Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford spoke with Cass Farrar at GQ about his new memoir, Confess. During the conversation, Halford reflected on his days of heavy drinking and being sober for 34 years now. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

GQ: On a scale of one to ten, how happy are you right now? 

Halford: "I’m going to go Spinal Tap on you and say I’m an eleven." 

GQ: But seriously, when have you been your happiest in life? 

Halford: "I have aways been eternally optimistic, so I’d say I’ve always been happy. Apart from during those really rough times everything in my life has been very cool. I count my blessings for that. Apart from the gloomy, dark times in my life, I count myself very lucky and pretty happy – it’s part of my personality and character." 

GQ: Would you consider the time you got sober to be closest you ever got to a zero? 

Halford: "Yeah, absolutely. Unless you go into minus figures – unless you’ll let me rate myself at a minus ten – you can’t get any lower than that. To stay sober, that’s something you have to be prepared to learn and accept." 

GQ: You’ve been sober for more than 34 years, which is amazing. You write in Confess about how much less angry you are a result of not drinking and taking drugs any more. How else has it changed you? 

Halford: "I have a clarity now on everything, especially when it comes to my work. I’m able to perceive my music more clearly, with a lot less clutter and that's important as a musician, particularly for me, particularly because I love what I do and I love Judas Priest so much. I like to feel that being clean and sober has made me able to do my work much more efficiently; I look back on some of my lyrics and they are a touchstone. If you look at the lyrics on Nostradamus, they are some of the best I’ve ever written. I’m proudest of that and I doubt very much I’d have achieved those if I had a joint in one hand and a bottle of Jack Daniels in the other."

Read the complete interview here.

Halford's warts and all autobiography, Confess, will be released on September 29 via Hachette Books. Amazon pre-orders for the book are available now for North America and The UK.

A description of the book follows...

Most priests take confessions. This one is giving his.

Rob Halford, front man of global iconic metal band Judas Priest, is a true 'Metal God'. Raised in Britain's hard-working heavy industrial heartland he and his music were forged in the Black Country. Confess, his full autobiography, is an unforgettable rock 'n' roll story - a journey from a Walsall council estate to musical fame via alcoholism, addiction, police cells, ill-starred sexual trysts and bleak personal tragedy, through to rehab, coming out, redemption... and finding love.

Now, he is telling his gospel truth.

Told with Halford's trademark self-deprecating, deadpan Black Country humour, Confess is the story of an extraordinary five decades in the music industry. It is also the tale of unlikely encounters with everybody from Superman to Andy Warhol, Madonna, Jack Nicholson and the Queen. More than anything else, it's a celebration of the fire and power of heavy metal.

Rob Halford has decided to Confess. Because it's good for the soul.