Revolver has teamed with Judas Priest for an exclusive blue vinyl variant of their new album, Invisible Shield. It's limited to 1,000 — order yours.
With age comes wisdom. The saying might be a dusty/rusty/trusty chestnut that old folks haul out when they want to feel superior to their younger, more flexible counterparts. But it's also very true. And it's just one of the messages behind Judas Priest's newly-released 19th studio album, Invincible Shield.
"It's part of the journey I'm on, and that all of us are on as we move through life," Priest's iconic frontman Rob Halford says. "We gain wisdom and knowledge and perspective that's way more sensible than you were when you were 15 or 20 years old."
Halford ought to know. In 2023, the legendary Metal God marked 50 years with Judas Priest. In January 2024, he celebrated 38 years of sobriety. Later this summer, he'll ring in his 73rd birthday.
Of course, this is the same man who wrote the lyrics to "You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise" on Priest's 1980 breakthrough album, British Steel, so there must be another reason why some of the songs on Invincible Shield — like "Escape from Reality," "Crown of Horns" and lead single "Panic Attack" — are more personal than usual.
"I don't know whether it's linked to my day-to-day sobriety," Halford tells Revolver via Zoom from his home in Phoenix, Arizona, where a giant banner featuring the Invincible Shield cover art hangs on the wall behind him. "Maybe that's got something to do with it. The one day at a time thing — I'm always working on that.
"But this isn't a Rob Halford solo album. All of these songs relate to Judas Priest and how all of us may have felt. As importantly, when fans hear the words to a song like 'Escape From Reality,' which is about wishing you could turn back time and fix your mistakes, they'll go, 'Yeah, that's me.'"
Other Invincible Shield tracks, like "Devil in Disguise," are decidedly political — which is unusual for Priest.
"Where I was 20 years ago, I wasn't the least bit concerned about politics," Halford explains. "Do young metalheads really wanna hear about the references I'm making to this person in 'Devil in Disguise'? Probably not. However, the devil in disguise can take many forms.
"It doesn't have to stick out like a protest song. I love protest songs — I'm the world's biggest Rage Against the Machine fan — but with Priest, we try to steer away from that. But as I've become older, I've become a lot more outspoken. Now, I don't give a fuck."
If Invincible Shield has an overarching theme, it's the staying power of Judas Priest, their fans, and heavy metal in general. It's an idea that's especially heartfelt for Halford, who became the first openly gay metal icon in 1998, when the metal community was even less open-minded than it is today.
Of course, that was also the moment that his famous leather-daddy look took on a whole new meaning.
"When I walk out onstage later this year, at age 73, dressed the way I do, that's real, man," he says of Priest's Invisible Shield tour, which kicks off this spring in the U.S. before heading to European stages this summer.
"There's so much conviction within that whole experience that it has formed its own invincible shield. It's impossible to destroy. It's this permanent expression of what metal is about, who we are as a band, and who our fans are.
"Internally, we all have our own invincible shields. We all have this power that doesn't get released until a specific moment. Externally, we have the battle vests, the leather, the studs, the rings, the whips, the chains, the handcuffs, the bike — it's all the invincible shield of heavy metal."
Sadly, the members of Judas Priest aren't really invincible. Bassist Ian Hill is 73. Drummer Scott Travis is 62. The band's elder statesman, 76-year-old guitarist Glenn Tipton, suffers from Parkinson's and has only appeared onstage occasionally in recent years.
Guitarist Richie Faulkner, who is by far the youngest member of Priest at 44, suffered an aortic aneurysm onstage in September of 2021, which he survived thanks to a 10-plus hour emergency surgery during which pieces of his heart were replaced with mechanical parts. Thankfully, he returned to the stage with Priest in October of 2023.
"I have to take medication every day for the rest of my life, but I consider myself very fortunate," Faulkner tells Revolver. "Some people are dealing with things a lot more challenging than I am.
"I have to watch my diet and get regular checkups, but my support system at home is fantastic, and the compassion and support from the fans was overwhelming. I can only thank everyone for their messages as it really helped the healing process."
Both Tipton and Faulkner were heavily involved in the making of Invincible Shield, though Tipton only physically played on four songs.
"His guitar playing has been limited by Parkinson's, but his input for this album has been indelible," Halford says. "He's been hands-on every step of the way. His overview of the arrangements, the lyrics, the production, the mixing — everything — is there with us."
Tipton appeared onstage with Priest at the Power Trip festival in Indio, California, last October (the same show as Faulkner's return) to play the three-song encore of "Metal Gods," "Breaking the Law" and "Living After Midnight."
"We don't know if that will be the last time you'll see him onstage," Halford laments. "With Parkinson's, one day you're totally able to do whatever you want, and the next day you're being crushed by it. But again, all of that striving and never giving up, that invincible shield that is part of the metal spirit, is very much a part of Glenn Tipton."
All told, Invincible Shield is a worthy follow-up to 2018's Firepower, an album beloved by fans and critics alike. It's unheard of for a 50-year-old band to be writing songs this good this late in the game, but that's exactly what's happening.
"After Firepower, there was a sense that you've got to go one more step up the ladder," Halford says. "Otherwise, what's the point of making a new record? It was very much, 'We're gonna go bigger, we're gonna go louder, we're gonna go stronger.'"
This article is excerpted from a story in an upcoming print issue of Revolver.
