Rob Halford

Interesting how little he mentions KK. I guess that rift is pretty deep, although at the end he does go into some detail about how difficult it was watching Ken and Glenn fight all the time. Still, Ken seems pretty bitter and a bit whiny about not being asked back after Glenn had to stop touring. Anyway...I found this audio rendition good, but a bit stilted in delivery and there are some editing errors here and there. Fun and sometimes tense stories about life in Judas Priest. The bit about Richie at the end was scary and the one about Roger Daltrey whizzing Rob off in a wheelchair through New York to see a back specialist. What I would have given to see that! On the whole I like Rob's outlook about his life, career and future prospects (even though he has turned into a bit of a fussy old Queen in some respects, and I think he'd agree, and even styles himself the Stately Homo of Heavy Metal). He seems to approach life with some perspective and doesn't get self-indulgent either with his decisions or actions, even when they are "massive cock-ups".… (mehr)

Biblical: Rob Halford's Heavy Metal Scriptures, by (you guessed it) Rob Halford, is a fun mix of memoir, advice, and commentary.

I admit to being an early fan of Judas Priest, so I am predisposed to liking this book. I think the first time I saw them was on a Foghat tour in 1978 or so. In other words, they were a part of the long and varied soundtrack of my life.

If you've read Halford's autobiography there is certainly a little overlap, but this is a completely different type of work, so well worth your time. Halford doesn't take himself so seriously that he becomes annoying, which makes the format of this book that much more fun.

There really is some advice in here for aspiring musicians, though admittedly I think of it as more of a heavy metal history (not "the" history but "a" history) with anecdotes and quite a bit of insightful reflection.

Certainly a must read for Priest and heavy metal fans but also for those interested in the history of music in general. While definitely about a specific genre of music, the parts about life on the road largely speak across genres.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (mehr)