Ex-HALFORD Guitarist: I Knew JUDAS PRIEST Reunion Would Happen

July 14, 2003

Former HALFORD guitarist Patrick Lachman, who quit the group last year to form a new project with members of PANTERA, has spoken out about the news that JUDAS PRIEST have reunited with Rob Halford for a new album and tour in 2004, saying that "I realized very early on that a reunion would happen, so it was always in the back of my mind."

Speaking to the JUDAS PRIEST fan site www.judas-priest.com, Lachman said, "To be honest I'm happy [for Rob]. I think [the reunion with PRIEST] is the best thing that could have happened to Rob at this point in his career. I got involved with [HALFORD] because I was a PRIEST fan."

When asked if the rumors of a possible PRIEST reunion with Halford had any effect on the band HALFORD while Patrick was playing with them, Lachman said, "Not on stage! Off stage however, it always felt like it had an expiration date on it, we just didn't know when it was. The facts were always kept from us. Management made us feel expendable and replaceable and tried to keep some kind of distance between Rob and the band. Just look at the constant lineup changes. I assume all that was due to the fact that a reunion was in the planning stage from the beginning. The quote from CNN was, 'Rob and the other JUDAS PRIEST members are so happy this is all a go, the management team member said. 'We've worked so hard over the last four years to make this happen.'

"Four years, huh? I guess that says it all. Rob was always great to us though. We're still friends and we still keep in touch.

Commenting on his reasons for leaving HALFORD, Patrick said, "That was my first and last experience as a hired band member. I've always been about being in equal creative control with everyone, which was not the case in HALFORD. With so many people outside the band trying to get involved, throwing in their ideas and influence on HALFORD, I took it as far as I was allowed creatively. It never felt comfortable in that environment. I realized a full year ago when there was no tour to support [the last HALFORD album] 'Crucible' that the band had gone as far as it could go with the way business was run in that camp. It was obvious to me things were coming to a halt, so I made plans for my career just as Rob did. I'm fucking ecstatic about my new band [provisionally dubbed NEW FOUND POWER], and the Metal God has finally come home."

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).