(hennemusic) Heavy metal icons Judas Priest picked up their first nomination for entry into the 2018 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this week, and frontman Rob Halford says he couldn't be more thrilled with the honor.
"This is our Oscars," Halford tells Billboard. "When the nominations come up and the inductions come up, you often wonder that it would feel like if you were able to be on stage at that moment making an acceptance speech and particularly having the pleasure to be in the company of all the other musicians and industry people. So, yeah, if we do get in it will be an absolute dream-come-true moment. Fingers crossed, as they say."
Eligible for Rock Hall consideration since 1999, Judas Priest are the lone metal outfit amongst the 19 nominees for 2018, and Halford hopes the band's name on the ballot will open the door a bit wider for more acts from the often-maligned genre.
"I've often talked about metal being the underdog in rock 'n' roll music," says the rocker. "We remember the times through the punk and New Wave moments when it was proclaimed that heavy metal music was dead, it didn't stand a chance of surviving, that it was Neanderthal music that had limited scope and wasn't very intelligent and all those bad things.
"I still don't understand the kind of pushback that we still kind of have to bump up against now and again, but this recognition by the Hall Of Fame helps to slowly chip away at that kind of stereotype. The metal dog is wagging its metal tail, which is a great feeling. We do deserve this." Read more here.
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