Even the heavy metal gods have to do their laundry. Judas Priest's Rob Halford is calling Billboard.com's Gary Graff from his home in England to talk about the upcoming tour by the veteran metal act, and he notes that he's busy washing his underwear at the moment. Thanks for that, Rob.

Of course, his leather garb with metal studs doesn't go through the spin cycle in his own laundry room. "That's all taken care of by the wonderful team we have on the road crew," Halford says.

Plenty of care is being taken in and around Judas Priest these days. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the band's debut album, Rocka Rolla, which was released five years after the group formed in Birmingham, England.

It's time to recognize Priest's place as a bona fide heavy metal deity, with a catalog of 17 studio albums that have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide, according to the band, and such heavy metal anthems as "Living After Midnight," "Breaking The Law," "Screaming For Vengeance" and "You've Got Another Thing Comin'." While not pop hits, their songs were rock radio favorites. Priest also enjoys a legacy as one of metal's most influential groups, from its sound to its look to its impact on the genre.

"Judas Priest is everything we wanted to be as a band starting out," says Metallica frontman James Hetfield. "If someone asked you to define what heavy metal is, that's one of the bands you'd show them."

But Priest isn't just reliving the past.

Read more at Billboard.com.

Judas Priest's new album, Redeemer Of Souls, entered the charts in the US and Canada in Top 10 positions in both countries. In the US, Redeemer Of Souls lands at #6 on the Billboard 200, selling approximately 32,000 copies in it's first week out. The album is the band's 17th studio effort, and first since 2008's Nostradamus, which topped out at #11. In Canada, Redeemer Of Souls enters the album charts at #5. More global chart entries will be revealed soon.

 Read BraveWords' review of Redeemer Of Souls at this location.

 

 

 Redeemer Of Souls tracklisting:

 "Dragonaut"

"Redeemer Of Souls"
"Halls Of Valhalla"
"Sword Of Damocles"
"March Of The Damned"
"Down In Flames"
"Hell & Back"
"Cold Blooded"
"Metalizer"
"Crossfire"
"Secrets Of The Dead"
"Battle Cry"
"Beginning Of The End"

 Bonus Tracks:

"Snakebite"
"Tears Of Blood"
"Creatures"
"Bring It On"
"Never Forget"