JUDAS PRIEST / HAL FORD frontman Rob Halford is featured in a new interview with Metal Exiles. An excerpt is available below.

Metal Exiles: How is Ozzfest going for you? Are you having a good time out there?

Halford: "Absolutely. I think that Ozzfest is still a very significant event. As you know, the whole idea behind this Ozzfest that Sharon and Ozzy initially put together was that Ozzy was a famous guy, and much like all a lot of us who have been lucky enough to have a long and successful career, you don’t take it for granted. It’s not easy. There are a lot of people involved in this journey that you’re on. People like you, music journalists, television, and not to mention the wonderful fans that allow us to keep doing this. It was with that in mind that they put this festival together. It’s just a way to give back a little to the Metal Community, as I have always called it, and I am glad to see that that integrity has not been diminished. Ozzy is still keeping true to his heart and what he wanted Ozzfest to be about. There are some very good established acts, of course, but there are some good young bands on the main stage like Nonpoint and Five Finger Death Punch. Those guys are all just starting their careers, even though they have been around for a little while already. Then there is some tremendous talent on the second stage as well. Bands like SKELETONWITCH, GOATWHORE and EXODUS, which are some of the better bands on the tour. Everyone, though, has been simply amazing. This has been a fantastic tour so far."

Metal Exiles: You know, what I like about Ozzfest is that it’s one of those shows where you don’t have to fit into any particular scene to be there. There is a good mix of very different sounding bands that have the heavy factor in common, and there are old and young alike, all rocking out together, as it should be.

Halford: "It’s that sort of togetherness that Ozzfest is all about. It’s just like going to see Orlando play, or Miami play out on the basketball court, and you have all those different generations of fans, both young and old, and they are all out there cheering, not only for their favorite team, but also just for the thrill and the experience. That is very much the case for Ozzfest. Like I said, it’s a Metal Community, where you have people from all walks of life. Some work minimum wage. Others might be chairman of the board, but when you are at a Metal show, especially one like Ozzfest, all of that shit doesn’t matter. It all gets stripped away because you are there for a common experience. It’s wonderful that guys like Ozzy, myself and the guys from The CRUE, who have been able to have been around for all of these decades and watch it grow the way it has. It is perfectly acceptable to be a fifteen year old metal head and stand there banging your head and throwing up the horns next to a fifty year old rocker."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

The 2010 Ozzfest tour schedule is now as follows:

August

17 - Chicago, IL - First Midwest Bank Amp.
19 - Pittsburgh, PA - First Niagara Pavilion
21 - Hartford, CT - Comcast Theatre
22 - Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Bank Center
24 - Boston, MA - Comcast Center