Legendary JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford spoke with Mike Ragogna from The Huffington Post recently about a number of topics including the new DVD/Blu-ray Epitaph. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

The Huffington Post: Let's talk about the new DVD/Blu-ray Epitaph, which represents a kind of summation of Judas Priest's works to this point, right?

Rob Halford: "Yeah, I think it's definitely a reflection on all of the wonderful things we've been able to achieve. I think it's important for any musician to kind of pause and reflect. First, we accomplished what we wanted to accomplish, which was to play a cut from every one of our records. We wanted to try and capture the musical adventures that we've been through, right from that first recording, Rocka Rolla, all the way to Nostradamus. It was very exciting to play on tour because one minute we would be in the '70s, then we're in the '00s, then the '80s. It was just a really solid moment for all of us, and it was nice to look back at almost forty years."

The Huffington Post: The fact that all this material stood next to each other, regardless of what the era was, speaks volumes for the solidness of the catalog.

RH: "It's just amazing. You're doing all these things--writing, then recording and releasing an album, then you're going out to play--you're never really aware of all of the things that are coming back to you. People call it a journey, and I think that's been very true in the case of Judas Priest. The road has had its potholes, but we've always seemed to find the road and get to the place that we're trying to get to."

The Huffington Post: Since it is called Epitaph, are you going through some kind closure, maybe making a few discoveries about the band and yourself in the process?

RH: "Yeah, it's a bit like lying on the heavy metal psychiatric couch. It's very cathartic. Of course, a lot of the emotions don't really come to the surface until you say goodbye to your road crew and everybody goes back to their respective homes. I think that's how we all felt. I think, more than anything, it was a very evocative and stimulating sense of realization. It was very empowering--I think that's the word I'm looking for. It was all good things, nothing on the down side came through."

Read more at The Huffington Post.

Epitaph will be released in cinemas on May 16th across the US, UK, Canada, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Spain, Bulgaria, Estonia, Romania, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Central America with many more to follow. Fans will have a limited opportunity to re-live the excitement of the final show of the band's last ever world tour, which was filmed at the Hammersmith Apollo London in May 2012.

Cinema locations and ticket purchasing information can be found at Judaspriest.com or in the widget below:

From the band: “The Epitaph world tour came to an exciting conclusion at the renowned Hammersmith Odeon (now known as the Apollo) in London. Knowing our fans around the planet recognize that venue for many legendary metal moments, and of course with Judas Priest being a British metal band it was the perfect gig for us to film and record. Big thanks as always to you our metal family of fans - so start banging your heads one more time with us as we scream together ‘The Priest is back!’’

A unique live career retrospective, Epitaph will be released on Blu-ray and separate DVD on May 28th through Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. This release precedes a new studio album by Judas Priest which the band are working on now.

The official trailer has been released can be viewed below:

Judas Priest's current lineup comprises lead singer Rob Halford, lead guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. Heavy metal historians will regard Epitaph as the most far-reaching live concert recording in the band's career. The set revisits the climactic closing date of the 50-week Epitaph World Tour, captured live at London’s HMV Hammersmith Apollo on May 26th, 2012. Adding to the drama is the fact that this was Judas Priest’s final large-scale world tour ever.

Epitaph’s 23 tracks represent at least one song from every one of the band’s 14 studio albums, from 1974’s Rocka Rolla ('Never Satisfied') to 2008’s Nostradamus ('Prophecy'). In the special case of British Steel, four songs are featured: 'Rapid Fire', 'Metal Gods', 'Breaking The Law', and perennial set closer, 'Living After Midnight'. Others exempted from the one-song-quota are the LPs which appeared before and after British Steel. The first of these is 1979’s Hell Bent For Leather (UK title: Killing Machine) which lends the title song as well as 'The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)'. The other LP is 1982’s Screaming For Vengeance, source of 'The Hellion', 'Electric Eye', and 'You’ve Got Another Thing Coming'.

“They have epitomized the genre with their Harley riding frontman, rapid-fire guitar assaults, and spectacular stage shows,” wrote journalist Bryan Reesman in his liner notes for 2004's leather-bound, metal-spiked Metalogy box set. “Influential, innovative, and exuberant in expression,” he wrote, “they are the true Metal Gods who have been as unwavering in their desire to expand the boundaries of their music as they have been in crossing international borders to deliver it to their disciples.”
“Unabashedly committed to their cause, and unrepentant in proclaiming themselves a true heavy metal band even when others have shied away from the term, Judas Priest have forever been defenders of the faith.”

Epitaph tracklisting:

'Battle Hymn'

'Rapid Fire'

'Metal Gods'

'Heading Out To The Highway'

'Judas Rising'

'Starbreaker'

'Victim Of Changes'

'Never Satisfied'

'Diamonds And Rust'

'Prophecy'

'Night Crawler'

'Turbo Lover'

'Beyond The Realms Of Death'

'The Sentinel'

'Blood Red Skies'

'The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)'

'Breaking The Law'

'Painkiller'

'The Hellion'

'Electric Eye'

'Hell Bent For Leather'

'You’ve Got Another Thing Coming'

'Living After Midnight'