide when you come through? Are there must stop eating places, shopping, adventures you’re looking forward to that break up the monotony of life on the road?

As you get older, food gets more important. I’ve discovered that when we go past a certain fast food chain or stop the bus and we’re gonna dive in and grab something to eat … What’s the famous truck stop? Chuckies. Not Chuckies. Oh, I can’t think of the name. Anyway, there’s a very famous truck stock that we always have to stop by.

But I tell you, Jackie, every single place the Judas priest has the opportunity to play at, for our metal maniacs in America, everything’s on the same level field equally. Every place seems to offer something a little bit different in the receptive sense and in the memories that you create. And that’s the joy of this band.

We first came to America in the early ’70s and we just went everywhere. I tell the story that we played from every place from New York to Seattle down to San Diego, across to Miami and every place in between. We just worked our butts off, constantly building up a foundation for Priest across the nation. That’s stuck with us now. So when we do go out, we have to do two or three legs to go and see our metal maniacs, wherever they might be in the United States.

Rob, you recently spoke in another interview recently about the importance of pulling the audience in with tracks one, two and three on an album. In today’s singles driven culture. what are your thoughts on how the album format is valued today? Is telling a collective story something that will always be part of what Judas Priest is. And do you feel we’re missing out on some of that in the way music is marketed these days?

I would say for the most part, bands still understand the reality that an album release really gives your fans the full exploration on the metal table, so to speak, of what you’re about and what you’re doing in terms of representing yourself at this particular moment.

I love songs that fly out from different bands. I was listening to a band today called Chained Saint from Florida. They just dropped a track from a recent album. And what it does, a single song can draw you in towards the album experience.

So it works for both sides. But I do feel that by definition, especially if a band is looking for a long life, an album is a very important part to keep in the structure of who you are and the journey that you’re on.

Rob, you have one of the great voices of metal. I’m curious if, when you were getting started if you ever considered any other style of music or were you kind of naturally wired into singing and working toward heavy music?

As a little kid, when I heard Little Richard going “Be, bup, bloom, boom.” And then Elvis and all of those other greats, it just hit a spark in me, even as a young person. So when I discovered this voice, I was drawn to all the extreme areas of what the voice can achieve and do.

When I turned in to [Robert] Plant and to [Ian] Gillan, they helped me discover the possibilities that the voice has got. So that’s still my comfort zone. The more I scream, the more comfortable I feel as a professional. Because I’m getting a certain technique and a certain expression out of my voice that does good things for me.

I think this is an important part of who we are as musicians. You could ask the same question to a drummer or to a guitar player, because the way that they’re performing really is a really profound expression of how they’re feeling about the music that they created. And so, for me, the extremes of singing is always where I feel I’m in my best place.

Rob, we are currently marking the 50th anniversary of Rocka Rolla. That’s lots of history that has passed since then. What were your initial hopes, thinking back to working on that album, of where your career might go? Like, if I were to say, in my wildest dreams, I never imagined blank would happen to me, what would the answer be?

That I would still be in this glorious heavy metal band over 50 years later? Because you never know. That’s the kind of the chaos and the uncertainty of rock and roll. There’s nothing given in this profession. You cannot say how long anything is going to last, because that’s how rock and roll works. I use rock and roll in the broadest definition.

So for us, as a band, to work the night shift at Violence Studios in London in the early ’70s, to put Rocka Rolla together and then go back and sleep in the van during the summer months because we barely got two cents to rub together, but we made that album that instilled this whole philosophy of metal – never give up, never give in, never surrender.

That exists throughout the metal community from day one. And so I would say that there by the grace of God go we as a band. We’re so full of gratitude to all of our beautiful fans that have kept us thriving on this never ending journey.

So believe in it. Believing in something is so important. It’s better to live your life believing in something than dying for nothing.

I cannot agree more.

Judas Priest, “Rocka Rolla”

Rob recently video of yourself and James Hetfield catching Turnstile in concert from the side of the stage made the internet rounds. First of all, what was your review after catching Turnstile live? And secondly, knowing you’ve always been a champion of music, what else from the younger generation of bands is currently on your radar?

Well, I just mentioned one, this band Chained Saint band from Florida. There’s another really good band out of London in the U.K. called Tailgunner. Check them both out.

But I went up to the stage just to see this band Turnstile and there was James. I’m like “James, what’s up, dude?” He’s like “Yeah, I’ve got to check this band out. I’ve heard so much about them.”

This is what we do. We’re always standing on the side of a stage when we get the chance to see what’s happening. They’re just a great band. They’re doing some very cool, unusual things in their definition of their music that they play. So we’re always checking each other out. That’s what bands have been doing since day one. We thrive on each other’s creativity and energy.

READ MORE: Rob Halford + James Hetfield Rock Out to Turnstile at Festival

Rob, you’ve now had your Rock and Roll hall of Fame experience. I know you’ve spoken about your love and respect for Ozzy Osbourne and being bummed he had a pull out of Power Trip last year. With Ozzy getting inducted for his solo work this year, what are your thoughts on getting more metal representation in and Ozzy getting his due and who else from metal should go in?

Ozzy, we love him, don’t we? He deserves his solo moment, because if you look at his tenure, in his solo experiences, they need to be recognized. It’s overdue. So I’m very, very happy for Ozzy to get this great moment for him in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

So, yeah, let’s get more metal in there. Let’s get Maiden in … and Motorhead. Sorry, and Motorhead. There’s a long list. But those are the two that jump out immediately.

Obviously we have this tour, but what’s on the horizon for Judas Priest and yourself? I know you’ve always got a million things you’re doing.

There’s just this wonderful, wonderful renaissance going around, not only for Priest, but for metal in general, for bands that were there from the start. Our good friends Saxon, who we worked with recently in Europe, we were selling out places all over Europe. Not only are there fans of the band, but there are also people that were maybe on the outside looking in saying I’m going to check this out.

Why is this happening now? Why is there such a buzz about these bands? And so we’re thriving on that. Again, we’re so grateful and honored and humbled to be in this place all these years later and still have this thing called relevance.

We’re a relevant heavy metal band that’s not living on their past glories. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But we’ve always felt that who we are and what we’re about is representative of what we’re doing and saying now. So to have this glorious experience with Invincible Shield and it’s not dissipating. There’s still tremendous love and interest for that particular album and this band. So we’re just out there roaring away, giving you all of these great moments from Priest, right from the beginning of our metal lives to where we are right now with Invincible Shield.

Looking forward to this tour and everything beyond. Rob, I just cannot thank you enough for being on the show and being an amazing force flying that flag out there and I just love you. I don’t know what else to say.

Thank you. Love you too, Jackie. Love everybody for tuning in. Thanks so much. The Priest is back once again. Come and catch us as we go out on this final American leg with our good friends Sabaton. Stay hard, stay heavy. Stay metal with Full Metal Jackie.

Thanks to Judas Priest’s Rob Halford for the interview. Stay up to date with the band’s touring and get ticketing info through their website. You can also follow them on Facebook, X and Instagram. Plus, Rob’s own Instagram and Facebook are enjoyable follows as well. Find out where you can hear Full Metal Jackie’s weekend radio show here.