Rob Halford has been staying busy during his time off from Judas Priest. Instead of vacationing and taking it easy, Rob has put together his solo band, which includes producer Roy Z, and written the first Halford album in years.

The album, Made of Metal, is a true testament to Rob’s love of the genre that he helped create. Each song features the voice that only Halford can deliver, the lyrics only Halford can write and the attitude that he has been dishing out for nearly forty years.

Read on as Rob and I discuss how making this album is different than making a Priest album and why he hasn’t let anyone in Priest listen to it yet. We dissect the album, track-by-track and the result is a look into the mind, heart and soul of the man they call The Metal God.

Rob: Thank you, Jeb. I can’t believe it. It’s a surprise to me as well. It really came together quickly. It started as an idea that I spoke about with my producer and my manager and now it has all come together.

Jeb: I have been a fan of yours my entire life, but I don’t remember seeing songs credited to you 100% for both words and music. Have you written like this before?

Rob: Not for the Halford band. The big moment, if you could call it that, for solo writing endeavors would be the album by Fight called War of Words that came out in the early ‘90s. A lot of my work has been collaborations. When I knew that I would have an opportunity to get the Halford band back out I thought it would be great if we could play some new songs. From that idea, I suddenly went into full bore writing. Those ten or eleven tracks poured out of me in two weeks. I called my producer, Roy Z, and said, “Dude, I think the well is about to go here, can you come down and get together?” I put the entire basic plot of the material in the company studio here in San Diego. Each day I would go into Signature Sound studio with Roy and he would ask me what I had and I would show him and we would go from there.

Rob: I am the world’s worst guitar player. A lot of my things are like Cheech & Chong, you know the song where they go, “My basketball coach done kicked me off the team.” duh duh da duh duh da da da da. “For wearing high heeled sneakers and acting like a queen.” duh duh da duh duh da da da da. I would do that into my iPhone. Anyone else would laugh at me but Z knows me well enough that he asks me, “What have you got?” and I will play him my “duh duh da” and we go from there. It is a combination of that and some very, very rudimentary guitar playing. It is enough because everything comes from a simple idea. When I write these solo songs they happen very, very quickly and that is just the way I work in that world.

Jeb: You have been open, to a point, in interviews with the media but you don’t go over the edge. Your lyrics are often stories. But with this album some of the lyrics are very open and honest.

Rob: I do a song called “25 Years,” which is a song about me being clean and sober for 25 years next year to a song about bullfighting. Hey listen, I take my music seriously but I also like to play with it and have fun. All music is escapism, whether you are telling a real story or not. It is about forgetting about all of the crap at the office or forgetting some of the horrible things going on in the world around us. Some of the lyrical messages on these songs are quite deep, if you want to say that. A lot of them are very much what make me tick. You have known me for years, Jeb, and you know that I have always been a very optimistic person. I like to convey that attitude. It is all about a bit of this and a bit of that and the other but it is really just what makes my brain box tick.

Jeb: I picked up on that right away. I mean, of course you have the songs like “Matador” and “The Mower” but there are others songs that are deeper and are very open about your feelings.

Rob: Again, that’s the luxury I have when I get away from my main band, Judas Priest, who will always be first for me. The Halford band is a different experience than Priest and I can make more personal statements in Halford songs, if I so choose.

Jeb: What is the difference in making a Halford album and a Judas Priest album?

Rob: There isn’t really that much of a difference because the commodities of the band are pretty much set in standard concerning the routines that each go through. The big difference is the players. KK [Downing] is as different to Z as Glenn [Tipton] is to Metal Mike. In terms of comparison, there wouldn’t be any point, quite frankly, if I didn’t feel that there was a separation of musical identity. Writing wise, there is a vast difference. All of the writing with Priest comes as a trio with KK, Glenn and myself. We really do make amazing Metal together and we have been doing that forever, and I am sure we will continue to it. Halford is a bit of a different texture than Judas Priest.

Rob: It is. I am just using my business savvy, if you want to call it that. Hopefully I am being savvy. Hopefully people in Metal know the name ‘Rob Halford’ by now. I could have called it anything, I suppose. I could have called it Lugnut. In terms of common sense, and in bringing the focus to a certain sound, it is called Halford, but it is not just me. It includes tremendous performances from Roy Z and Metal Mike. Speaking of tremendous performances ,we just did the Ozzfest.

Jeb: I wanted to ask how Ozzfest went.

Rob: Brilliant. It’s all about Ozzy and it still holds true to what Ozzy and Sharon wanted it to be years and years ago. They have also held true that they wanted the concert to be a platform for new talent, which is brilliant. The Prince of Darkness looks, and sounds, amazing and he is putting on some of the best shows in his life, so what more could you ask for?

Jeb: Halford is going to do its own tour as well as a lot of arena dates opening for Ozzy Osbourne.

Rob: That was a nice surprise. Sharon said to me on Ozzfest, “Would you fancy coming along and playing some dates with Ozzy on his first arena tour in years?” I said, “Yeah, I’m there.” That was really nice. I love them both and think they are both wonderful people.

Jeb: In the world of Metal, Rob Halford is a household name but Ozzy has a huge audience that goes beyond Metal so a lot more people are going to be exposed to Halford.

Rob: That’s true. I told Sharon that I couldn’t be happier. We are mixing it up. I am going to Japan in a couple of weeks to do the Loud Park Festival show with Korn. I am going to go to Peru for the first time ever. I am going all over the world and then coming back and doing the North American tour with Ozzy. It has been a busy year. I have been going nonstop since January 1, 2010.

Rob: [laughter] It is amazing how many Metal fans are racing fans. They seem to love anything to do with getting behind the wheel of a fast car. I love listening to my radio when I get into my Cadillac. I drive an old man’s car now, actually, that’s not fair; my Cadillac does 120 MPH when it shouldn’t. I love to listen to my Metal when I am in it. It just all seemed like a very simple correlation between the two. I wanted to venture into that. Most people know me as Rob Halford, The Metal God, that roars out on stage on a Harley. There is another dimension there that I wanted to experiment with and have fun and enjoy. It has turned out really well.

Jeb: Is that car real or is it a computer graphic?

Rob: Believe it or not, it is a computer graphic. Isn’t that amazing? I am watching Avatar in 3D and I have to keep pinching myself and saying, “This is not real.” The company had a lot of fun doing that graphic. They did a tremendous job; they also did the video.

Jeb: Lets run through each track. I have been cranking it up both at home and in the car.

Rob: You really should do that. This is an album that sounds great in the car.

Jeb: “Undisputed Heavy Weight Champion” has a theme that you have written about in the past, which is to never give up. Was the boxing theme inspired by anyone in particular?

Rob: I have two boxing gloves; one signed by Muhammad Ali and the other one is signed by Joe Frazier. I also have a baseball that Pete Rose signed that says, “I am sorry I betted on baseball.” I love sports memorabilia. I watch boxing on TV and these guys are beating the hell out of each other with such ferocity and passion. There is a real Metal spirit to it. All I need is an idea.

Rob: We need that. We have the Internet and we have all of these mobile devices but the heart and soul of rock ‘n roll is radio. Oh, that would be a good song. I am putting a trademark on that for a title.

Rob: If one radio station plays one of my songs, one time, then I am as happy as a kid at Christmas.

Jeb: “Made of Metal” could be a Judas Priest track.

Rob: I suppose in terms of texture there are a few things you can’t escape. The fans have made me the Metal God and they know what I am responsible for and they know what I have tried to do with my Metal over the years. In terms of comparison, I can’t disguise that. I, personally, feel that this is a really fresh, original track. It is an unusual track with that detuned voice. It is a fun story about an alien being that comes down from space and gets behind the wheel of a Transformer -- I love that movie. All of that comes into it and makes a great Metal song.

Jeb: After 40 years in the business, where do you come up with a line like, “Supersonic silver flying machine.”

Rob: I don’t know. This is what will make me end up in a straightjacket. Crazy things come into my head and I write them down as fast as I can.

Jeb: What inspired “Speed of Sound’?

Rob: The fans. The crux of that song comes from Roy Z. It is about the relationship of the fans. We don’t need wealth or fame in Metal. Metal is a very straightforward kind of experience. We are just talking about that we have our Metal and we are traveling together at the speed of sound.

Rob: It is part of my optimistic streak. People are always talking about the American Dream. I think people sustain the American Dream with optimism and hard work. You can only do that if you approach what you do with an attitude. That song shows the attitude that you need.

Jeb: “Until the Day I Die” has a very mellow intro and then the song comes from that. The first time I listened to this song I overlooked its power. Upon several listens it has become one of my favorite songs on the album.

Rob: Thank you. Some of these songs do tend to grow the more you listen to them. The roots of Metal come from the blues. I love the blues. I love Leadbelly, Bessie Smith, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and on and on and on. I had never done a song that had that sort of attitude about it. I went in and, in a very rudimentary way, told Z what I wanted and he did a lot of work on this particular tune. He played that fabulous slide guitar. He added it towards the end of the session and he just nailed it. I think that song is me reflecting on mortality. I say, “I ain’t got no time for forgiving or to be afraid. Nothing is going to slow me down.” That is what I do as a Metal Head. I am living till the day I die.

Jeb: “We Own the Night” is one of the strongest tracks. Was Roy integral on that one as well?

Rob: He was as far as expanding the simple idea is concerned. I wanted a strong, anthem type chorus on that one. It is about relationships. “When I’m with you, you give me all your strength/With your love I carry on/but we both know that it takes the two of us to face the truth/We don’t need to run.” It is about the commitment people have with each other. It is also about the nighttime, which is the best time for a lot of people, especially people in rock n’ roll.

Jeb: It is the most relationship-oriented song I have ever heard you sing.

Rob: It is pretty strong and direct. It probably is a first for me.

Rob: We have all been there. A funny story, “Heartless” came out of an incident in the studio where Z was drinking way to much coffee. His heart was going a million miles an hour and we had to get the paramedics involved to do an EKG. I am sitting there by myself at nine o’clock at night and thinking about his heart and the idea of “Heartless” came into my mind. He called me about three hours later and told me that he left the hospital. I said, “Are you sure you are okay?” He said, “Yeah.” I said, “I know you nearly crossed over but I have written a song about the entire incident.” He said, “You’re kidding me.” I did a bit of a spin on it but it was really inspired by Roy Z’s dance with death.

Jeb: I love the play on words on “Hell Razor.”

Rob: I was thinking about Marlin Brando in “On the Waterfront.” I carry all of this around in my head. I am a 59-year-old Metal Head. I have all of these things swimming around and sometimes one of them just pops to the front of my brain box. It starts out “Outcast of the morning/He’ll always go it alone.” That is very much what Brando was about in that movie. You have all kinds of these Hollywood iconic figures who have dealt with this type of thing in the movies. The “Hell Razor” is just a play on words.

Jeb: “Thunder and Lightening” is placed well in the running order.

Rob: Sequencing on an album can really screw things up if you don’t get it right. We thought long and hard about the sequence of the album, and in particular, this song. It is a really good song but it is a little bit pushy in terms of the textures of the rest of the material. We believed in the song so much that we felt there was a place for it. It is totally different. I have tried to give all of these songs their own little moment. If you go to a library each book is different. I have tried to do that same sort of thing. “Thunder and Lightening” is about relationships and supporting each other. I just love the line where I say “Roll out the freedom bell.” I was thinking about the Philadelphia bell. As a lyricist, your mind is going all over the place trying to pull out little nuggets of information. “Thunder and Lightening” is a really hooky song.

Jeb: We briefly spoke about “25 Years.” I am clean and sober as well so I really related to that.

Rob: There you go. We live part of the same life, as do many of the people who will read this. For people who don’t deal with the difficulty of alcohol or drug addiction, this is my reflection of what I have been dealing with for twenty-five years. We live in the now. We are surrounded by temptation and that temptation is the devil on my back. This is a case where this being a solo work gives me the opportunity to say some things that might be out of place in another venture. “25 Years” is all about my sobriety.

Rob: I mean it. It should be meant. I nailed that one in two takes. If I had done twenty takes then the heart and soul wouldn’t have been in it. I told Z when I went in to lay this down that I was going to try to get it quickly. I told him that if I didn’t then we would have to come back to it later on.

Jeb: Okay… Where in the fuck did you come up with “Matador”?

Rob: I was watching the running of bulls. Later I was watching a show on TBS about the California Gold Rush. My crazy mind somehow meshed the gold rush and bullfighting. It is not easy to write these kinds of lyrics but I have been doing it for some time now. I see the story in my head before I start planning it out in my Mac book. The fun for me was writing the music. I asked Z, “Can you make this sound like a 60’s sort of surf guitar but give it a Spanish inflection?” If I said that to most people then they would give me a blank stare but Z just goes, “I’ve got it.”

Jeb: “I Know We Stand a Chance” is another song that overlooked the first time through but now really like.

Rob: Musically, in points of instrumentation, it is quite adventurous. It is different to a lot of the other tracks. It has more of a middle of the ground, slightly new Metal sound. I felt that was important to give the record a different kind of texture as we entered the final pieces. It is kind of a difficult song to talk about, musically. It was taken from a couple of years ago; it is not that new compared to the other tracks. I have a lot of material in the vaults and I felt it was time to bring this one out and wrap it up.

Jeb: “The Mower” is classic Rob Halford.

Rob: I wasn’t quite sure if that was the right way for me to close the record. My fans love for me to scream my tits off. I thought, “Should I do this?” I asked Z about it and he said, “You have touched on a lot of things in your Metal career and I think this is an important statement to make. “ It is me venting about humanity and things that really piss me off. I get pissed off at poverty in the States and I get pissed off at BP for dumping all that oil. I hate that nobody came to the aid of the people in Pakistan but everybody rushed to Haiti. I hate that indifference in humanity so I had a good vent, Jeb, and I felt much better about it afterwards.

Rob: Well, then, I did the right thing.

Jeb: Has anyone in Priest heard this album and if so what do they think?

Rob: I have a wonderful relationship with all of the guys. Priest will always lead me in my life. We support each other’s endeavors; that is enough for me. They have not heard it yet because it has not been officially released.

Jeb: You have not sent them a copy?

Rob: You know, I haven ‘t. I probably will. It is a whole -- this could be a two-hour conversation. Being in a band is like being in a family. You have been around bands a lot. You know where you can go and where you can’t go. You know what to say and what not to say. You also know there is a time and a place for everything. I am just absolutely thrilled that I have the luxury of a solo career. I am very grateful to all of the fans who support me and give me the opportunity to do these things that I love to do within Heavy Metal music.

Jeb: Is there a plan for Priest in 2011?

Rob: Priest will be back. I will be back home over the Christmas holidays and I will see the guys. We are already mapping out the next year and it will be solid.

Rob: Very simply, there was a discourse between Ronnie [James Dio] and Ozzy [Osbourne]. It was patched up over time but back then that is what was going on. There were two shows coming up in Costa Mesa and I got a call from Tony [Iommi]. He explained the plot and asked me if I would help out. I said I would because that is what you do; you help your mates out. Tony asked me what songs I wanted to do and I asked him what they had been playing and we exchanged the lists. I told him I wanted to do some Sabbath songs that hadn’t been done for a while. We agreed on the final list and I went and sang the songs in the shower for a couple of days. The band came into Phoenix and we had one rehearsal. The next day we were in front of two sell out crowds in Costa Mesa, for what was at the particular point, the first ever Sabbath reunion. It was just phenomenal.

Jeb: You learned the whole set in a few days?

Rob: I had to because there wasn’t any more time than that. Everybody knows the love of my life is Priest but I love Sabbath too. I pretty much knew all of the Sabbath stuff, particularly the stuff with Ozzy.

Jeb: Did the crowd know that you were going to sing with them that night?

Rob: No, I don’t think they knew until the very last minute. Everybody was very gracious and everybody accepted the change of plans very well and it went over great.

Jeb: If someone had to fill in for a singer at a Metal show that I was at, I would hope it would be Rob Halford. There are very few that can do it but they do call you The Metal God.

Rob: I was very grateful to Tony for giving me the opportunity. There are bootlegs floating around that captured that metal moment. You can find them; they are out there.

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