JUDAS PRIEST's IAN HILL On His Longtime Bandmates: 'We're Still Tremendous Friends And We Always Will Be'

January 16, 2025

In a recent interview with Matt Pinfield of 95.5 KLOS's "New & Approved" show, JUDAS PRIEST bassist Ian Hill was asked how he felt when he first Rob Halford sing in 1973 before the vocalist joined the band as the replacement for Al Atkins. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Ken [ex-JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Kenneth 'K.K.' Downing] and myself, we just thought we'd try him out. As soon as we did, we knew that he was something special. He's got a tremendous range — I think he's three octaves, something like that, he's got a range, which was unbelievable at the time. And, of course, he was from the same part of the world as we were, so he's got that same grittiness, that same sort of outlook as the rest of us had had. And he was into the similar bands that we were — he was also a [Jimi] Hendrix fan, CREAM, he was into all of that kind of stuff; [David] Bowie, of course. And he fit right in. And he's a great bloke as well. I mean, he's so easy to get along with. And that was it. And then Glenn [Tipton, PRIEST guitarist] comes along and you form a friendship. I mean, it's formed when you're doing things like you go to Norway in the van in February, and you're sleeping in the back of the van. You put your gear in the van and put the mattresses on the top, you do the show and then sleep in the car park in freezing cold weather. That's what you did. And you form a bond through doing things like that. And we'll always be great friends — we always will, till our dying day. Regardless of if we're on different sides of an ocean, we're still tremendous friends and we always will be."

Last fall, Halford spoke to Heavy Consequence about JUDAS PRIEST's plans celebrate the 35th anniversary of its classic album "Painkiller" extensively live with the "Shield Of Pain" tour in 2025. This "rare" and "unique set" will include "beloved classics" and "will be defending the metal faith in a truly memorable experience throughout Europe" next summer, according to a social media post from PRIEST.

Halford said: "It's still in the works, but we're gonna go and show ['Painkiller'] off. Not in its entirety. I haven't figured out yet whether we're just gonna do a clump of 'Painkiller' songs — this is the 'Painkiller' section — or we're gonna go, a 'Painkiller' song, a couple of others, a 'Painkiller' song, a couple of others. It's all in theory in my mind at the moment, but, however, I think it's gonna be a real thrill and a treat. And, again, a once-in-a-lifetime thing for the band. You'll only see the show once. You'll only see the 'Shield Of Pain' show once. So, we hope our fans will be on the rail and banging their heads to it."

The singer also reflected on PRIEST's mindset while going into the recording process for "Painkiller". He said: "The importance was we had to really go into a huddle and say, 'We really need to show off what this band's true heart and soul and spirit is about.' And I'm using that in reference to some of the previous albums and some of the previous songs. Our attitude was, 'We're gonna make the hardest, heaviest, strongest, most energized metal album we've ever done,' and we did that — we achieved it. It's full-on. It only pulls back a little bit for 'A Touch Of Evil'. The rest of it is just non-stop, non-stop, non-stop. We did it in Miraval Studios in the south of France. It was very isolated, so, unlike Ibiza [where 'Screaming For Vengeance' and 'Defenders Of The Faith', among others, were recorded], where we were going into the clubs every night, it was very, very isolated, so we really got into the work in a very, very strong way with no interference. And so the exercise of achieving all of the components to make that album as strong as we wanted it to be was a success. And, again, a band will tell you we've done everything we can. Let's see what happens. The world embraced that album."

He continued: "It's a beloved, revered metal album. A lot of our friends in different bands will say, 'If you wanna hear what a metal album is all about, put on 'Painkiller'.' And that's pretty cool. But our fans, as well, recognize that of all of the 19 albums that this band has ever made, 'Painkiller''s still very heavily under the spotlight. And here we are, 35 years next year."

PRIEST's 12th album, "Painkiller" was recorded at Miraval Studios in Brignoles, France, and was mixed at Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, the Netherlands. It was the first LP to feature drummer Scott Travis following the departure of Dave Holland.

In a 2023 interview with "The Jeremy White Show", Downing spoke about how the addition of then-new drummer Travis affected PRIEST's sound and songwriting on "Painkiller". He said: "I think with the addition of Scott, because we knew his capabilities from his former band, RACER X, which were a great band… After so many years, having Scott in the band with those double kicks again, it just opened doors for myself and Glenn [Tipton, PRIEST guitarist] to write rhythmically and musically. And we knew that Scott could play anything that we could — as fast as we could play on guitar, we knew he could match us on the kit, which helped a lot, really, because it meant we could expand writing after so many years, really, in respect of the faster side of metal, if you like."

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