Prior to their show in Costa Rica, JUDAS PRIEST took part in a press conference yesterday (September 26th. Check out the footage below, courtesy of Pandemonium TV:

Confirmed dates North American dates now include:

October

12 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T; Center
14 - Corpus Christi, TX - Concrete Street Ampitheater
15 - Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
16 - Dallas, TX - Allen Event Center
18 - Tuscon, AZ - Ava Ampitheater
19 - San Diego, CA - Cricket Wireless Ampitheater
21 - Phoenix, AZ - AZ State Fair
22 - San Bernadino, CA - SAn Mauel Ampitheater
23 - Las Vegas, NV - Hard Rock
25 - Bakersfield, CA - Rabobank Arena
26 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
27 - Concord, CA - Sleep Trail Pavillion
29 - Seattle, WA - WaMy Theater
30 - Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena

November

1 - Edmonton, AB - Shaw Conference Center
2 - Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome
4 - Salt Lake City, UT - Maverik Center
5 - Denver, CO - 1st Bank Center
8 - Cincinnati, OH - US Bank Arena
9 - Springfield, IL - Prairie Capital Convention Center
10 - St. Louis, MO - The Family Arena
12 - Chicago, IL - The Venue At Horeshoe Casino
13 - Detroit, MI - Joe Louis Arena
15 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
16 - Rochester, NY - The Armory
18 - East Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center
19 - Johnstown, PA - Cambria County War Memorial
20 - Lowell, MA - Paul E Tsongas Arena
22 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
23 - Quebec City, QC - Colisee Pepsi Arena
24 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
26 - Reading, PA - Sovereign Center
27 - Winston-Salem, NC - Lawrence Joel Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum
30 - Tampa, FL - 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre

December

1 - Miami, FL - Bayfront Park Amphitheatre,
3 - Biloxi, MS - Hard Rock Biloxi Hotel & Casino

Judas Priest have also announced a string of Japanese tour dates for February. The itinerary includes:

February

7 - Sunpalace - Fukuoka, Japan
9 - Cacifico - Yokohama, Japan
11 - Kokusai Hall - Kobe, Japan
13 - Alsok Hall - Hiroshima, Japan
14 - Prefectural Arts Theater - Aichi, Japan
16 - Budokan - Tokyo, Japan

Sony Music recently announced the release of a unique Judas Priest album. The Chosen Few is an album curated by Judas Priest’s contemporaries in the music world – each artist picking their own favourite Priest track and explaining why it is special to them.

Included are legends such as OZZY OSBOURNE, METALLICA's James Hetfield, ALICE COOPER, DEF LEPPARD's Joe Elliott, SLASH, MOTÖRHEAD's Lemmy, SLAYER's Kerry King and Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT, STONE SOUR). All build an album from the very best of Judas Priest – from 1977’s 'Diamonds And Rust' through to 1990’s 'Painkiller'.

Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill spoke to Jay Nanda from the San Antonio Metal Music Examiner about the compilation. Here are a few excerpts from the chat:

San Antonio Metal Music Examiner: Is there anything on The Chosen Few that surprises you?

Hill: "Not really, no. We're absolutely self-flattered. There's no higher attribute when you get Lemmy and Ozzy on there. We're a bit isolated, unfortunately, from the news, but from what I've seen of the early draft a month old, it seems like a fantastic list."

San Antonio Metal Music Examiner: If you had to pick one song for it, what would you choose?

Hill: "You want me to pick one? I tell you what, we're playing 'Blood Red Skies' live, and it's one of those great production pieces that's been overlooked over the years. It's got slow parts, fast parts, heavy parts - a little bit of everything."

Read the entire interview here.

Some of heavy metal's elite weigh in on their selections on The Chosen Few:

Lars Ulrich (Metallica) on 'Beyond The Realms Of Death' - “The blueprint for the epic rock ballad. Copied thousands of times, never eclipsed.”

Ozzy Osbourne on 'The Ripper' - “This has always been one of my favorite Judas Priest songs… I just want to know what the fuck that note is that Rob Halford hits in the beginning of the song. Fucking hell!! That note is probably just below what only dogs can hear.”

Alice Cooper on 'Living After Midnight' - “For a metal band, Priest has always used tons of melody... when you have a singer as great as Rob Halford, you have to write great riffs WITH great melodies, you can’t just have riffs. 'Living After Midnight' is the perfect example…”

Slash on 'Screaming For Vengeance' - “Judas Priest have put out their fair share of great albums to be sure. But my all time favourite is 'Screaming For Vengeance'. It was and still is, one of the best metal records ever produced and the title track is in my humble opinion, still ahead of its time.”

Corey Taylor on 'You've Got Another Thing Coming' - "“Judas Priest: the blueprint for the ultimate heavy metal band...”

The Chosen Few tracklisting:

'Diamonds And Rust' (1977) - chosen by Joe Elliott (DEF LEPPARD)

'Dissident Aggressor' (1977) - chosen by STEVE VAI

'Exciter' (1978) - chosen by ACCEPT

'Beyond The Realms Of Death' (1978) - chosen by Lars Ulrich (METALLICA)

'Delivering The Goods' (1979) - chosen by Kerry King (SLAYER)

'The Green Manalishi (with the Two-Pronged Crown)' (1979) - chosen by David Coverdale (WHITESNAKE) & Randy Blythe (LAMB OF GOD)

'The Ripper' (1979) - chosen by OZZY OSOBURNE

'Victim Of Changes' (1979) - chosen by James Hetfield (Metallica)

'Breaking The Law' (1980) - chosen by Lemmy (MOTÖRHEAD)

'Rapid Fire' (1980) - chosen by Vinnie Paul (PANTERA, HELL YEAH)

'Grinder' (1980) - chosen by Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY)

'Living After Midnight' (1980) - chosen by ALICE COOPER & Geezer Butler (BLACK SABBATH)

'Screaming For Vengeance' (1982) - chosen by Slash (GUNS N' ROSES)

'You’ve Got Another Thing Coming' (1982) - chosen by Klaus Meine (SCORPIONS) & Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT)

'The Sentinel' (1984) - chosen by Chris Jericho (FOZZY)

'Turbo Lover' (1986) - chosen by Jonathan Davis (KORN)

'Painkiller' (1990) - chosen by JOE SATRIANI