ROB HALFORD Says JUDAS PRIEST Wanted To Be A Heavy Metal Band 'From Day One'

In a new interview with Victor Rocks, the YouTube channel of Japan's Victor Entertainment, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford spoke about the recently released remixed and remastered version of the band's classic debut album, 1974's "Rocka Rolla". Asked if he and his bandmates expected, 50 years ago, to still be around five decades later, Rob said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, we had no idea that 50 years ago, when JUDAS PRIEST released 'Rocka Rolla', that we would be here 50 years later celebrating and keeping and defending the metal faith. It's been an incredible journey full of so much power and energy and love from our heavy metal maniacs all over the world, especially our Japanese heavy metal maniac family. We love you."

Regarding the decision to enlist longtime PRIEST producer Tom Allom to remix "Rocka Rolla" for the LP's 50th-anniversary edition, Halford said: "The idea to bring Tom Allom into the 50th-anniversary edition of 'Rocka Rolla' was an important one because there were so many elements in the music, in the sound, in the feel of the album that we felt Tom could make great improvements, make the whole album express itself with the power and with the feelings that we had when we were originally making that recording in 1974. If there's a chance to make anything better in life, then you should take it. And that's what we did with Tom Allom for the new edition of 'Rocka Rolla'."

Addressing some fans' belief that PRIEST was a hard rock band during the "Rocka Rolla" era and became a heavy metal act after "Sad Wings Of Destiny", Halford said: "When JUDAS PRIEST began its metal life all those years ago, we said from day one, 'We want to be a heavy metal band. We want our sound of heavy metal around the world from the very beginning.' And that's what we did when we began with 'Rocka Rolla'. Yes, there's a different texture and a different experience from 'Rocka Rolla' to 'Sad Wings Of Destiny'. As it is with a lot of bands, your first two or three albums are establishing who you are and what you wanna say with your metal, with your, with your music. And that's what JUDAS PRIEST did with 'Rocka Rolla'. Heavy metal from day one. Oh, yeah."

As for the possibility of more songs from "Rocka Rolla" making their way into PRIEST's future setlists, Rob said: "'Rocka Rolla' is such an important album for JUDAS PRIEST in so many ways. And we've already been celebrating a little bit with songs from 'Rocka Rolla'. The title track, 'Rocka Rolla', we've played a few times as well as 'Never Satisfied'. But as we go through this incredibly important moment of the official 50th anniversary of 'Rocka Rolla', we feel sure that we'll be expressing more of the content, more of the sounds and more of the energy and power of heavy metal from the 'Rocka Rolla' album in the live format. So stay tuned. And when it happens, we'll let you know."

The remixed and remastered version of "Rocka Rolla" was released digitally in the U.S. and Canada on September 13. The CD and vinyl versions of "Rocka Rolla - 50th Anniversary: Remixed And Remastered 1974 - 2024" will arrive on Friday, November 22.

In 1974, before the eternal metal flame was ever lit, JUDAS PRIEST — Halford, guitarist Glenn Tipton, bassist Ian Hill, guitarist K.K. Downing and drummer John Hinch — were simply five young musicians in their 20s from the Black Country an area of working-class towns in England excited to have signed a record deal. With limited funds, the band recorded during the less expensive night shift hours. The album "Rocka Rolla" was born during these sessions, under the guidance of producer Roger Bain who was brought in by the label and who had previously produced BLACK SABBATH.

JUDAS PRIEST learnt over time how to record an album, and the experience of working in a professional recording studio helped prepare them for the next album to come, one of the most definitive and foundational heavy metal albums of all time, "Sad Wings Of Destiny". But with "Rocka Rolla", the band was not there for the mixing, the mastering process or any final approvals — they didn't have a say when it was finished or how it ultimately sounded. Although the band felt positive about how the songs sounded in the studio, they were particularly disappointed when they received a finished copy of the album in the mail to listen to for the first time.

Halford recalled: "I took the record and I put the needle onto the groove and I sat back. And I just slowly started to deflate, deflate. I was so disappointed with the way it was sounding. All of us were — we'd all worked so hard to get to this place. And now this music that we know when we play live is roaring — the heavy metal is roaring even in those early primitive days — none of that was coming out of the speakers"

The band never had a future say in "Rocka Rolla" in the intervening decades — the re-releases and early-era compilations… but that was about to change.

During JUDAS PRIEST's "50 Heavy Metal Years" tour in 2022, something remarkable was happening behind the scenes. The label that originally signed JUDAS PRIEST in 1974, Gull Records, and its owner David Howells, decided to sell the masters and publishing rights for the two albums the label owned, "Rocka Rolla" and "Sad Wings Of Destiny", and David contacted Tipton's music publisher, Michael Closter of Reach Music Publishing.

After discussing this opportunity and collaborating with JUDAS PRIEST's manager Jayne Andrews, a compelling offer from Reach Music was made to Gull Records. Terms were accepted. An acquisition agreement was prepared, and after almost 50 years from the release of these albums, Reach Music and its label Exciter Records, in partnership with JUDAS PRIEST, was now the owner of "Rocka Rolla" and "Sad Wings Of Destiny".

The first order of business was to retrieve the original multitrack tapes from storage (which miraculously still existed and kept in usable condition for all these decades) — and to begin the process of resurrecting "Rocka Rolla" from these multitrack recordings...

With the task of delving back into time and putting the tapes of "Rocka Rolla" back on the recording studio console, JUDAS PRIEST put their full faith in Tom Allom, known in the JUDAS PRIEST world for producing the iconic "British Steel" and "Screaming For Vengeance" albums, among many others.

As Allom stated: "What we did with the multitracks is quite unusual, to completely remix an album from that era, from scratch. So to clarify what we're doing, we're not adding anything musically. We're not re-recording any of the musical parts… We're remixing them, rebalancing them using the technology we have, the modern tools we have now, to sonically upgrade them, and make them sound more powerful."

The results of this remixed version are now available for posterity — the artist-approved version of "Rocka Rolla" is finally here for fans to add to their JUDAS PRIEST collection.

Halford said: "It's great to look back and see our future unfurl — from little metal acorns mighty metal oaks do grow. One small step for metal, one giant leap for metalkind — a lifelong metal journey began with these songs. This album lit the eternal metal flame — as real and fresh as ever five decades on.

He added: "I'm just thrilled… because it just goes to show you when you get an expert involved in a project, it's likely that you have a second chance. And I think that Tom Allom is giving us a second chance here with the way that a lot of the elements were lost in 'Rocka Rolla'. And it's also nice, like a really nice feeling, especially to attach it to what will be a 50th-anniversary moment. It's just a beautiful feeling."

Tipton said: "This is where it all started for us and 50 years later, we have a great re-mixed and re-mastered version of the original...and the band are still going strong!"

Hill stated: "Recorded during nighttime sessions to save costs, over a few weeks in June and July 1974, on a shoestring budget, 'Rocka Rolla' was always going to have its flaws! But walking into my local record store and seeing it on a shelf amongst all your idol's records was the proudest feeling in the world, and I thought, 'Whatever happens now, nothing can change that!' Now remixed by Tom Allom and remastered, 'Rocka Rolla' has finally got the production it deserved!"

Downing said: "At last! This! The first JUDAS PRIEST album can be listened to and enjoyed in the way it was always intended to be!"

"Rocka Rolla (50th Anniversary Remixed & Remastered)" track listing:

01. One For The Road
02. Rocka Rolla
03. Winter
04. Deep Freeze
05. Winter Retreat
06. Cheater
07. Never Satisfied
08. Run Of The Mill
09. Dying To Meet You
10. Caviar And Meths