Rob Halford, singer of Judas Priest: "Heavy metal has the power of fire" – 11/03/2018

Fire and electricity. A few times, two words abbreviate a musical genre as well as the title of a chord disc. This is the case of the legendary Judas Priest, who landed this Sunday with Firepower at the Tecnópolis microstation with Alice in Chains and Black Star Riders.

"I'm amazed at the success of this album among the Fans of Judas Priest," Rob Halford says on the phone with Clarín, giving demagogic priority to South American fans. "The really metal music is Firepower The union of two words that, separately, have a vibrant, powerful and exciting message, and if you badociate them, they symbolically describe to perfection what we are talking about. is the heavy metal: the power of the fire ", completes the stripped singer of 67 years.

After Redeemer of Souls (2014), the metal priests pose an inflammatory album, in depth, with a lyricist who loves to surround (and jubilant) with stacks of books, especially old ones , to forge the group's words. The engine of this work? Yes, fire. "It's a very powerful element because it creates a danger, you can take a look at it, you can feed yourself, in short, it's a very interesting word to use in the metal."
[19659002] In the song Evil Never Dies Halford quotes "The devil descended in Georgia", title of the song performed by Charlie Daniels Band hinting at the unforgettable blundering executioner, Robert Johnson, when He would have met the devil at a crossroads (hence his mythical blues song from Crossroad ). "Everything in life must have a good balance, you have good people and bad people, it's a different literary way of describing the devil from a different angle."

– C & That's what I wanted to get. The word "demon" or "evil" appears several times in the words of Firepower . Do you believe in the figure of the devil and in the notion of hell?

-Of course, as a believer, I believe in this type of strength, the devil's strength sometimes manifests itself spiritually and, on earth, in terms of health, politics, industry, arts, etc. It is very dangerous to play or to take vianamente, because one finds there the roots of the darkest moments of the humanity.

– Why

It's a fact that I see, everyone has this ability to surround themselves with this dark force. It's a very interesting and fascinating subject, like what happened a few days ago at the Embbady of Saudi Arabia in Turkey (in reference to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi) . It's the work of the devil in my opinion! (laughs)

The song Sea of ​​Red contrasts with the hardened spirit of the album. Plus, it sounds like a farewell song.

-I wrote this song referring to all the brave people who do good in the world, as a policeman, a soldier, those who make a sacrifice by giving their lives, something in What I believe I also wanted to refer to the image of red flower fields during the Battle of Flanders during the First World War. I was looking for an ambiguous message, the idea of ​​a disaster and, at the same time, that there was a hope in life.

-With nearly 40 years of career, what motivates you to continue recording? How not to repeat and stay cool?

– It's a good question, it happens when you're in the heavy for so many years. I think Priest has several definitions, we could make several versions of Turbo Lover Painkiller or several clbadics made by the group over the years. But what really differentiated us was our curiosity and curiosity to see where we could go with our art, and I think that is the secret of our musical longevity.

All our albums are full of different approaches, from how we see the metal They are like open books, you can do and find what you want, go wherever you want and listen to different drum sounds, guitar and singing. With the different combinations of these sounds, you can make metalheads, and that's what happens in Firepower .

– How would you define this album in terms of composition? -It has a plastic way of composing, full of strong memories of what was Rocka Rolla (1974) or Sad Wings of Destiny (1976), the way to forge our fate of these times until now. Firepower is an excellent example of what is the heavy metal for Priest during these almost four decades.

From Glenn's Disease to Ritchie's Salvation

The news that Judas Priest's guitarist, Glenn Tipton, had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Evil shook the heavy scene. This illness forced the violero to leave the tours but not to compose, because he was present at Firepower . "It's a day-to-day health problem, some are better, some do not, but Glenn can continue to play," says Halford about his colleague.

Will he come to the country? No, but according to Rob, the desire to turn Tipton remained intact until the last moment. "A London-Argentina flight is a real challenge, he wants to do it, we believe and support his decision, because his health is the most important thing for the rest of the group, Glenn is a soldier, he never wants to give up. song we play, screams and riffs, he's with us, no matter how hard he gets on stage. Painkiller is our flagship song about firepower and non-capitulation. "

the departure of the group Tipton (replaced by the producer Andy Sneap), several were deceived by the return of the other British ax: KK Downing, the blond British guitarist who left the group abruptly in April 2011 in because of problems with group members and he was replaced by Richie Faulkner. Moreover, Downing himself has expressed in his social networks that "I must say with great sadness that I am surprised that I did not call to be the group's lead guitarist".

– Do you think that the arrival of Richie has revived Judas Priest's career after the departure of Downing?

– It was so very powerful, when you make these changes, you get a much greater experience than you expected His dexterity with the guitar, his composition is excellent and his live performance is totally magnetic when he sees it. His contribution is fundamental to the group's chemistry. His contribution to both the study and the stage is great.

Solid rock: Judas Priest (22h), Alice in Chains (20h30), Black Star Riders (19h30), Helker (17h45) and Cairo Smoke (17h00), this Sunday, November 4th at the micro- Tecnópolis Stadium (General Paz, between Avenida Balbín and Constituyentes). Tickets from 1555 pesos per Ticketek system.