Rob is all about the $$$. If 2wo/Gimp had gone multi-plat he would never have come back to JP or done those metal-styled solo albums.
... which is why I think he will ride out the "Judas Priest" gravy train no matter who else is playing/recording behind him. Look at how much fans love "Firepower" and its accompanying shows.
I was trying to find an interview where he said metal was dead (not that I'd mind if it were, to Halford); I also heard of a Glenn's statement that he wanted nothing to do "with that baldheaded tattooed ponce" anymore, after he left.
There are some members of the music public that are very conservative. They only want one kind of thing. And that's fine, but don't put me in there because I'm not that kind of individual. I'll always have a totally open mind to endless possibilities. I want to do a dance album. Not Techno, but a record that's exclusively designed for people to dance to. That whole dance genre is kinda into its own world. I'd just like to get in there and mess around with that.
Of course, being 'Metal God' pays.
Wonder if he secretly hates all those 'metalheads' to whom he posts mushy instagram pictures every day: "Hallo metal maniacs, I'm eating icecream today, what's your favourite"...
You never noted the youtube video I posted above, I think that's the best interview Glenn ever did, and it may reveal why Rob actually left: "Priest music is very important to us. We try to establish a lot of lesbian sex, and thought we could do that through Priest music."
Also: "We're heavy metal you know, we're heavy metal" - he reiterates... hilarious.
Wrote something for a zine, but here it is, an overview of the situation. There's just far too much going on.
Heavy Duty: Clash of the Metal Gods
"There's good and bad news about Twisted Sister", said Dee Snider prior to their retirement, "we look like aging drag queens, but we've always looked like that".
To everyone's dismay, the golden years of glamorous metal titans from the other side of the pond, Judas Priest, could currently benefit from such tedium.
What should be a whole separate article, this drama is underscored by the somber fact of Glenn Tipton's progressively deteriorating condition.
It would appear he's been living with Parkinson's for at least ten years, while carrying on his heavy duties like a consummate hero. In his candid softspoken manner, Glenn crushed us with: "Guys, my brain is telling my hands to do something and they're not doing it", while demonstrating genuinely upbeat humour - relief for those who love him and inspiration to others. (Full interview at Guitar World
https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/her ... ns-disease.)
While considering Glenn Tipton the anchor of Judas Priest, I've been surprised by opinions that "Glenn is extremely underrated in rock'n'roll, metal, and music entirely".
Rooted in blues, his phrase oozes almost fragile vividness and finesse, culminating in the wild ecstasy we've witnessed in this sensuous master, caressing the guitar while bringing out rapturous moans from her. He has an almost vocal melody phrasing, combining traditional blues modes and classical ones with thought and expressiveness.
It must also be noted that Glenn interacts with the audience as naturally as the heavyweights of blues, yet so intensely, that his piercing gaze seems intent on stopping our heart.
"This isn't just Judas Priest", Tipton said, "It's an event in which we're together, and nothing in the world can compare."
An immediate answer is that the ferocity of KK Downing, his aggressive picking and apt improvisation, merged with Halford's insane crescendos, epitomised metal to the Priest fan.
Equally understandable was KK Downing's astonishment, conveyed in late February, that he wasn't considered Glenn's replacement for the upcoming tour.
As a consequence, this subtle gentleman and founding member had to suffer ill-accusations and attempts to diminish his legacy.
During a radio interview, Rob Halford all but erupted, deeming KK's emotive publication "superfluous" and "insinuative".
If anything became clear to the audience, it was how deep tension ran between Halford and Downing. KK followed up with a brief clarification, dispersing any possibility of being misinterpreted.
It should be allowed that KK Downing could have approached the band privately. The band has been in denial, however, for not addressing the obvious option of Downing replacing Tipton. Fans needn't be made aware of Priest's hidden dealings, but they ought to have been considered while making such a crucial decision.
Members of the band proceeded to release statement upon statement of how surprised they were that KK would even fathom the possibility of his return, recently culminating in: "We lacked energy towards the end of KK's era" (precisely the reason KK left).
I am not convinced KK is the bad guy here, and thankfully, we have his autobiography coming up in September:
"As the band approaches its golden anniversary, fans will at last be able to delve backstage into the decades of shocking, hilarious, and haunting stories that surround the heavy metal institution. In 'Heavy Duty', guitarist KK Downing discusses the complex personality conflicts, the business screw-ups, the acrimonious relationship with fellow heavy metal band Iron Maiden, as well as how Judas Priest found itself at the epicenter of a storm of parental outrage that targeted heavy metal in the '80s. He also describes his role in cementing the band's trademark black leather and studs image that would not only become synonymous with the entire genre, but would also give singer Rob Halford a viable outlet by which to express his sexuality. Lastly, he recounts the life-changing moment when he looked at his bandmates on stage during a 2010 concert and thought, 'This is the last show.' Whatever the topic, whoever's involved, K.K. doesn't hold back." (Pre-order link
https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/title ... 306903298/.)
The argument that KK had retired and his return was therefore unthinkable, does not hold water not only due to the drastic change of circumstances following Tipton's withdrawal, but because a similar situation had occurred before:
Halford in 1998
http://76.12.46.30/interviews/halford_int.htm:
"I would never do it" (referring to a Priest reunion), "I'm not just saying that now and five years from now I'm gonna be on stage with Priest again. I value my personal creativity and my integrity more than a few dollars in the bank. It's never the same the second time around, especially when there's something more attached to it than the music. Reunions smack of big dollars, instead of people feeling that they want to go out and play music together."
Halford sounds slightly more unwavering there, than Downing more recently
http://ultimateclassicrock.com/k-k-down ... -priest-2/:
"I think today I'm a better player than I was yesterday or five years ago when I left the band, because I've had a chance to relax a little bit and take in and absorb stuff that I've learned and practiced, as opposed to learning something and zipping off somewhere and having to do this, that and the other."
KK's move seems all too logical in light of Glenn's illness, of which he must have been somewhat aware: "I wasn’t happy with the band’s live performance. I thought it could have been better, not that the fans would notice. To me, Priest was always a stealth machine and that’s what I liked about it."
While I attended the Redeemer Of Souls tour and was glad to witness a deep, mellowed-out, be it a less precise Glenn, it was clear he had relinquished most of the work to Richie Faulkner.
The new Priest record, Firepower, is accepted shockingly well, with superlatives as far-stretching as "better than Painkiller" or "as good as Defenders". I see it as a formulaic, sterile record, stepping not only on agreeable self-reference like the previous, but resorting to "classic heavy metal" idioms courtesy of Maiden, Manowar, and Metallica, with solo Halford thrown in. Here again, I tend to advocate KK Downing for leaving after the magnificent Nostradamus.
A reason for the accolades of Firepower might have been given in that same 1998 Halford interview, strikingly relevant today:
"What's going on with this whole "Metal Nostalgia" movement right now? Ratt [mid-'80s glam metal band] and Twisted Sister are touring again, the Kiss reunion, the Van Halen debacle; Judas Priest has a new disc out...
Rob Halford of Two:
It's a human necessity; it's affection. You establish yourself as something that you look back on as you move forward. You think of a moment in your life when you felt right and you identify with that moment. You want to keep that moment living inside you emotionally. And the best way to do that is to have the thing happening in front of you on a stage or on a record."
The recent Priest tour is going well, with Halford having been rejuvenating almost as much as Glenn had been declining in the past ten years (said with affection and sadness). When I saw Priest in 2008, I thought that was the end of them with Rob's less than stellar form; today, he seems fresh as a carrot and melodic as a nightingale, and reportedly sees no reason why Priest should retire anytime soon.
Halford is an icon and vocal phenomenon who should by no means leave the spotlight; it's difficult however to swallow Priest without the duel of Tipton's and Downing's complementing each other axes, let alone none of them being present.
Throughout the years, Halford has expressed desire for artistic freedom, ranging from a dance record to black metal, and, most recently, a collaboration with Toni Iommi - which should work out splendidly, judging by how Halford fronted Sabbath. Doom, the blues of metal, might suit him just fine in his maturity. Should he wave on the flag of Priest, however, reconciling with Downing is necessary.
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