Rob Halford, the lead vocalist in the English heavy metal band Judas Priest, has an absolutely riveting voice that’s attracted a sizeable fanbase, with 221,695 users liking his Facebook page. But what makes Halford’s voice so distinctive? What’s Halford’s vocal range?
Halford’s vocal range spans across four octaves, from C#2 to C6, which would make him a low Tenor. Over the years, Halford’s voice has changed as he’s aged so he wouldn’t be classed as a high Tenor for that reason.
Read more below on Halford’s band Judas Priest and their highest-charting albums.
The Origins of Judas Priest
Judas Priest was formed in 1969 in West Bromwich, West Midlands. Initially, the band’s lead vocalist was Al Atkins, but he was replaced by Halford in 1973 when Atkins decided to pursue a “real job.”
Since the band has formed, they have gone on to be named one of heavy metals all-time “most influential and enduring bands.”
Let’s take a look at how the band has evolved over the years, tracing back to their first album.
Judas Priest’s Highest-Charting Albums
Since their first studio album in 1974, Judas Priest has since released a further 17 studio albums on top of their first with their highest-charting position on Billboard 200, standing at number 5 with their most recent album Firepower released in 2018.
Judas Priest has sold close to 50 million albums worldwide, with 12 million album sales in the US.
Some of Judas Priest’s highest-charting albums on Billboard 200 include Firepower (2018), Redeemer of Souls (2014), and Nostradamus (2008). We’ll look at these in more detail next.
Firepower (2018)
Firepower is Judas Priest’s eighteenth studio album that was released on March 9, 2018, shortly followed by a world tour beginning on March 19, 2018, through to June 29, 2019.
The tour marked the first time that band member Glenn Tipton would not perform through the whole tour due to his diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease.
It was during this tour that Halford kicked a phone out of a fan’s hand out of the frustration caused by the phone light. This action was defended by Uriah Heep lead vocalist, Bernie Shaw, in a podcast, where he said Halford “overreacted,” but he can understand where he was coming from.
On this one, it’s safe to say you shouldn’t interfere with the Metal God’s performance because it’ll warrant a reaction.
The album sold an estimated 49 thousand copies within a week of its release.
Redeemer of Souls (2014)
Redeemer of Souls is the band’s seventeenth studio album, which marked the first album without their founding guitarist K.K. Downing who left the band in 2011 because cracks had started forming, Downing said “idiosyncrasies” had started appearing and there was a lack of democracy in the band hence his departure.
The album marks Judas Priest’s first top 10 album debut in the US, having reached number 6 on Billboard. The album sold 32,000 copies in the first week after its release, with a total of 110,000 copies sold in 2016.
The band went on tour from October 1, 2014, to December 15, 2015, touring the US from October 1, 2014, to November 18, 2014.
Nostradamus (2008)
Nostradamus is Judas Priest’s sixteenth studio album, and it’s concept-based, giving the album more meaning. The album’s focus is on the 16th-century writer Michel Nostradamus, and it’s the last album featuring K.K. Downing.
The album peaked at number 11 on Billboard and has sold 500,000 copies worldwide – 100,000 in the US.
Judas Priest went on tour in June 2008, with their last show on October 17, 2009; they performed a total of 144 shows.