DallasNews.com has issued the following report from Mario Tarradell:

ROB HALFORD defies heavy-metal stereotypes. He's not angry. At 59, he's long past the "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" period. He's an openly gay man in a genre known for macho posturing. And he refuses to wallow in the moodiness that permeates metal song lyrics.

Take 'Like There's No Tomorrow', one of the standout cuts on the band Halford's new CD, Halford IV: Made of Metal. On the track, the baldheaded British singer and songwriter best known for his legendary band JUDAS PRIEST urges listeners to "dare to be open" and fight for the freedom to be honest with yourself and the rest of the world. It's a cathartic song, Halford says, as is the entire album, which he calls "the most personal release of my solo career."

"I'm not one of these musicians that put moaning into their songs," says Halford by phone from a tour stop in Grand Rapids, Mich. "I'm not really the kind of guy to reflect on my painful experiences. There's always a light at the end of the tunnel. I have an optimistic streak in life. I got it from my mother. No matter what you go through it's all relative. There's always somebody in a worse position. If you've got two arms, two legs and two eyes, then stop complaining. That's a little rallying cry that is part of my character."

Made Of Metal is the fourth Halford disc, which was released in September. Halford is one of three post-Judas Priest projects for the man nicknamed "Metal God" by his legion of fans. He's also had FIGHT, a band formed with Priest drummer Scott Travis that cranked out four albums, and 2WO, an industrial rock-influenced collaboration with NINE INCH NAILS' Trent Reznor that produced only one effort, 1998's Voyeurs.

Halford hasn't abandoned Judas Priest, but according to its website the group's 2011 trek, dubbed Epitaph, will be its farewell world tour. So far, only eight concert dates overseas have been announced. As for the 40-year-old Priest legacy, Halford is characteristically realistic and philosophical about the band, considered one of the most influential in the guitar-fueled, drums-propelled style.

"I'd like to think that Priest and all of metal isn't one-dimensional," he says. "Everything doesn't have to be connected to leather. We tried to create with Priest a really entrenching, varied, exciting heavy-metal band. By definition we've always called ourselves a heavy-metal band, but we've done many, many things in our music. The legacy of Judas Priest is the songs that we've made. It's been a fantastic journey for 40 years."

Read the full report at this location.

BW&BK; recently received the following press release:

After storming the world for nearly 40 years and taking their very special brand of heavy metal to all four corners of the planet, Judas Priest - one of the most influential heavy metal bands of all time, have announced this will be their final world tour!!

However, the mighty Priest will certainly be going out strong as they rock the planet starting in 2011 on the massive Epitaph tour - hitting all the major cities throughout the world they will be playing the songs that helped make the name Juda Priest synonymous with heavy metal!

With all guns blazing and amps cranked to eleven, the band will be giving all their fans one last chance to witness the ultimate metal experience that is Judas Priest!

Judas Priest will be starting their world tour in Europe - we have just confirmed the following festivals for 2011:

June

9 - Sweden Rock - Solvesborg, Sweden
11 - Sauna Festival - Finland
17 - Copenhell Festival - Copenhagen, Denmark
19 - Hellfest - Nantes, France
22 - Gods of Metal Festival - Milan, Italy
25 - Graspop Festival - Belgium

July

23 - High Voltage Festival - London, UK

August

5 - Wacken Open Air - Wacken, Germany

Stay tuned as we announce more dates - information will be forthcoming soon - so start getting prepared to rock one final time with the incomparable Judas Priest!!