ZAKK WYLDE Believes That JUDAS PRIEST And IRON MAIDEN Will Eventually Be Inducted Into ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

Zakk Wylde believes that most of heavy metal's legendary bands will eventually be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Even though artists are eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single, iconic hard rock and metal groups like IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST and MOTÖRHEAD have yet to be recognized by the institution, which inducted GUNS N' ROSES in that band's first year of eligibility.

Having been eligible for induction since 1999, JUDAS PRIEST was on the ballot for this year's class of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, but ultimately didn't clinch the nomination.

Asked in a new interview with the Cleveland Scene if he thinks the Rock Hall has a bias against heavy metal, Zakk responded: "Does it even matter that Mickey Mantle is in the Baseball Hall Of Fame? Everyone already knows he belongs there. My guitar is in the Rock Hall. It's my first Les Paul. It's the one I had when I graduated high school. It's, like, 'We'll take the guitar, but you, not so much.'

"But the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is awesome," he continued. "You celebrate all those bands. You can't put everyone in in one year because there's no reason to have another party the next year.

"Everyone makes such a big deal about it, but there are artists who have sold gazillions of records and had massive success and been a huge part of people's lives but aren't in there. I think it's just because we can't put all of them in there in one year. I think they'll get in eventually."

Rock Hall rules state that artists become eligible a quarter century after their first records were released, but the Hall also claims that other "criteria include the influence and significance of the artists' contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock 'n' roll," which is, of course, open to interpretation.

Eligible for induction since 1999, KISS didn't get its first nomination until 2009, and was finally inducted in 2014.

DEEP PURPLE was eligible for the Rock Hall since 1993 but didn't get inducted until 2016.