Guitar International's Robert Cavuoto caught up with JUDAS PRIEST's Rob Halford and Rickie Faulkner, who shared a behind the scenes look into the making of the the Epitaph DVD / Blu-Ray. An excerpt follows:

Q: Some of the songs performed on your new DVD, Epitaph, are 20, 30, and even 40 years old. They really stand the test of time and sound fresh and not dated like so many ’80s bands, what’s your take on that?

Rob Halford: [Laughing] "Your right, a pop song from the ’60s sounds like a pop song from the 60’s as it should. There are subtle differences like in the production of 'Turbo Lover' is different than the production of 'Nostradamus'. There are certain rock songs that work well today as they did 20, 30, 40 years ago when you play them live, with the modern guitar and drum sound, there is a fluid connectivity that pulls it altogether and makes it work. Having said, when you strip a song down to its bare bones, if it’s a good song it should last."

Q: I think Priest is one of those rare bands that can go out and play some of the more obscure tracks and diehard fans will go crazy. Is it tough to pick a list that satisfies everyone?

Rob Halford: "It’s difficult. When you have the good luck and fortune to have a long life in rock n’ roll, the longer you’re in the game the more difficult it is because your material is backing up behind you. 'If you play this one, than you can’t play that one'. You have to get the right balance and there are always a handful of songs that you gotta play like 'Breaking The Law' and 'Living After Midnight'. The fans made you famous for those songs. Once you got those set, we look to bring in songs that offer a different texture and dynamic. That’s when you look at the little gems like 'Starbreaker', 'Blood Red Skies' and 'Never Satisfied'. You listen to them and play them and start to make sense of the show. Every song is given its moment with its smoke, fire, video, lighting, and costume changes. It lives for three plus minutes, it’s like you’re watching an opera or a musical. You have to think all of that through. Then you go into rehearsal and try it out and you get a hole in one. You don’t have to make changes. Maybe part of it is instinct and part of is intuitive. We seem to have it right from the get-go."

Read more here.

In a new interview with Artisan News, Halford and Faulkner talk about what their thoughts were before and after their final world tour date, captured on Epitaph:

Judas Priest, the heavy metal legends whose influence on generations of musicians and metalheads is incalculable, celebrate their 40th year as recording artists with the global cinema release of the live concert Epitaph. 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.

BraveWords is giving Priest fans in Ontario the opportunity to view Epitaph in person at the Cineplex theatre at Yonge & Dundas in Toronto on the following dates:

May 24 – 9:45pm

May 25 – 1:15pm

May 26 – 6:45pm

May 28 – 4:30pm

May 30 – 7:00pm

To enter the contest you must "Like" BraveWords on Facebook and then send us an email to contests@bravewords.com with the subject line "JUDAS PRIEST Are Metal Gods". The winners will be chosen at random. Contest closes this Monday, May 20th. Please include your snail mail in your email!

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'