Judas Priest is ‘like a drug’

Judas Priest's Ian Hill says playing with the band is “like a drug."

And the bassist reveals they can’t quit because they’re “terrified” at the thought of stopping.

He tells MyGlobalMind.com: “It’s been so long, it’s a part of me now – I think it’s part of all of us. It’s not so much what’s great about being in the band, but more of being terrified of it stopping. It’s like a drug.

“Everybody is just as excited as we were 30 years ago. I look back on my career with a great sense of gratitude. It’s a privilege to be able to do something you love for all these years and make a living at it. I’m a very lucky person.”

Judas Priest released 17th album Redeemer Of Souls earlier this year – an album frontman Rob Halford says will be seen as “one of the greatest metal records ever made.”

And Hill says they knew the album was good because they couldn’t drop any of the songs they’d worked on.

He continues: “We haven’t had 13 songs on an album ever – unless it was a double album. But when we recorded the material, we couldn’t really drop any of it. We knew we had a decent album, but we’ve been surprised and flattered at the chart positions we’ve been achieving.”

Meanwhile, Metal God Halford gives an insight into Priest’s writing process, saying the band have to be completely sure they’ve given everything they can before releasing an album.

He says in an official video: “We don’t run into the studio and write just for the sake of it. We’re very proud of the records and the songs we’ve made – we really treasure everything we’ve put together. It’s very important for us when we make a record like Redeemer Of Souls that it has the same calibre because this has to be a good record for us because there’s a lot of self-conviction.”

He continues: “When we had it back before it’s gone out to the public, we have to be convinced that we’ve given as much as we can and that it’s as good as it can get.”

“You can’t stop the creative process – why should you?”

The band hit the road across North America on October 1 on a 23-date tour, which concludes in Tacoma on November 22. No UK dates have been set, but Halford recently said he’d love to headline Glastonbury following Metallica’s performance earlier this year.

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.