I was ever-so-fortunate to kick back and chat with the Metal God during his stay in Los Angeles, just prior to him leaving to perform some warm-up shows in preparation for the upcoming tour with Iron Maiden and Queensryche (the ultimate metal package!) Rob spoke about his amazing new CD Ressurrection, his new band "Halford," the upcoming tour with Maiden, and some classic Priest stories...

BN: Tell us about the new band, Halford...

ROB: I'm obviously back in the world of pure metal with this release. All of the ways that I've used my voice - it's more powerful than ever on this new record. There's such a passion and conviction on this work. When I put the word out, I got flooded with CDs, videos, and cassettes from musicians from all over the world. The two that stood out as guitarists were Mike Chlasciak from Warsaw, Poland, who now lives in New Jersey, and Pat Lachman from Los Angeles. I wanted to see how they would do in a writing mode since I wanted to be with writers, and it turns out they both have great writing skills. So, it came together relatively easily. Bobby Jarzombeck, our drummer, was the last one who joined. He joined literally days before we went in to record the drum tracks. Bobby was formerly with the band Riot; he is the full-on metal drummer with power intensity and technical ability. Ray Riendeau, the bass player, was with me in the band Two. He is a very versatile player.

BN: How did you hook up with producer Roy Z.? Was that through Bruce (Dickinson)?

ROB: I had a get together with Roy when I was still with Bob Marlett, Bob was with me on all the Two songs. And after the Two shows in Europe, I realized I had to end it because I was feeling nothing after the shows, I was not connected. I came back to LA and told Bob, "This is who I am, a metal singer, and that's where my voice is used at it's best." Roy had either contacted me through John Baxter or someone turned me onto him. I had lunch with Roy and Bob at the same time and we discussed this record. Roy said all the right things as a producer, but I told him that I wanted to spend a little more time with Bob, which I did. Roy just kept calling me. I love Roy because he is just as passionate about metal music as I am. And I told Bob that I have to do stuff with Roy because it feels right, and Bob was very cool about it. Roy is just a phenomenal producer, as well as musician, performer and writer.

Click Here For Metal God ROB HALFORD Interview Page 2