JUDAS PRIEST's ROB HALFORD And IAN HILL Support New Fundraiser For Ukraine

JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford and bassist Ian Hill have joined forces with Metal Pilgrim's Steel Wings Foundation for a new fundraising campaign supporting the nonprofit's work on the ground in Ukraine.

For the campaign, Halford has provided a collection of personal items that fans will have a chance to win by donating to the fundraiser. Among them are bracelets and a cross worn by the Metal God, as well as "Faithkeepers" tour picks accompanied by Icons personally placed into the packages by Halford.

The campaign also features a truly one-of-a-kind item: a bracelet personally made by Rob Halford himself. There is only one in existence, and it will be given to the person who makes the single biggest donation during the campaign.

Every 1 UAH (Ukrainian Hryvnia) donated to the campaign equals one chance to win one of the other exclusive Halford items. This means that a donation of 100 UAH (approximately $2.25) gives a participant 100 chances to win, while a donation of 1,000 UAH (approximately $22.50) gives them 1,000 chances. The more a person donates, the more chances they have to win.

Fans can donate and participate in the fundraiser at this location.

Halford and Hill have also recorded a special video message in support of the fundraiser, calling on the heavy metal community to get involved. Watch Halford and Hill's message below.

The new campaign follows a previous collaboration between JUDAS PRIEST and the Steel Wings Foundation, which raised 1,000,000 UAH (approximately $22,500) back in 2024. During that fundraiser, fans had the opportunity to win personal items from Halford, including a pair of his sunglasses and guitar picks accompanied by Icons.

The Steel Wings Foundation is a Ukraine-based heavy metal nonprofit founded by YouTuber Metal Pilgrim. Working on the ground in Ukraine, the foundation brings together the international heavy metal community to raise funds and provide support to people in need.

The new fundraiser continues the collaboration between Halford, JUDAS PRIEST and the Steel Wings Foundation, giving metal fans around the world a chance to own unique pieces of memorabilia from the Metal God while supporting the foundation's work in Ukraine.

Among the items available through the campaign are:

* A one-of-a-kind bracelet personally made by Rob Halford, which will go to the campaign's biggest donor
* Bracelets worn by Rob Halford
* A cross worn by Rob Halford
* "Faithkeepers" tour picks accompanied by Icons personally placed into the packages by Halford

Every 1 UAH donated equals one chance to win, with the exception of the handmade bracelet, which is guaranteed to the campaign's single biggest donor.

To donate and participate, click here.

Six years ago, Halford was asked by one of the readers of U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine if politics have a place in metal. He responded: "Absolutely they do and I've been putting my two penn'orth into PRIEST's music for most of my life, but it's concealed by smoke and mirrors. Take a song like 'Evil Never Dies' [from 2018's 'Firepower' album]. I make some digs there and I know what I mean, but here's the thing, especially for a band like PRIEST: music is about escapism.

"If I hear one more thing about Brexit, I don't know what I will do. To me there's a place for politics and I applaud bands that make it important in what they do, but with me the clues are there if you want to look for them."

Back in 2018, Halford told Newsweek that he was "not a Donald Trump supporter," explaining that the then-U.S. president's policies had turned political divides into chasms and alienated minority groups like the LGBTQ community.

"It's a very shaky time right now," Rob said. "I have so much faith in this country. But it does seem as though the brakes have been slapped on. It's indeed disturbing, and it's such a shame, because throughout the Obama administration, tremendous things were achieved on the basis of human equality. That's the issue here. Treating one bunch of people this way, and treating this bunch that way. You can't do that. You have to give everybody the same rights."

Halford acknowledged that many PRIEST fans won't agree with those views, saying that "there's a ton of metalheads that are supportive of [the Trump] administration." But, he added, "That's great. That's okay. You're not bringing that to the show. We're there to all join together, and that is the beautiful thing about a free, transparent society — which we don't appear to have right now. Some fans are completely opposite to me politically. But we can still be in the same room and have a good time and hopefully have a good discussion while respecting each other's opinions."