Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford jokes that he reacted like Little Britain character Daffyd Thomas when he heard that two members of Cynic had confirmed they were gay.
The Metal God came out in 1998 and believes it all helps in the “chipping away” of homophobia in the music world.
Meanwhile, Priest having finally confirmed plans to tour in support of upcoming album Redeemer Of Souls.
Halford tells Terrorizer: “I told someone, ‘Have you read about this, these guys in Cynic?’ He said, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’ I said, ‘I am the only gay in the village! I ain’t having this!’”
But he continues: “What a fucking great thing to do. There’s homophobia in metal. There’s homophobia all kinds of music; but for the most part metalheads accept each other – we know we’re given a lot of stick.
“It’s shit that you have to worry about this in 2014, isn’t it? It’s rubbish. But God bless them; I know what it’s like to come out of the closet. It’s the best feeling in the world.
“Be true to yourself, live your life, don’t hide. Nothing’s going to hurt you. You can only hurt yourself. The real people that love you will love you regardless.”
Redeemer Of Souls is released on July 14 in the UK. Priest have previously stated that plans to retire from touring in 2012 had been rethought as a result of guitarist Richie Faulkner’s addition to the lineup.
Now they’ve confirmed they’ll hit the road across the US with support from Steel Panther. Their shows run from October 1 in New York to November 18 in Salt Lake City.
