In a new interview with Grammy.com, Judas Priest legends Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton and Ian Hill, along with producer Tom Allom, talk to reporter Bryan Reesman about their massive Screaming For Vengeance album that turns 40 tomorrow (July 17th). Here are a few excerpts from the chat:

Grammy.com: The lyrics are very relevant today. I listen to "Electric Eye" and "Screaming For Vengeance" and that dark vision resonates with modern events.

Glenn Tipton: “Yes, that's true. It wasn't done intentionally. A lot of what we play is very current.”

Rob Halford: “I remember when I was writing the lyrics for "Electric Eye." And, of course, this was before the internet. I was reading about spy satellites and the way that our privacy was going to be more and more difficult to hold on to. That was enough for me to get my brain cells going for a lyric that is so appropriate 40 years later, more so than ever.”

And equally with all of the suppression and repression that's going on in the world today - whether it's freedom of speech or people invading other people's countries - there's the title track, ‘Screaming For Vengeance’. I feel like I'm not making statements, but obviously I am. It seems like a good conduit for the music. The feeling about writing lyrics that have more to them than just tits and ass has always been a thrill for me. I've always enjoyed marrying up the words to these brilliant instrumentational sounds.  I just listen to the start of ‘Riding On The Wind’, for example, and the way that begins with very dramatic percussive work. Equally, the time signatures in the title track are really unusual. So I'm stimulated lyrically by the music, or the way the music is pushing me.”

Grammy.com: I heard that "You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’" was assembled rather quickly and was possibly the last song recorded?

Tom Allom: “They had this idea with the riff and everything, which I think Glenn mostly came up with. ‘Let's try and run it through’ and I was in the process (of mixing). It wasn't the last song [to be done] because I was checking out the drum sound. I had the drums all miked up ready to go, and they wanted to run through the track. So they set the guitars and the bass up in front of the drums and they ran it through without headphones. The guitars were turned down with the overdrive turned on quite high for the crunch. I recorded this run through, and I said, "Well, you're not gonna get a better take on that." And they wanted to redo all the guitars and do the usual stuff and have the big ambient side on the guitars. I think I let Glenn overdub one other rhythm guitar a little. I remember it as clear as daylight. They might remember it differently. Then Rob went through two or three lyric changes and melody changes. I have to say, I’m not always right, but I bloody well was on that occasion.”

Rob Halford: “It was a cool track, but we had no idea that it was going to blow the doors off of rock 'n' roll radio in America. Some people didn’t know they were metalheads until they heard Priest.”

Grammy.com: Are you still cool with the fact that Screaming is considered to be the definitive Priest album?

Ian Hill: “Oh, yeah, I do. It was the ultimate seller. I don’t think we've sold more of any other album, and it was a step in the right direction. After Point Of Entry being panned a little bit, we came roaring back with that one. Then, like I say, Defenders was Screaming on steroids. It took us to that peak. We could have carried on making that kind of album, but they wouldn't have made any more progress from Defenders. Loads of other bands do that. They find their formula and they stick to it and people them for it. But like I say, we're always trying to take that step forward.

Glenn Tipton: “It's not everybody’s No. 1, but I would think its direction comes very close to what most people consider the best Judas Priest album. It is a milestone album.” 

Read more at Grammy.com.

(Photo courtesy of Sony Legacy)