Ahead of Judas Priest's June 5 concert at Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, CO, frontman Rob Halford spoke with Colorado Springs Independent about the recently passed Equality Act, writing an autobiography, and his band being the heavy metal version of Queen. An excerpt follows:

Q: I have a question about your current tour-mate Mick Box’s recent description of his band Uriah Heep as “The Beach Boys of Heavy Metal.” If you were to draw a similar comparison with Judas Priest, what would it be?

Halford: "Well, ironically enough, given your last question, I think that calling us a heavy metal version of Queen would be quite a decent comparison. I’ve been a huge Queen fan all of my life. And when I think back on all the songs that Judas Priest has created over the last four decades or so, I think we do have a bit of a Queen vibe about us, in terms of not putting blinkers on oneself, letting the music take you where it needs to go, and being from the heart. Because Queen was a band that never let itself be boxed in."

Read the complete interview at Colorado Springs Independent.

Judas Priest's current tour itinerary, with special guests Uriah Heep opening, can be seen below.

May
29 - Austin, TX - Moody Theater
31 - Dallas, TX - Bomb Factory

June
1 - Little Rock, AR - Riverfest Ampitheatre
3 - St. Louis, MO - Stifel Theatre
4 - Kansas City, MO - Knuckleheads *
5 - Colorado Springs, CO - Broadmoor World Arena
8 - Saskatoon, SK - Sasktel Centre
10 - Lethbridge, AB - Enmax Centre
11 - Edmonton, AB - Rogers Place
13 - Dawson Creek, BC - Encana Events Centre
14 - Prince George, BC - CN Centre
16 - Kelowna, BC - Propera Place
17 - Abbotsford, BC - Abbotsford Centre
19 - Spokane, WA - Northern Quest Casino
21 - Seattle, WA - Showare Center
22 - Portland, OR - Moda Center
24 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield
25 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield
27 - Los Angeles, CA - Microsoft Theater
28 - Ontario, CA - Citizens Business Bank Arena
29 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint

* Uriah Heep only