What a treat to talk with Ian Hill from Judas Priest! He and the band are about to embark on another tour, and it comes to the Detroit area at the Michigan Lottery Amphitheater on September 17th. The new album, Invincible Shield, is out now and smokes!
Our conversation ranged the span of the band, from their beginnings to today.
Ian Hill Of Judas Priest
Ian On Touring vs. Recording
I asked Ian what he prefers, touring or recording. " Probably touring really. There's a lot more excitement with touring, basically because you're traveling somewhere different every day, ya know, meeting different people and whatnot."
We also discussed the guitar players in the band. Richie Faulkner joined the band over a decade ago and has really stamped his sound onto it. "Since we've started recording, he's gone into the recording side of things and has come into his own. He's made his own mark." That being said, Ian remarked that they still are Judas Priest with the help of Glenn Tipton by his side.
Speaking of Glenn, Ian gave this update on the famed metal guitarist, who suffers from Parkinsons. "He's doing about as well as anybody can do given the situation. It's a horrible thing that he's got, it's a steady fade, ya know. He's doing the best that he can. He has his good days, he has bad days. It breaks his heart that he can't come out and play with us anymore."
Judas Priest and Black Sabbath
Ian spoke to how both bands came through the ranks in the early days. This conversation came about after I brought up Sabbath bass player Geezer Butler's book. He talked about the very middle-class upbringing between both bands.
One thing both bands also went through was the changing of lead singers. Ian spoke about getting "Ripper" Owens as opposed to a more well-known singer to front the band. "We wanted to keep the identity of Judas Priest, and we didn't want to bring somebody else who had their own baggage." with playing songs that weren't his band. He praised "Ripper" and the quality of his voice.
As far as his life as a musician and rockstar five decades in? "I'm Enjoying What I'm Doing Now, More Than Anything, I Really Am!"
I have to thank Frank Bello from Anthrax and David Ellefson for some great questions I asked Ian about. I'll also be posting this interview on my Talkin' Rock with Meltdown podcast at the end of the week.
