JUDAS PRIEST's ROB HALFORD: 'I Do Not Want To Make A 'Redeemer Of Souls' Part Two'

JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford spoke to Ultimate Classic Rock about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to the band's 2004 album, "Redeemer Of Souls". He said: "There have been a few [ideas] exchanged back and forth, particularly through me and Richie [Faulkner, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist], because we're iPhone freaks and we're always sending each other little memos, zipping them across to each other.

"It could be again, I would imagine, very much the same tone, very much the same kind of emotion and straightforwardness as the last sessions that we did, but just speaking for myself, I do not want to make a 'Redeemer Of Souls' part two. I think it's very important that we make another standalone record again, a heavy metal record that's going to have its own legs and just be as different as all of them have been so far."

Halford also talked about the importance of continuing to make new music at a time when more and more people have stopped paying to download or physically own albums and started instead consuming music on platforms like Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music.

He said: "It had been some time since [2008's] 'Nostradamus' before we went back out on the road extensively with the 'Redeemer Of Souls' tour.

"It's really important to be a working band and by that, I mean, packing your suitcase, locking the door and getting in the van, if that is what it is. You're still getting in the van, you know? As daunting as that can be at this time of life sometimes, it's still the biggest thrill, privilege and honor to be able to take a band like PRIEST and play to millions of our fans around the world."

He added: "Making a record is important to support that. I don't think we've ever gone on the road for any other purpose, because we want to see our fans again, but mostly, just to show the significance of this band, that we're still out doing what bands should do when they're working bands, which is like showing off your new material. If you're able to still write and record and release, I think that's a bonus; it really is, at this juncture. PRIEST is continually out there proving their point."

"Redeemer Of Souls" was released in July 2014. The follow-up to 2008's double-disc concept album "Nostradamus" was billed as a return to JUDAS PRIEST's heavy-metal roots.

JUDAS PRIEST's new CD, DVD and Blu-ray, "Battle Cry", was released on March 25 via Epic Records. Recorded live on August 1, 2015 at Germany's Wacken Open Air festival in front of an audience of 85,000, the set is available on a 15-track CD, with the entire show on Blu-ray and DVD (running over 94 minutes),as well as digital audio and video formats. The DVD and Blu-ray also contain three bonus tracks shot in Poland on December 10, 2015 at The Ergo Arena, Gdansk, Poland.