Sony Music have announced the release of a unique JUDAS PRIEST album. The Chosen Few is an album curated by Judas Priest’s contemporaries in the music world – each artist picking their own favourite Priest track and explaining why it is special to them.

Included are legends such as OZZY OSBOURNE, METALLICA's James Hetfield, ALICE COOPER, DEF LEPPARD's Joe Elliott, SLASH, MOTÖRHEAD's Lemmy, SLAYER's Kerry King and Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT, STONE SOUR). All build an album from the very best of Judas Priest – from 1977’s 'Diamonds And Rust' through to 1990’s 'Painkiller'.

Rockers weigh in on their selections:

Lars Ulrich (Metallica) on 'Beyond The Realms Of Death' - “The blueprint for the epic rock ballad. Copied thousands of times, never eclipsed.”

Ozzy Osbourne on 'The Ripper' - “This has always been one of my favorite Judas Priest songs… I just want to know what the fuck that note is that Rob Halford hits in the beginning of the song. Fucking hell!! That note is probably just below what only dogs can hear.”

Alice Cooper on 'Living After Midnight' - “For a metal band, Priest has always used tons of melody... when you have a singer as great as Rob Halford, you have to write great riffs WITH great melodies, you can’t just have riffs. 'Living After Midnight' is the perfect example…”

Slash on 'Screaming For Vengeance' - “Judas Priest have put out their fair share of great albums to be sure. But my all time favourite is 'Screaming For Vengeance'. It was and still is, one of the best metal records ever produced and the title track is in my humble opinion, still ahead of its time.”

Corey Taylor on 'You've Got Another Thing Coming' - "“Judas Priest: the blueprint for the ultimate heavy metal band...”

The Chosen Few tracklisting:

'Diamonds And Rust' (1977) - chosen by Joe Elliott (DEF LEPPARD)

'Dissident Aggressor' (1977) - chosen by STEVE VAI

'Exciter' (1978) - chosen by ACCEPT

'Beyond The Realms Of Death' (1978) - chosen by Lars Ulrich (METALLICA)

'Delivering The Goods' (1979) - chosen by Kerry King (SLAYER)

'The Green Manalishi (with the Two-Pronged Crown)' (1979) - chosen by David Coverdale (WHITESNAKE) & Randy Blythe (LAMB OF GOD)

'The Ripper' (1979) - chosen by OZZY OSOBURNE

'Victim Of Changes' (1979) - chosen by James Hetfield (Metallica)

'Breaking The Law' (1980) - chosen by Lemmy (MOTÖRHEAD)

'Rapid Fire' (1980) - chosen by Vinnie Paul (PANTERA, HELL YEAH)

'Grinder' (1980) - chosen by Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY)

'Living After Midnight' (1980) - chosen by ALICE COOPER & Geezer Butler (BLACK SABBATH)

'Screaming For Vengeance' (1982) - chosen by Slash (GUNS N' ROSES)

'You’ve Got Another Thing Coming' (1982) - chosen by Klaus Meine (SCORPIONS) & Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT)

'The Sentinel' (1984) - chosen by Chris Jericho (FOZZY)

'Turbo Lover' (1986) - chosen by Jonathan Davis (KORN)

'Painkiller' (1990) - chosen by JOE SATRIANI

Confirmed Judas Priest dates North American dates now include:

October

12 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T; Center
14 - Corpus Christi, TX - Concrete Street Ampitheater
15 - Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
16 - Dallas, TX - Allen Event Center
18 - Tuscon, AZ - Ava Ampitheater
19 - San Diego, CA - Cricket Wireless Ampitheater
21 - Phoenix, AZ - AZ State Fair
22 - San Bernadino, CA - SAn Mauel Ampitheater
23 - Las Vegas, NV - Hard Rock
25 - Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Ampitheater
26 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
27 - Concord, CA - Sleep Trail Pavillion
29 - Seattle, WA - WaMy Theater
30 - Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena

November

1 - Edmonton, AB - Shaw Conference Center
2 - Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome
4 - Salt Lake City, UT - Maverik Center
5 - Denver, CO - 1st Bank Center
8 - Cincinnati, OH - US Bank Arena
9 - Springfield, IL - Prairie Capital Convention Center
10 - St. Louis, MO - The Family Arena
12 - Chicago, IL - The Venue At Horeshoe Casino
13 - Detroit, MI - Joe Louis Arena
15 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
16 - Rochester, NY - The Armory
18 - East Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center
20 - Lowell, MA - Paul E Tsongas Arena
22 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
23 - Quebec City, QC - Colisee Pepsi Arena
24 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
26 - Reading, PA - Sovereign Center
27 - Winston-Salem, NC - Lawrence Joel Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum
30 - Tampa, FL - 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre

December

1 - Miami, FL - Bayfront Park Amphitheatre,
3 - Biloxi, MS - Hard Rock Biloxi Hotel & Casino

Judas Priest have also announced a string of Japanese tour dates for February. The itinerary includes:

February

7 - Sunpalace - Fukuoka, Japan
9 - Cacifico - Yokohama, Japan
11 - Kokusai Hall - Kobe, Japan
13 - Alsok Hall - Hiroshima, Japan
14 - Prefectural Arts Theater - Aichi, Japan
16 - Budokan - Tokyo, Japan

Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford promises the group is well on its way towards making its next album.

Halford tells Billboard.com that he and guitarist Glenn Tipton "began writing new music early on this year, before we went out on the road. We have about 12 or 14 tracks completely mapped out, four of which have been recorded and mixed and are ready to go... so the good news is that there will be a brand new Priest record next year."

Halford adds: "I think it's fair to say that this is going to be just another great, traditional British heavy metal album from Priest with what you love about the band - the riffs, the screaming vocals, all of the tradition and heritage that we try to keep somehow in our music as we've moved along.

The Epitaph World Tour is hardly the last we'll see of Judas Priest, and Halford acknowledges that the group is "taking every opportunity to let our fans know this is not the end of Judas Priest. We're just cutting back on these big, long treks around the world that we love to do. But yet we're facing mortality; as a metal singer I'm still able to do the vast majority of things that have laid out before me...but I'd be the first to admit that I'm finding it more challenging now, and I don't want to get into that syndrome where you end up a little bit punch-drunk and you're not giving the performance that you want to give. I'm delighted that we're taking this approach because the inevitable payoff is that it gives the band more life. We're able to continue doing selective shows in the future and, as importantly, keep recording and making new metal records."

Read the entire interview at Billboard.

For technical reasons Judas Priest have had to move the release date for Single Cuts (Sony Music), a CD Singles box set including their complete UK CBS/Columbia singles, to October 10th.

Says the band, "We really appreciate your support and so to say thanks for your patience, we’ve added a free magnet set of Judas Priest Album covers (worth £15) to all box sets that are pre-ordered on JudasPriest.com. All pre-orders will now ship on or before October 10th."

Single Cuts is testament to Priest’s enduring influence and through the singles, tells the story of one of the biggest metal bands of all time. Presented in a deluxe, numbered box, Single Cuts boasts a massive 52 tracks across 20 CDs, featuring original singles artwork and labels plus booklet including sleeve notes and photos.

Tracklisting:

1977 - Diamonds and Rust' / 'Dissident Aggressor'
1978 - Better By You, Better By Me' / 'Invader'
1978 - Evening Star' / 'Starbreaker'
1978 - Before The Dawn' / 'Rock Forever'
1979 - Take On The World' / 'Starbreaker (Live)' / 'White Heat Red Hot (Live)'
1979 - Evening Star' / 'Beyond The Realms Of Death' / 'The Green Manalishi'
1980 - Living After Midnight' / 'Delivering The Goods (Live)' / 'Evil Fantasies (Live)'
1980 - Breaking The Law' / 'Metal Gods'
1980 - United' / 'Grinder'
1981 - Don’t Go' / 'Solar Angels'
1981 - Hot Rockin'' / 'Breaking The Law (Live)' / 'Steeler' / 'You Don't Have To Be Old To Be Wise'
1982 - You've Got Another Thing Comin'' / 'Exciter (Live)'
1982 - (Take These) Chains' / 'Judas Priest Audio File'
1984 - Freewheel Burning' / 'Breaking The Law (Live)' / 'You've Got Another Thing Comin''
1984 - Some Heads Are Gonna Roll' / 'The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)' / 'Jawbreaker'
1986 - Turbo Lover' / 'Hot For Love'
1986 - Locked In' / 'Reckless' / 'Desert Plains (Live)' / 'Freewheel Burning (Live)'
1990 - Painkiller' / 'United' / 'Better By You, Better Than Me'
1991 - A Touch Of Evil' / 'Between The Hammer And The Anvil' / 'You've Got Another Thing Comin' (Live)'
1992 - Night Crawler' / 'Breaking The Law' / 'Living After Midnight'