Rob Halford weighs future projects, Sabbath gigs and Bennett covers

Rob Halford is weighing a range of possibilities for his future projects while reflecting on a career that has long thrived on crossing boundaries. In conversation about Judas Priest’s ongoing plans and his personal artistic ambitions, the Metal God recalled stepping in to front Black Sabbath on two high profile occasions and signaled openness to a Tony Bennett style covers project. The discussions come as Priest prepares a fall tour package with Alice Cooper and Corrosion of Conformity and continues to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Painkiller, a landmark record that remains central to their live identity.

Halford first described the two occasions when he filled in for Black Sabbath. The first occurred in the early 1990s during Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell No More Tours run, when Ronnie James Dio declined to front Sabbath for two California dates. He explained that preparation came through rehearsals with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward who were on tour nearby. The second was a spontaneous OzzFest stop in Camden, New Jersey, in 2004 when Ozzy lost his voice to bronchitis and Halford was asked to step in with only hours’ notice. “Talk about short notice,” he recalled,...