TOM MORELLO On Co-Directing Official JUDAS PRIEST Documentary: 'I Love' The Band 'And I Wanted To Help Tell Their Story'

In a new interview with Chile's Sonar FM, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello discussed his directorial debut, "The Ballad Of Judas Priest", a new documentary about JUDAS PRIEST and the legendary Grammy-winning English heavy metal band's epic journey to the top of rock and roll. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The one thing I really love about JUDAS PRIEST — the guitar playing is fantastic; that's to be taken for granted — but one of the things I loved about that band… So they were like the first metal band that — mostly heavy metal bands were about 'worship me' on stage, 'Here I am, I'm a God, worship me.' JUDAS PRIEST was, like, 'We are a metal community together,' and that's something that really resonated with me. It made me feel, like, oh, I'm not just going there to like praise somebody, but, like, he's metal, I'm metal, we are metal. And heavy metal music is the music that made me love music, and I wouldn't be here today without it."

As for why he got involved in the making of "The Ballad Of Judas Priest", Morello said: "I just do it for love. I just do it for the love of it. I love JUDAS PRIEST and I wanted to help tell their story."

"The Ballad Of Judas Priest" received its world premiere at the 76th Berlinale - Berlin International Film Festival, in February.

Co-directed by documentary filmmaker Sam Dunn and Morello, the documentary celebrates JUDAS PRIEST's lasting impact on music and culture, with their influence reaching far beyond metal.

At the press conference for the Berlinale world premiere of "The Ballad Of Judas Priest" on February 15, a journalist for a Spanish radio outlet asked Morello about political content in the film. Morello responded: "What a time to be alive where you can both make a documentary about one of your favorite bands and fight fascism at the same time. But one of the things that while the lyrical content — maybe 'Breaking The Law' and a few songs — are explicitly political in JUDAS PRIEST, the band's existence is very political. When I've seen JUDAS PRIEST over the course of the last decade or so in Los Angeles, the audience is maybe more than 50% Latino. It's a lot of gay couples — nothing that has anything to do with the stereotypical… And yes, there are some older dudes like myself and leather jackets proudly bringing their kids to the show as well, but that community and the unity and the harmony that exists at a JUDAS PRIEST show is in some ways a model for how we might all do better."

JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford joined Morello and Dunn at the Berlinale press conference and noted he doesn't steer clear of politics in his music.

"It's been impossible for me as a lyricist to not avoid seeing things in the world that affect me, that get me pissed off and thinking, is there a way I can put this into a song?" Rob explained. "And I've been doing that forever, whether it was 'Raw Deal' from 'Sin After Sin', which was a really explicit gay song, going to Fire Island and trying to hook up with somebody and the freedom that that gives you as a person to be with your own people, to a song called 'Savage', which is about climate change from the — what album was 'Savage' on? 'Stained Class'? So that's a ways back. The last album [2024's 'Invincible Shield'], I talk about — I'm not gonna say his name, but I talk about that person, and it's a bit of a smokescreen, but if you understand, if you really listen, the message is there, the expression, the feeling is there. And it's a very difficult tight rope to walk because I just wanna give people a good time."

Halford — who famously become the first heavy metal icon to announce he is gay in 1998 during an MTV interview, despite knowing about his sexuality since he was 10 — continued: "RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE gives people a great time. When you see everybody bouncing up and down, they're lost. They're in ecstasy, but the message isn't lost on them. The message is probably more relevant when they're home alone, lying in bed or sitting, having a coffee and listening to the music. That's a whole different experience in the way the message can reach you. So, I really have to temper myself, because as I've gotten older, I've gotten angrier with the world. I've gotten angrier with the injustice, particularly for my own people who are still suffering and are not given the human rights that they absolutely deserve. I'm not talking about Germany, — I'm talking about Saudi Arabia, Iran, other parts of the world where people like myself are just used and abused in horrible ways. So, I try my best to avoid that type of explicit message, but it's there. It's there. And that gives me some comfort that I'm not letting myself down consciously on subjects that mean a lot to me and piss me off."

Dunn also chimed in, saying: "For me, going into the film, there was probably four or five main moments I know we needed to hit in the story of this band. And one of them was the song 'Breaking The Law' and the brilliant and fun video for 'Breaking The Law'. And the reason why that is is 'cause — this ties back to our first film, which is, I think, we've been on a journey to debunk stereotypes about heavy metal for over two decades now. And I think there still lingers that stereotype of heavy metal [that] it's just about sex, drugs and hedonism and all of that. So a song like 'Breaking The Law' was very important to illustrate that JUDAS PRIEST, in 1980, had something very important and timely to say about the lives of working class people in England at that time. And when I did the last interview with Rob and he said the line, 'It's a revolution song' — thank you for delivering that line — that was a very important beat in the story for me."

Rising from humble, working-class roots in Birmingham, U.K., to become global rock legends, JUDAS PRIEST didn't just help shape heavy metal culture — they forged it. Widely credited as being one of the pioneers of the heavy metal genre in the 1970s, JUDAS PRIEST has sold more than 50 million records and released 19 studio albums for their legion of dedicated fans around the world. In 2022, they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. With their 2024 album "Invincible Shield", the band became the first heavy metal act to release studio albums 50 years apart. The album drew widespread acclaim, receiving a Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance".

The documentary is a production of Banger Films and directed by Sam Dunn and Tom Morello. Producers include Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn. It is executive produced by Tom Morello, Rick Krim, Sheila Stepanek and Jayne Andrews. Tom Mackay, Krista Wegener and Abby Davis serve as executive producers for Sony Music Vision. Sylvia Rhone is executive producer for Epic Records. The film is presented and distributed by Sony Music Vision.

JUDAS PRIEST's current touring lineup consists of singer Rob Halford, bassist Ian Hill, guitarists Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap and drummer Scott Travis.

PRIEST guitarist Glenn Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease more than 15 years ago but announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of PRIEST's "Firepower" album. He was replaced by "Firepower" and "Invincible Shield" producer Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT.