Rob Halford: Metal will never die

Rob Halford and Tony Iommi (Image credit: John McMurtrie)

Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford says that the current metal scene is in good hands and insists that the genre won’t disappear any time soon.

He was speaking in the brand new issue of Metal Hammer magazine, which features a joint cover interview with former Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi.

And when asked if a band starting out in 2018 had a chance of making an impact the way they did, Halford says: “It depends what you measure success by. How do you define it?

“Is success a platinum album? Is success selling out Madison Square Garden? Popularity or records sold? I don’t know. But to me, that doesn’t matter.

“Metal will always be there. There’ll always be a new band coming along. There’s probably a bunch in the UK that I don’t even know about. Same in Germany or Japan or South America. That’s the thrill – the fact it’s always there.”

Asked if the metal scene is currently in a good place, Halford adds: “Definitely. There’s always a new generation out there. But the cool thing, watching this over the decades, is that people always go back to the source, to the roots of heavy metal – to Black Sabbath, to Judas Priest.”

But questioned if he’s ready to hand over the baton to the new generation of metal bands, Iommi exclaims: “I bloody hope we’ve got plenty of years left!”

The full interview with the pair can be found in the new issue of Metal Hammer which is on sale now. Halford and Iommi reflect on their fledgling careers in Birmingham, reveal personal highlights and talk about a possible collaboration in the future.

You can also read Metal Hammer, Classic Rock and Prog free online with a TeamRock+ subscription.

Tony Iommi and Rob Halford on the past, present and future of metal

Artists

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.