JUDAS PRIEST's ROB HALFORD: 'We've Always Led With Our Hearts'

In an eight-page cover story for the latest issue of Metal Edge magazine (web site),on the stands now, JUDAS PRIEST members Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, and K.K. Downing spoke to Bryan Reesman (web site) about the creation of their controversial new "Nostradamus" album, on fulfilling fan expectations, their place in metal history, and the pranks they used to play on people.

Halford on meeting fans' expectations over the years:

"That's an interesting question, as far as who is leading who. The fans are very, very hardcore about PRIEST. They're very passionate, and they always have been. All of us have been seeing the curiosity and questioning about this 'Nostradamus' record for months and months, and that just shows you how much they love the band. But by the same token, this is a really difficult thing to do. You can't go back in the studio and make 'British Steel' again. You can't go back in the studio and make 'Painkiller' again. There's no point in doing that. As writers, we've always been adventurous and wanted to present something different from record to record. We've always led with our hearts and what we instinctively felt is the right thing to do."

Downing on a possible full-length "Nostradamus" tour next year:

"We could dress up and put ourselves in the moment, regress a few centuries with a big orchestra and choir. It would be brilliant really. We could do it with loads and loads of spooky special effects and great theatrical production. Whether it's a dream or not, I don't know. The first thing we have to do is get out there and rock! We're going to do some major shows this year. We're going to China for the first time, and New Zealand, Sarajevo, and Turkey; places we've never been before. We'll be giving those people what they expect from Priest, then we'll see what happens after that."

Tipton on playing a prank on a former manager during a European flight:

"We got the air stewardess to make the announcement that we were going to ditch in the North Sea. His face went white, and he took his boots off without unlacing them, because they ask you to remove all sharp objects from your pockets. To this day I don't know how he managed to do that. As far as he was concerned, we were going down. Of course we could see it was getting a bit too serious. We wanted to carry on, but the air stewardess didn't, so we had to tell him. It took him about two or three hours for him to come around. We said, 'Look, what's the problem? We put you in a worse situation. You were going to die, and we gave you your life back.'"