Rob Halford is, to some people, the voice of metal. The Judas Priest singer has a triumphant, squealing belt that's carried him and his bandmates through 50 years of music and mayhem, but in his new book, Biblical, the Metal God offers a stunning revelation — he hates the sound of his own voice.
In a new interview with Loudwire, Halford opened up about the self-conscious feelings he has about his genuinely iconic singing voice, and how his own perfectionist standards make it so that he's unable to listen to himself wail without cringing a little bit.
"I don't think it's that peculiar," Halford said of his complicated feelings. "Because musicians, we're always trying to reach nirvana ... nirvana is unreachable. We're always, 'I wish I could have done that bit better or held that scream a bit longer,' and that's part of the joy of what we do."
"Is it weird? I don't know, I just can't stand the sound of my own voice," he continued. "I listen to it, obviously, in playback when I'm with [producer] Andy 'do it again' Sneap. I have no choice. I wait for him to say, 'Got it. Next!'
"It's a peculiar foible, but I learned to live with it. It's what I do, it's my life, my life is a metal singer. All that matters to me is what comes out of my mouth when I'm onstage, first and foremost. The biggest struggle for all musicians is when you validate who you are and what you're about and what you're achieving with your fans.
"That's when it all makes sense. That's probably the only time I can cope with listening to myself, because I've got it coming in at 11 in my ears anyway."
So there you have it. If you're ever feeling down and out about your own abilities, always remember that literally one of the most successful and important figures in rock music history is also super hard on himself. Clearly, he hasn't let that stop him.
