For over 30 years Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford has toured the world many time, released over 28 albums in his career, sold million records worldwide, but what keeps this human dynamo motivated and fuelled to rock and more impressively what keeps his voices in such good shape after all these years. Paul Flanaghan hooked up with the Metal God in California to find out and much more…

Rob can you start by explaining to us how the opportunity presented itself to set up your own Label, Music & Film Production company ‘Metal Gods Entertainments'

Yes this has been great it's very unexpected, I never dreamed I'd have my own little heavy metal record company at this point in my career but that's what's happened, as you may know I was able to get my music back from Sanctuary so it's fantastic when you can actually control the destiny of your own metal in that respect and you can decide what you want to do with it and so originally we just stuck it all out on the internet on downloads through Apple itunes through the Halford music store on the website. I always hoped that I'd get a chance to make the CDs and the DVDs but I was not sure how and when it was going to take place so we went through the download experience and that went really well and then we thought why don't we make a CD for all the metal heads around the world, so that's what I thought about and I went to so many different labels, and I thought sod this, let's do it ourselves. So we put Metal God Entertainments together and as you know we have just got our first release, Metal God Essentials Vol.1, which will be coming out in the rest of the world the first week of July. So it's going to be a bit of a slog but I am so excited to actually have that out there, it's great. I mean you're the same as me, we come from the vinyl years and then the cassettes come out, which didn't really do that much against the vinyl, then the CD was invented. I love the vinyl, I love that big cover with the art work on it, but it's that old statement isn't it, you can't stop progress, so you just have to live with what the world brings you and I think that the internet is a fantastic invention.

So are you fully converse with the computer world now?

I am now! I was clueless when I first started out, but I just had to learn, like a lot of us have had to learn how to use these things. And the thing that did my head in the most was the fact that it was always on, you know, every computer could link to billions of other computers around the world, they are all connected, 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week. When I understood that concept I thought this is fucking brilliant for music, but then again it has its down sides with all the illegal downloads which is still a problem but my belief on that is if you are a real fan you know you will buy the CD, buy the T-shirt at the show ... that is what being a fan is really about.

Going back to the new record ‘Metal God Essentials Vol.1' there are 13 tracks on here, your finest cuts from your ‘Fight' and ‘Halford' releases to date along with two new songs - ‘Forgotten Generation' of which the video for this track is included on the DVD and another song called ‘Drop Out'. Are these totally new songs or were they left over's from a previous Halford recording session?

Yes they're new ones Paul. The thing is the Halford band is still alive and kicking and how these two new tracks came about was that while I'm back in Priest working on ‘Nostradamus' the lads were back in the States and they just put these songs together from material that's building up and I just wanted to include them on MGE vol.1 just to let everybody know that the band are still around and it just makes this release more interesting. It's unusual really because you have got the ‘Fight' times as well on there and you have got the new releases and you have got the live recordings and the bonus DVD, so it's a really nice bit of packaging that's been put together.

Can we expect to see a new studio record from the band ‘Halford' in the near future considering your workload with Judas Priest?

I don't know. God it's been non stop since I've been back with Priest so really it's just waiting for the right time and opportunity at some point. The thing is you know I'm a lucky guy in the respect that all the Halford fans are hardcore Priest fans anyway so they understand that the most important thing to me is to do my Priest first and then when time comes we can get some Halford stuff out.

When you reunited with Judas Priest were you surprised just how much the British press got behind the band, and how did it feel stepping on stage again after all those years apart?

Well yes it was fantastic and that just shows how loved Priest is and where we are from, in the UK! Our first show was in Hannover, Germany, and as you know we were in the studio in the middle of the recording of ‘Angel of Retribution' and everyone was going mental wanting to see us so we had to stop what we were doing and we had to do some reunion dates around Europe, and then we did the Ozzfest and then went back to finish the record. But honestly, we didn't have time to think because we were so focused on doing ‘Angel of Retribution' and then you realised you are on stage in a week, but yes that was the first time we had performed together in 10 years but it just felt like as though it was yesterday but it said a lot by just having those feelings. It was the best feeling in the world for me when I walked out on stage in Hannover back in Priest ... it was an amazing moment.

It's been well documented now about you being clean and sober for the last 20 years, and historically so many bands and artists have hit troubled times out on the road but just how much of a problem was it for you?

Yes it was really bad! I would not go on stage until I'd get a few drinks under my belt, and then I was drinking through out the show and then I'd come off stage and polish off some more and then lines of coke and I was totally fucking myself up and it is ... it's a trap. It was very excessive, particularly in the eighties and it's not uncommon you know, it happens all the time. I was talking to my mate Sully from Godsmack about this and he's stopped drinking and doing all that stuff now. The great thing is if you can recognise that you have got a problem and get yourself sorted that's the best thing you can do for yourself, the band and your fans, because it means that you can just keep making great music.

There are so many vocalists out there from your generation that haven't quite stood the test of time, how have you managed to keep your voice in such good shape for all these years. Do you think a clean living has helped you maintain your standards.

I'm sure it did Paul, because your voice is a physical part of your body, you have to keep it in shape, especially where I am at my age in life. I mean I can't do some of the things that I would have done 30 years ago, but I can still do the bulk of the things that I want to do as a singer and that's important to me. I need to be able to do songs from 'Sad wings of Destiny' and all the other great records. Again, just as a singer you utilise all of your experience, your vocal techniques and you have to accommodate the changes as and when you need to. I was watching Freddy last night on a show on VH1, and when he was on stage he would have different techniques for things like 'Bohemian Rhapsody' or whatever, but what I'm saying is, you have to think about things, about different ways, particularly live, that gets the song across without losing anything. I'll tell you the greatest thing for me Paul, I was with my mate Sebastian Bach one day in Phoenix and they were opening up for Van Halen and he was about to go on stage and I asked him what he had in his ears, and he said they are a new invention they called in ear monitors, and I asked what do they do? He said I will get you a set and you can listen to me and the band while I perform ... so I sat at the side of the stage and it was amazing, like listening to a CD through your headphones. I immediately got on to that and the reason why for me, as a singer, and I guess it's the same for Sebastian, is that when you are on stage and you are battling to fight through, and its killing your voice, the louder everything is the more you have to raise your voice. That's been a major part of me being able to do what I do, because my in-ear monitors are at a level that are the most comfortable. I've still got all the power and I can sing at the right level, without pushing my voice and destroying it. So it's a combination of a lot of things ... you need to get plenty of rest, but I still smoke fags which is a stupid thing to do. I stopped smoking for twenty years then started again, but anyway it's better than putting something up your nose or sticking a needle in your arm ... I've got to have a bit of pleasure you know.

Judas Priest have never been afraid to experiment with different metal sounds and styles with albums like ‘Turbo' etc. Can you tell us what to expect with this new concept album ‘Nostradamus'?

Well I think if you are a Judas Priest fan it's going to be brilliant because everything you love and know about Priest is coming together in this one. It's a metal opera, and we've approached the writing and recording again like you said, being open minded and not really restricting ourselves, and I think the fact that Judas Priest is very unique in metal, Priest is a very multi-dimensional band like you have just pointed out - one minute we are ripping your head off with ‘Painkiller' and the next minute we are going into a different vibe with ‘Turbo Lover' and then we can do something really beautiful like ‘Angel' from ‘Angel of Retribution'. So I think we have always valued that, so we put that thinking into everything we do and so the way that Nostradamus is shaping up is absolutely fantastic. It's our first ever concept album, so we have got this great story line about this real man Nostradamus and everybody knows about him all over the world, which is a another real bonus to me.

Where did the idea for the record come from?

From our manager Bill Curbishley. He came over to Russia while we were doing the last of the ‘Angel of Retribution' shows on the world tour and he said "What are you going to do next, because you can go back into the studio and do another studio record, or would you think about this idea that I have got?" This guy was a fantastic broad-based character. Not only did this guy think he could see into the future, he had a rough life too. And everything we talk about in metal addresses those issues, stuff like struggling with your families, work, whatever, fighting against things, believing in yourself ... so its all part of what metal is all about. So we tried to put all those aspects into the music and so far its just mind blowing.

Have you any idea of a release date for the record?

Sometime next year. There's no rush is there really, we've been around long enough, we aren't going anywhere. The fans know that it takes a lot of time to make something great in metal, so they are being patient, but they are also being very impatient because they can't wait for it to come out.

When you release a new album, is it ever a daunting thought that you have got to go out and tour the world again to promote it?

Yes it can be. I think if you try and keep it uncomplicated ... I mean we have sold millions of records, we have millions of fans and with that comes some responsibility, but I think because we've been doing metal for so many years we don't take anything for granted. We don't live on our past glories. We believe we are only as good as what we are doing now, its' what you can do now that matters. I know that Priest will go out next year and will do hundreds and hundreds of shows all around the world, of which we‘ll play four or five shows a week, but it's a great feeling, night after night the fans are going mental, and it keeps you motivated.

What would you say was your most memorable moment in your career from an achievement point of view?

Well I'd have to say the first ever professional recording that we made, the very first record that we made as Priest. I always look back at that moment with pride, it was a very proud moment indeed ... you know taking your record home to your mum and dad, taking it out of the sleeve, sticking it on the record player and listening to it ... it was wonderful, and that's how I look back at that moment with a great deal of affection, and that was like ... Christ, thirty odd years ago now.

Where do you think you will be in the next ten years and have you ever thought about life after Priest and performing?

I'm not slowing down, I don't think any of us is slowing down particularly in Priest because once you think about that you start to go into retirement mode, so I think our belief in Judas Priest and whatever I do is just based on if I can still do the best of a good job and not look a bit of a wally, then why stop. What's the reason to stop, you don't stop just because you turn 60. You don't stop for any reason other than if you have had enough, and I personally think that I will never have had enough in my life - I just love it that much.